DISQUS

billcarroll · 10 months ago

I thought this post was gonna suck, but it didn't. I stuck it out and you brought it around to the points. Nice work.

micah · 10 months ago

I thought this comment was going to suck, and it did. :) thanks, dude.

jeffrey · 10 months ago

Haha only you can pull something like this together. It has a very "freakonomics" feel to it. Good work.

Devin Reams · 10 months ago

Nice work dude. Quite entertaining.

Kate · 10 months ago

Dear Micah,

Sometimes you display sheer brilliance.
Like now.

Much love,
Kate

Annie Tsai · 10 months ago

Love it. Thanks Micah for the work break chuckle. :)

- annie

Jared Goralnick · 10 months ago

I'm just waiting for a Micah-approved MBA course. I wonder what'd be in the next session...

micah · 10 months ago

LOL. Should I continue with Economics of Drug Dealing?

Will · 10 months ago

Dude, this was sheer brilliance. Only you could cleverly craft what would otherwise be a dirty, slimy recount of your trips to the strip clubs into a business lesson. By all means, bring on the economics of Drug Dealing!

A.J. Wood · 10 months ago

That was a great read. Like the way you closed it out and made your point. Well done.

steveplace · 10 months ago

And for some reason, when you go in with your wife, they're all over you.

Tim · 10 months ago

And in case you are not aware, the economics of the clubs are very interesting (and attractive to business owners).

The girls PAY to dance. As soon as they walk in the door, the club charges a flat fee to each girl.

This causes a few things. #1, it's a control to make sure the club gets money. #2, it causes a club to NEVER reject a girl. #3, it becomes a natural selection of girls. Meaning, if the girl isn't good looking enough for the club and isn't making enough money to cover her upfront closes to work at the club, she will naturally go work at a lower rate club.

micah · 10 months ago

The economics of the club are interesting as well. They are very similar to barber shops, salons, tattoo shops, etc. Although many clubs have different economic models. You have outlined the most basic. The part that I disagree with is that clubs are somewhat selective (depending on the "image" the club is trying to present), primarily because the better the dancer the more booze, etc a patron buys. All of that money goes straight to the club...

Mediamum · 10 months ago

Completely awesome and spot on. Does the 80/20 rule also work in strip clubs? I hope you get an Ignite Boulder presentation together for this!

Anne Arundel · 10 months ago

But tell me how you are going to difference or recognise this one in internet world - "4) Customers that are cheap or refuse the company of a dancer, will soon find themselves completely shut out."

I have a blog which show latest gadgets and I put adsense in that. In such case how I will be able to recognise the right customer.

micah · 10 months ago

In the content business, there will always be customers that consume
your content without payment. Just the nature of the beast. but, if you
are in the content business with an intent to turn a profit, you will
begin to generate content that does this best. In essence, readers are
self-selecting the content by engaging in the ads. The dead beats will
probably (at least some segment will) stop getting content that is
interesting to them and find other places to consume that content.

In a one to one relationship, its much easier to see and react to the
best customers (or the worst), in a one to many anonymous situation
(blog on the internet) it becomes much harder, and one must shoot for
the mass effect rather than the singular.

Gayle · 10 months ago

The skills of a stripper go far beyond simply pitching. They have segmented the market and have tailored their pitch/message to each of the different segments. For example, you better believe that a girl is going to communicate differently with the single guy in a business suit (probably a business traveler) sporting a wedding ring vs. the young frat boys vs. the guys who come in a group for a bachelor party (and so on). These girls are saavy, and can probably teach a thing or two to professional marketers.

georgegsmithjr · 10 months ago

That was spot on.

Rick · 10 months ago

Nice, you should probably write for us to do field research. Funny how i've met 2 persons that explain the economics of strippers, yet they are not strippers.

micah · 10 months ago

Ive never been asked to do field research before. I imagine that the strippers themselves dont really care about the economics outside of the basic supply/demand construct.

Rick · 10 months ago

For me field research is just going to any strip club :) There are some guides and books out there about how to make money stripping, thedancersguide.com by Kasey Coles is one of the most famous. Yet, he's a man. I

Kansas · 10 months ago

Well I am quite agree with you and you have compare these two business perfectly. But don't you think that in strip club, girls able to see and read body language and face expression as well. This is not at all possible in internet business.

Your review about my question.

Rob Gokee · 10 months ago

For a blog post with a scandalous use of an example business, this was an incredible lesson in marketing and focusing in on your target. I've experience most of these examples at a strip club (except for the phone number thing, of which I bow down to you), and never broke down the principles in terms of business the way you have. I'll be applying these to my own business, thanks for the insight.

Leonid S. Knyshov · 10 months ago

If you want to learn how to sell from the masters, go to a strip club.

Be sure to leave your charge cards far outside the walking range and to carry no more than $50 in cash with you. $30 is just not enough for fun as the cover fee will eat most of it. $50 can last quite some time for stage tipping.

The dancers' sales and customer targeting skills are second to none. I worked in a car dealership, where I could literally make you give me your trade-in car for free, but they are above that level. Every objection you will raise is something they have heard before countless times and to which they have well-rehearsed responses. I tipped a few dancers for particularly good seduction techniques.

In a semi-dead club, the conversations can be interesting. And there are endless stories...

Unfortunately, rarely do I see dancers that actually perform an elaborate dance. I tip for acrobatics. The better trained dancers also tend to have more interesting stories. The ATM machine comes with a $10 fee, for example. Then there is the fuzzy math and "inaccurate" accounting and the separate of "this is my fee, and this I need to pay to the house, so I need to ask you for more".

Some do go too far and engage in bait and switch. Same as any other business they net less revenue ultimately. Of course, there are also review sites for each dancer. :)

I find the overall atmosphere fascinating just watching others get completely drained.

StripandGrowRich · 1 week ago

I just came across this article. It is a perfect example of why I teach new entertainers that the "Wanna Dance?" approach is not the way to become a SuperStripper!