I know some dudes who now seem to be getting that Strip club fever. Sigh. Those who know me know that in another life I worked at one of the biggest strip clubs in the states. We sold more champagne than any other club in the country at the time. Jeroboams, Magnums, Louis XIII and all that. I’ll get into some tips about bars and bartending from my time working at the bar in another post but this is not about the bars its about what I learned in general from the experience so here goes.

Lesson # 1: People will always assume that your monetary rewards equals the blood sweat and tears it took. Often times it will not. Sacrifices will have to be made for any level of success. Personal sacrifices, upset or jealous girlfriends, and all that.

I was in college and it was not easy by any means. I would get off work at 4am and have to make it to a 7am or 8am class. It was rough and no one sympathized because of the fact that we were making bouqou bucks. The money made and the perceived fantasy about working at a strip club removed any empathy with how hard we worked and the long hours.

Because of this I began to realize that people would not sympathize with the hard work put into obtaining success especially when all they see is the results.

Lesson # 2: “A fool and his money will soon part.”

My mom used to always say that but never did it really make sense until I looked back at all the money I spent during that time working at that strip club. We spent money like there would be no end. After it all, I learned that every hustle has a shelf life and how to manage money better. I also learned how to use a money counter. Maybe more on that another time.

For me the experience was far more valuable than the hundreds/thousands we made each week. Anyway, we wasted the money with huge lunches at top restaurants, chrome rims, walked in stores and walked out with full new outfits. The only thing I did worth a damn with all that money was fully paying for a study abroad program I was accepted into at Oxford in the UK. London is expensive so it helped.

Lesson # 3: Strip Clubs Are For Herbs, or True Ballers.

You probably are not a true baller so if you are frequenting strip clubs outside of the random bachelor party with your friends then your a sucker. No, you are. Any working class person dumping his hard earned cash on chicks that don’t give a shit about them is a cornball. Honestly while working at the strip club the random dudes that came in were the biggest marks. The only dudes that were getting over were the ones with clients and the fat seemingly bottomless corporate cards, the athletes, drug dealers, and celebrity’s who really could afford to be there. Most of the fools at the strip club should have been spending that dough on their wives, girlfriends or dare I say it… themselves.

Strippers look at you and see a dollar sign. Take this literally. It’s like those Looney Tunes cartoons where they are on the desert island and one starts looking at the other like he’s a hot dog or hamburger. Don’t be the food on the food chain.

Lesson # 4: Strippers Have Issues

I know, hardly a news flash. But all fantasy’s aside stripper chicks have issues. Maybe one out of the ten were sound mentally. Maybe. They ranged from drug addicted, abused by boyfriends and the others had serious self worth issues. None of this is shocking on paper though have a conversation with one outside of the dance request and you WILL feel sorry for them. I REALLY felt sorry for those girls. After a while I didn’t know whether to feel more sorry for the girls or customers but I think the customers were more sad at the end of the day because they needed that fantasy.

Lesson # 5: Focus On What Matters

Oddly enough though not in Brooklyn at the time, I was able to get the job because I was from Brooklyn and so was the multi-millionaire owner. The owner was nice to me even though he was known to be harsh. In any case I noticed that he was always on. He had his OWN business and that a 9-5 mindset was not going to cut it to keep eveything running. Things in the club worked and were scheduled round the clock. When the club is closed in the daytime orders and repairs were scheduled and liqour deliveries came in. Multiply that by 5+ other businesses. I began to realize that it would take more than going home after a typical workday to achieve that kind of success and wealth.

Not only that but there was a certain level of cleverness that it takes to have profit margins so high. Everything was lean and as little money was spent as possible in the club. At night it looked like a million bucks but in the day it looked pretty average with the lights on. I learned to spend money and time where it counts. You don’t need something worth a million bucks or to spend a million to generate a million in profit. Subtle touches like all staff having bowties, or radios made the place look like it was worth far more and people spent accordingly. I learned that a focus on whats important is crucial. When you have a lot on your plate its important to be able to hit and address things that will provide the biggest results.

This lesson helps in every area of life. Its always funny when people spend so much effort on things that are not a big deal to their significant other and they could have done something simpler that would have had a bigger impact showing you actually LISTEN and care. Its not about how much you do but its about the impact of what is done. Especially at work spending you energy on the right things is ideal.