Opening a gentlemen’s club requires much more than having beautiful girls to grace the stage. Today’s strip clubs are high-caliber, eccentric cabarets that blend fantasy, hospitality, and sizzling entertainment. The media, as well as Hollywood, have collectively worked on our conscious images of smoke-filled seedy places where gangsters and criminals congregate. The industry has changed a lot since the 1980s and 1990s; And bar owners have found that running a clean and friendly establishment makes their adult entertainment venues more attractive to both men and women. In fact, many of the best hotels along the Las Vegas Strip now offer topless shows, complete with professionally choreographed dances, topless revues, and acrobats. The trend has caused traditional strip club owners across the country to offer great food, fantastic wine selections, and of course, top-notch entertainment.
consider the location
The first thing to think about when considering how to open your strip club is to consider a location. In my opinion, it is a good idea to find a building that is close to highways and major intersections. It is also advisable to find a building that is not too far from hotels, restaurants and, of course, convention centers. There’s a good chance that the community you think your bar will open up to will disapprove of a strip club in the area. This is why it is absolutely critical that your club offers clean adult entertainment, with plenty of hospitality. If you’re lucky enough to open a club near other businesses, be sure to join your local chamber of commerce. Commit to being active in your city’s community by attending local board meetings, donating to local social causes, and strictly abiding by the laws and regulations of your club’s municipality.
staffing
Long before your doors open, you’ll want to actively recruit and cultivate a winning sales team. The last thing you want is to have an intimidating noise standing at your front door to greet guests. Your adult club staff should be trained to pay attention to detail and be as efficient as any five-star hotel. This means having a friendly host show you to a table, along with waitresses and bartenders willing to flash a smile and serve drinks. Just like any other type of bar, customers don’t want to wait for a drink or experience a bad attitude from a staff member. At a strip club, the floor hosts can often be the engine that makes everything run smoothly. Make sure your floor hosts are personable and take the time to understand the needs of your guests. A good floor host will ensure that new visitors have a comfortable seat, a drink in hand, and an entertainer within minutes of arriving at the club.
Promotions and Marketing
Before opening a new club, I would suggest having a serious marketing and promotions plan. It is simply not realistic to expect that you will be able to maintain your establishment in the long term, without reaching new customers. You can start by investing resources to establish a powerful Internet presence. Unfortunately, adult club owners spend a lot to have a flashy website and that’s about it. Make sure your club website is optimized to attract visitors from Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. This includes having a well-written, keyword-rich blog and website for visitors to find. A good internet presence can mean significant financial rewards for your new club and attract thousands of new visitors to your venue over time. Billboards, radio, and print are fine, but most people are looking for businesses today on the Internet.
In my experience, the combination of Internet marketing with a strong promotional campaign on the floor will keep your new place busy. This can be accomplished by creating incentives for hotel employees, limo companies, and service industry personnel to send people your way. In larger cities, I’ve seen 500 new people a week walk through the doors thanks to a strong promotional program.
Girls
Many new club owners wonder how to attract new dancers. My best advice is not to take financial advantage of strippers. Many club owners try to charge their entertainers an incredible amount of money to work; and five cents and ten cents for every little thing. Charge a house fee that is reasonable and don’t fine the girls too much. The strip club industry is a very small world, and strippers are quick to share information about different venues. Also, providing a fun and safe workplace will naturally increase the number of exotic dancers on your roster. Try placing an ad on Craigslist or in your local newspaper for new artists. Another option is to put a jobs page on your strip club’s website. It takes time, but after a while, the number of exotic dancers in your club will increase.
Running your own strip club can be a lot of work. Like any other business, it takes planning and patience. Getting it off the ground can be difficult, but your goal should be to figure out how to make it thrive for the long term. If done correctly, your new strip club can be a clean, exciting, and highly profitable business for years to come.