Yes, you read that right. I admire strippers. And no, it doesn’t have anything to do with my newfound love of pole dancing. (However, it must be noted that the amount of strength, grace, flexibility and musicality these strippers have is nothing short of breathtaking.) Yes, many strippers make ends meet by dressing in scantily clad outfits or (sometimes nothing) and gyrating against a pole or man in the hopes of getting some big bucks. Many strippers bring home hundreds to thousands of dollars per night, which isn’t bad considering how long it takes many people in traditional careers to make that amount. While the take home amount is enticing, it’s still not what many would call a dream career. Dirty job or not, there is no denying strippers are amazing business people. Why? Because they know how to hustle.
Strippers know how to do the very things entrepreneurs need to do to succeed but won’t. They know how to differentiate themselves from competition. They know how much their time is worth and what they need to do to earn it. They know what they want to accomplish and have drafted a plan to get there. They understand their target audience and market accordingly. Lastly, they have a goal and resort to any means necessary to obtain it.
Very rarely do you come across a stripper who’s life long goal is to be a stripper. (At least, I don’t think so.) A study done by the Univeristy of Leeds, concluded that 40 percent of strippers did so to boost their income after failing to make enough money at other positions. In addition, one out of four strippers have an undergraduate degree. I’ve heard many stories of those who had dreams to go to school, start a business or simply get out of the projects and stripped as a means to an end. Stripping may not be ideal, but because they saw the bigger picture, these men and women were willing to take the risk if it meant bringing them that much closer to their dream. They hustle and do what they need to.
Mean while, entrepreneurs shy away from selling themselves on a daily basis even though it could mean the difference between landing a big client or win them a notable award. It’s about time entrepreneurs borrow some principles from strippers. No, I don’t mean you need to drop some clothes during your next client meeting. You need to learn to think like a stripper. Be willing to push yourself to the limit. If a stripper can allow herself to be vulnerable and expose herself in order to live though it may not be ideal, there’s no reason why an entrepreneur can’t take the necessary risk to improve business though it means leaving her comfort zone.
I challenge you to think of any successful entrepreneur that hasn’t practiced the same principles as strippers. Whether or not they like to admit it, most entrepreneurs think like strippers as they master the art of the hustle. They’ve learned how to hustle to get desirable clients, understand their target audience and work their butt off to accomplish what they want. Though it may be dirty work, those stripper-thinking entrepreneurs are the same ones who can now do a happy dance as they think of all they accomplished and inspire others to do the same.
If thinking like a stripper means I’ll soon be dancing to a different tune, I’m all in. Are you?
In what ways do you think like a stripper? Do you think you mirror strippers by hustling your way to the top?
TERRIfic Quip: Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor.
Love this! I 100% agree – strippers have the BEST business lessons bar none!
Do not encourage people to think like strippers. I failed at that job because I could not hustle and that is not something to be ashamed of. Strippers think of men as walking wallets and have no compassion for them. I hope other business people are less callous than strippers. Strippers take money from men when they get drunk and can’t tell the difference between a $1 bill and a $100 bill. Do I want to make money like that? No thanks. Nor would I want to be such a businessperson who overcharges customers fees they can’t afford.
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Thank you so much for you personal experience. Your opinions are definitely noted and valued. While I understand that some strippers base their businesses on underhanded practices, not all of them are like that. I would never suggest that people overcharge their customers or take advantage of them when in an altered state. Admittedly, I have never been a stripper. However, I have been around strippers who do not operate under such practices. Of course, how much money they made are questionable. Thanks again for your insight. You definitely made a good point.