Building Blocks and the Art of Collaboration in the Club By Liza Mae Lust

Excellent piece by new contributor, Liza Mae Lust. Liza Mae Lust is an award-winning actress, playwright, director, and feature entertainer. She currently lives in Reading, PA when she is not on the road. You can find her on here on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! Book for her your upcoming features show, you won’t regret it!- Ron S.

Building Blocks and the Art of Collaboration in the Club By Liza Mae Lust

Travelling around the country and working in different clubs and cities, I have the opportunity to speak to numerous nightclub workers from a wide range of experiences. As a whole, we all bring our skills into our work. I also come from a varied occupational and educational background: retail management, non-profit work, student of theatre and dance. One of the most important tools I managed to pick up along the way is working together and releasing individual interest to better serve the common goal.

What is the common goal of the club? Defining this not only for you, but for all others working in the club is essential. Obviously everyone wants to be profitable, but what does this club bring to the table that everyone else around does not? For some, it’s a high class gentlemen’s only atmosphere and for others it is more relaxed. The target demographic also needs to be identified; the difference between travelling businessmen and good ol’ boys and party animals is vast. DJs know this, managers know this, but many girls who are new to entertaining may not recognize this. Classifying what works for your club doesn’t end here, but it’s a nice place to start for people who are green.

In addition to honing in on these characteristics that make the club unique, communicating the purpose of the club to contractors and employees is equally important. Much like any theatrical piece of entertainment, if no one knows what the objective of the production is, the number of satisfied patrons decreases. Bouncers, hostesses, dancers, DJs, bar staff, and management should be familiar with the defining aspects of the nightclub and highlight them with each interaction. The roadblock that is commonly faced when bringing everyone together is how it will affect each separate income. People know what works for them and believe it is the only solution to making money, especially if they are making the transition to a new club or if they have been in the industry long enough.

The most challenging part of the collaborative process is trusting everyone involved to achieve the goal. The key to solving this is everyone treating everyone with respect, across the board. Many people working in this industry have been able to work for themselves and it has been lucrative for them, along with the handful of difficult co-workers that don’t want to listen regardless of what you tell them. We are all in the game for the same reason! Seeing that in everyone and remembering that is where trust starts. We all want to be tipped well, we all want to make our occupation worth our time. We can start by creating a comfortable and safe working environment

Once the entertainers and employees are all in this together, the cohesion of the club will be apparent to the patrons and will make them feel more welcome. Pinpoint what makes the club stand out, make those features known to each person working in the club, and believe in your co-workers. Taking the time to inform and be kind to the men and women of the establishment is crucial to success. We are all in this together. One industry, one love.