I am about to have a nervous breakdown

Literally, I am.

I have built a new goth club which is ready to go but do not seem to be getting any staff applications.

I've posted 2 classifieds and set up a group. Did I miss something??

Also I have a VIP group set up but I have no idea how some new clubs have hundreds of members before they open and I have 14. How do I boost this. Any help and ideas is appreciated.

Firstly, about the VIP groups that have a lot of people? Well, one simple thing I've noticed about the 'popular' clubs is that they require you to join the VIP group before you can camp on their premises.

I'd recommend NOT following this route, however. What I do recommend is what some of my favorite clubs/groups do, which is hold a nightly event, be it live music, a contest of some sort, and in general become a great place to hang out.

One of my favorite spots also has live DJ's and if I'm not mistaken, they have related businesses that sponsor the events by donating prizes (which allows for shame-free plugs). This club also has some of the greatest hosts I have ever had the pleasure of visiting with. Even though I don't get much chance to go to them any more, I'm still a part of their group, because they are just that good.

I wish you good luck!

1st of many when ya start a club

Well maybe not, some get lucky.

Had about a hundred members before mine opened, Friends, friends of friends and such.

Employee`s, that`s prolly the hardest part, ya want people you can trust,that do a good job, but figuring out who that will be sometimes takes trial and error.

Gettin the people in , well, word of mouth, Ad boards, listings in the events page,
Good music, and fun ideas for the events.

Employees, at first was just A good friend and myself (we co-own)
Over time meeting people, and having friends recomend people to us, and tell us about people they know that might work out.

Some worked out, some,well..they didn`t all work out let`s say.

Theres other routes I`m sure, thats just how it`s gone for us...we ain`t exactly packed every night, but when a party gets goin, we have a blast, which counts most to us

Besides theres only about a couple thousand clubs in SL, so it can be rough

Hi,
Thanks for the tips.

I am trying to avoid setting the very few camp spots I have to group only as I would rather newbies could camp without the hassle.

As for regular events, we aren't open yet due to the lack of a dj and of course people to come to an event.

The sponsorship idea is good though. I have friends with their own stores so I will get onto them and hopefully have some prizes to throw about lol.

Yes, there are many many clubs in SL and I aint gonna pretend mine is different to any other lmao.

Well, it is a goth club but theres plenty of them too.

The main problem I am having is getting a dj that wont charge the earth. I have put over £150 into the club in the last few days so I need to keep costs somewhere between 0 and 0 lmao...


but I am sure it will all come together eventually. Ihope lol

Are you paying a salary or are people working only for tips? That is often a draw, but it may bring you inexperienced players who don't know anything about SL.

another club oh yay...

had to watch a giant purple box of voodoo next door for a month so excuse the sarcasm...

every one has or had a club
every one think they can get money from a club
every one think it will cover tier atleast
every one think people will come overnight (thank god that`s false or i`d have had a shooting range next door and no peace...)
every one folds after a month (my ex neighbour with an empty 40x40x40 purple cube at L$32,000 a month is a good example)

there are 10000 clubs on the grid of wich i think you can safely say 99% of them are empty and if they have people, they`re bots...

people would rather camp for the money these "jobs" bring in or not bother for L$100 per day (some even had the nerves for L@250 a week!"
people don`t tip that much wich has been a trend since medio last year when a friend clearly noticed a drop for regular +2k a day to usually nothing while traffic increased and went to create his own stuff and quit hosting/dj`ing

if you want to get people and staff, either make the place look special unlike the other 9900 clubs, get good dj`s and get schedules out
make a simple and clear staff schedule as most places are just plain FFA and everyone ding what they want wich endups in doing nothing
get a decent pick....
announce events trough the group and event listing
get live performers say for sunday evening with no costs, you`ll be amazed how many people sing just for fun aslong the crowed doesn`t smacks them to death if they think they aren`t to the music record standards as they do it for fun

and as last, ditch the VIP thing, no one in sl is a vip, make up a unique title instead
don`t do it like every one else cause if you look around the grid, every one FAILS except the ones who try to do it differently or atleast tried to be unique

might sound bitchy, wich it is cause it`s everywhere, atleast you have the currage to ask for advice but with a club the saying doesn`t work "if you build it they will come", damn hard work with alot of hours you`ll have to put into it, specially at the start to get it going wich can take months
if you aren`t up to that, i`d recommend to pack up and put it in the freezer for a later time, get to know more people and work them gently

ALL STAFF WILL BE PAID TIPS ONLY OF WHICH THE CLUB TAKES 20%. THIS AMOUNT HELPS TOWARDS THE RUNNING AND START UP COSTS.

there lies another problem, many hours for a couple of L$ -20% = nothing
startup costs are for the company as in RL, you don`t take a cut of waitresses if they don`t get a salary, they`ll just get another job where they can keep their tips and ALOT of hosts wanted

I would factor in fewer club-going avatars in general these days. Just like how the days of flip-mainland-for-profit land barons have come and gone, the economic landscape of SL has changed. A club would have to be wildly successful to cover someone's tier (high tier fees remains the real reason for our collective nervous breakdown.)

I still think content creation is the way to go ultimately for anyone looking to sustain worthwhile profits in SL. If I could create stuff, I would do that instead.

Heh, I have some friends whose main hobby is starting and closing clubs. They'll spend weeks doing it up just right, having a grand opening, hiring their friends, etc, and then close a month later. Since Nov 2006 I've seen them go through at least 6 clubs. When I asked them about it, they said "oh we just do it for the fun. We know we'll never make any money, but we love starting up new places and then clearing it all up again." LOL! A pretty cool attitude, I think.

Well first of all recognize that there are several THOUSAND clubs out there, just like there are endless shopping malls and about every other "vanilla" thing you can imagine. The active "Gor" (BDSM) and Gay communities have made sure that even this is "vanilla"

It is called competition!

In addition, the reality is that Second Life is extremely restricted compared to things like USENET, TOR, and Freenet - all of which are essentially uncensored and will "push your limits" of tolerance no matter what they are. In other words if someone wants something "kinky" or "different" that is where they go!

As a result, you are essentially competing with the magazine/DVD rack at your local convenience/grocery store!

THAT is why people use "camping" and similar strategies to get started and actually attract potential customers.

Personally I camp whenever I am away from my computer - about 90% of the time. IF (and ONLY IF) the location treats me fairly I will look around while I am on line and MAYBE join the club, buy something or whatever.

Places which don't pay campers (AKA fraud) and do all kinds of tricks to get "real people" to camp are simply ignored.

I suspect that I am not alone in this.

That being said, remember that I have never seen ANY business that succeeded by pissing off its customers!

I don't know about that...my grocery store is sorely lacking in good Gorean DVDs and they were completely out of BDSM Weekly.

Hey Tracy I have over 130 people in my Job group looking for jobs in clubs. Send me your Logo and a list of jobs you want filled and I can direct some people your way.

Also the jobs you want filed call for some skill base. Mostly noobs want t work in nightclubs - and since noobs can't even get dressed, they have a learning curve to deal with. You may need to offer training like I do - then you will get more people applying.

Yes but do they offer a "Hamster Dance"?

Yes, but the store manager called security on me. I have a hard time keeping my paws to myself.

That's because BDSM Weekly is a trade rag, not carried in stores, but you can get a free subscription if you're a professional.

Look for Popular Domination or Slave's Home Journal at the grocery.

My experiences as an "employee" in a club were basically glorified camping positions where I had to "hustle" for my money (tips) in chat. The best clubs in my opinion have no camping, no dancers, no strippers, no escorts,.....they might have DJ's ( All the dj's I know work for tips only) or use one of the good streams out there on shoutcast or whatever, and a host or two, a contest board, and good prizes for the contests (either cash or donated items from merchants within or near the club) , as well as good themes for the party.

I would say: first off, is there a market for your club? What does your prospective client base expect in your club? Have you advertised in these forums? In SLX forums for employees? Have you talked to your 14 VIP members about working in your club? Although the whisper "If you build it, they will come" worked for Robert Redford, I have found that in SL, it takes constant hard work to build up clients.

Visit other clubs, talk with the managers, the hosts, and tell them up front you're trying to get your own club started and ask them how they got theirs going. Maybe they'll loan you a DJ or two, or just have some good advice for you.


If you want real people in your club, don't allow the campers. Get a money tree instead, or some sort of reward system based on Date of Creation. Who wants to party in a room full of zombies? And there are much, much better ways of helping out newbies besides offering "zombie zones".


good luck with your hiring.

That was Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams. Robert Redford was in The Natural, the other sappy 90's baseball movie. Otherwise, you gave some excellent advice.

Thanks Raymond, I'm lousy with names...some days, I'm glad I have mine in a little bubble over my head so I can remember who I am

Of course a totally empty space is MUCH more attractive than a corner full of dancing zombies ...

Don't expect this work to ever end Tracy. There is a very high employee turnover rate in any SL business. I've known many who worked as strippers, dancers, hosts, etc until they developed a skill or the money to do something else (myself included).

Same is true with customers. The club I work in suddenly saw a huge loss in our customer base in early fall primarily due to many getting new rl jobs or changes in their school schedule. Sometimes people just want to go check out the newest and the hottest place around.

You've picked about the most dog eat dog SL business I know of. Most of the owners I am friends with at some very hot clubs that you think would make a profit run at a loss every month. They run their club to keep traffic up for their retail and rental areas and accept the loss as part of the business.

Good luck to you. I wish you well.

To me, it is. It says to me that the human element is more important that the traffic element. Your milage may vary

Yep I rather see a picnic rug on flat grass than a club of dancing leeching zombie traffic/camp bots

There is nothing wrong with offering a salary - it's not financially beneficial as making them work for tips, but the club industry is a big loser anyway - it's retail and rentals that make the cash. Salary plus tips is just an incentive to get good people and keep them as long as you can.

I'm a total noob, but if you still need staff I am more than happy to help. And until I learn something useful, I could be a volunteer!!! LOL *I am literally like a week old, if that*

Happy New Year,

Farrah Worbridge

A practice some club owners are resorting to thise days are planting their own VIP bots in the club. Its so sad that owners are resorting to such actions. Camping is bad enough but putting their own bots in there to increase traffic? I surly hope all goes well with you and you have a alot of greatness with your new club..


Usagi