Ten years ago, Jerry Westlund had 10 club operations. Westlundās Pony Nation has grown to 30-plus operations in the intervening decade.
ED Magazineās Legal Correspondent, Larry Kaplan, spoke with Westlund, an ED Hall of Famer, about life in Pony Club lane and why his people are everything to him.
ED: With 30-plus operations, you need a lot of solid management and staff. How do you find enough people?
WESTLUND: Finding managers is the biggest challenge for chain operators. Fortunately, many of my people who have been brought up through the system with me spread the word amongst their industry friends ā they are my best advertisement. The best way to learn about a potential employer is to talk with people working for them.
ED: Talk to me about relocating people to work for you.
WESTLUND: Itās an incredible responsibility to ask someone to trust an employer and relocate to another part of the country and believe the employerās got their back. I try to be extremely careful not to relocate individuals and their families unless Iām confident theyāre a good fit for what we do.
ED: Itās sad to hear of employers hiring and firing people on a whim, upending their families. They donāt seem to see those people as more than replaceable parts.
WESTLUND: Exactly. The definition of my success is directly correlated to the success of my employees and their families.
ED: I keep hearing that the Pony Clubs are genuinely a family, more so than anywhere else theyāve worked. And it just seems like creating that family atmosphere doesnāt require any out-of-pocket budget from you?
WESTLUND: You must be engaged with your employees. Iām shocked to find out how many employers arenāt engaged. The truth is, we donāt have employees. Most of our people are literally our business partners, entertainers, and DJs. If we donāt prosper, they donāt prosper. So I agree, itās not about spending money; itās about caring.
āMost of our people are literally our business partners, entertainers, and DJs. If we donāt prosper, they donāt prosper.Ā Itās not about spending money; itās about caring.ā ā Jerry Westlund
ED: That seems like such a simple concept. Why are you seemingly unique in that mindset among chain operators?
WESTLUND: I believe itās because I came to our industry after owning restaurants and working as a lobbyist. I think thatās provided a broader perspective. Adult clubs are all that some operators out there have ever known. So they know neither how crappy other jobs can be nor how crappy it is to work for somebody who didnāt care or to know the difference. I was fortunate to have worked with some people who cared and were engaged. Weāre all products of our experiences. I sincerely hope that everybody that works for me, whether they stay with me forever, or go on to work elsewhere, is better off for having worked for me.
ED: A club obviously can turn around on a dime, from doing great one week to three or four weeks later being in the toilet. Your clubs see a high percentage of regulars. Is consistency more important with regulars than if you catered to a tourist clientele?
WESTLUND: It takes a hell of a lot longer to fix a club than it does to screw one up. It takes months to fix one; it takes two weeks to ruin it. Weāre in showbiz. If we put on a bad show and do something that offends or upsets our guests, or if we donāt put out a quality product or play the wrong music, they wonāt be back. Weāre not operating in major tourist markets, where you donāt see the same customers twice. Our blue-collar regulars are our bread and butter, and we count on them coming back in.
If they come in and see a product they dislike, be it music or talent, or if the manager doesnāt know their name, or the waitress doesnāt recognize them, you can screw this thing up in two weeks. A bad DJ can ruin a club in a week! Thatās one of the reasons that DJs are like quarterbacks. Iām not sure what Vegas oddsmakers would put on Tampa Bay without Tom Brady.
ED: What does it take to keep all of those balls in the air with so many operations?
WESTLUND: My most valuable tool is that each of my clubs has a weekly meeting where all the managers, house-moms, and the head DJ discuss whatās going on. In cities with multiple clubs, we also do weekly meetings with all the GMs, and in places like Huntsville (Alabama), my head DJ and our house-moms, as well. We do this because another thing that makes club operations difficult is the lack of communication among staff ā when people in the club arenāt talking to each other. Unfortunately, itās become more challenging for me to visit every club every month as Iāve grown. Iām blessed to have Steph Wilbanks, my operations director, whoās been with me for 14 years. Steph attends most meetings and does a lot more. The Pony Nation wouldnāt be what it is without Steph. Sheās truly a blessing. Steph is so smart, savvy, and tech-savvy. She knows what Iām thinking before I get there. She does a fantastic job. I canāt imagine doing what Iād do without her, and I certainly wouldnāt enjoy what I do as much without her. No question.
ED: Talk about Pony culture. Besides being a family company, how do Pony Clubs differ from other chainsā clubs?
WESTLUND: Itās become fashionable to describe yourself as a party bar; more than just a strip club. Frankly, the Pony was doing that before it was cool. And 25-30% of my clientele have long been female. So that isnāt something that we just started. I try to stay in secondary markets. Itās what I call my meds and eds, medical centers and colleges ā communities unaffected by the economy.
The EDI contest is the preeminent industry feature contest, culminating in the opportunity to compete at EXPO. I welcome that. And I certainly wholeheartedly applaud the women that work so hard. nobody becomes a feature to make more money. Theyāre committed to the show, the way we should more often be. For that reason, Iāll continue to support the EDI and the feature industry and continue to marvel at the shows that these fantastic women put on. āĀ Jerry Westlund
ED: Youāre a longtime sponsor of ED Magazineās EDIs contest series. Why is this commitment important to you?
WESTLUND: I think that using features and showgirls is one of the most underutilized resources we have today. I donāt know if any more people come to my bars to see a feature. I do know that it creates an element of excitement in the clubs. And when my entertainers see a quality feature perform, it excites them and reminds them that weāre in showbiz. I want my 19-, 20-, and 22-year-old entertainers to aspire to more than lap dances. I want them to want to put on a show, to entertain. I need them to see and feel that. No question having features creates that environment. The EDI is the preeminent industry feature contest, culminating in the opportunity to compete at EXPO. I welcome that. And I certainly wholeheartedly applaud the women that work so hard. Nobody becomes a feature to make more money. I firmly believe the majority of the features would probably make more money as regular dancers. Theyāre committed to the show, the way we should more often be. For that reason, Iāll continue to support the EDI and the feature industry and continue to marvel at the shows that these fantastic women put on.
ED: You were a founding board member of PANDA (Professional Adult Nightclub DJ Association). And youāre now probably its biggest industry supporter. Why is this a priority for you?
WESTLUND: I was thrilled to receive an award from PANDA a few years ago as a supporter of the organization and DJs in general. I think theyāre the most underrated part of our business. Weāre hosting Pandamonium, their annual event this year, in the days prior to the EDIs East competition in Huntsville.
ED: What was it like to be inducted into the ED Hall of Fame last year?
WESTLUND: I was surprised and moved by it. It meant a lot. All I could think of was, is ED Magazine closing? Is this the last EXPO? How the hell did I become that guy? But I would be lying if I didnāt acknowledge how emotional I got when I saw people standing up and clapping.
Make no mistake about it; ED Magazine is what holds our industry together. Besides DJs, the most underrated component of our industry is ED Magazine. If there were no ED, we all wouldnāt know each other. Weād be a bunch of guys out there operating clubs without talking to each other. But, of course, maybe weād know each other because weāre in the same industry. But imagine, as an industry, what weād know and be if there were no ED.
Larry Kaplan has for 21 years been the Legal Correspondent for ED Publications. In addition, Mr. Kaplan is a business broker in the sale and purchase of adult nightclubs and adult retail stores and the Executive Director of the ACE of Michigan adult nightclub state trade association. Contact Larry Kaplan at 313-815-3311 or email larry@kaplanclubsales.com.