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When I was a stripper in the 1990s, I went out and purchased so many costumes it was as if the department store was on fire.

Everyone at the club envied my collection. But the truth was I had so much to choose from that my wardrobe had turned against me. I was spending more time picking out what to wear than actually making money.

One night my friend Carmella cornered me with a laser-sharp question.

“Bianca (that was my stage name), how much spandex, lace, and leather do you really need in your life?”

She suggested I sell everything (costumes, accessories, shoes) except my two favorite outfits.

I stared at her.

I’d spent years building the ultimate collection. And now Carmella wanted me to throw it all away?

But she told me that when she scaled back to two bikinis, her customers didn’t even notice. And it gave her way more time to make way more money.

Less fuss. More money. No downside. Okay. Sold.

The next day I identified my two favorite money-makers—a neon green bikini and a neon orange bikini. Then I hosted a trunk sale for the other dancers. In a few hours they’d devoured my entire personal inventory, leaving me with a plumped-up wallet and a very slimmed-down closet.

My laundry was cut by ninety-eight percent. I had more money, more time, more energy. And from that day forward, I never agonized over what to wear again.

The 2 Bikini Business Plan was born.

You’re probably doing the same thing I was doing—just with business instead of spandex.

Too many strategies that add up to a whole lot of effort and not enough results. So let’s declutter your business closet.

What are the top two ways you love to connect with your ideal clients?

TikTok? Instagram? YouTube? Emailing your list? Hosting webinars? Pick the ones that feel natural—the ones where you show up and it doesn’t feel like a performance.

(I know a woman who owns a luxury tennis apparel brand who built her entire business connecting with people at country clubs and tournaments. She’ll give out her phone number before she gives you her email address. The phone is her bikini. And she works it better than anyone.)

Find your two bikinis. Do more of that. Do it better than you’ve ever done it before.

And if you’re a maximalist who absolutely cannot survive on two bikinis—fine. Find your top two first. Perfect those. Then add more bikinis.

XXXO

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When I was a stripper in the 1990s, I wanted to make sure my entrance into the underworld of exotic dancing was meticulously calculated. So I did what any reasonable 21 year old woman considering a career in public nudity would do. I made a pros and cons list. And mused on it for an entire year.

Stripping Pros

– Overcoming my fear of public nudity would make me courageous

– Lots of cash to help me pay for college and pay my rent

– I’m proud of who I am—judgment about my choice will only make me a stronger woman

Stripping Cons

– Putting myself in potentially unsafe situations

– Possible family fallout

– People may make assumptions about me that could impact future opportunities

On paper, the pros were pretty well matched with the cons. But strange as it may sound, making that list showed me that I still wanted to do it.

Sure, I could have found another way to pay for college—millions of students manage to do it every year while keeping their clothes on. But at 21 years old, I knew that being afraid wouldn’t help me reach my goals. Working in a strip club would force me to believe in my own capabilities. My mission was clear. I was going to buck up and dress down.

And I’ve never regretted my decision. It’s been 24 years since I left the club, and that environment made me who I am today. Confident, decisive, committed. When I really want something, I go get it.

I’m telling you this because I want you to notice something about that list.

The cons were real. Every one of them. Creepy customers, potential family fallout, and yes—the very real possibility that people would write me off entirely. These were legitimate risks that deserved to be looked at honestly.

But here’s what the list actually did. It forced me to get every objection out of my head and onto paper. And once they were on paper, I could look at them clearly and decide, one by one, which ones I was willing to work through.

That’s the difference between a con and an excuse. A con is a real obstacle with a real solution. An excuse is a con you’ve decided not to solve.

Here’s a quick way to know if your energy is split. Think about your business. If it doesn’t feel like it can happen 100%, you’ve got split energy.

Maybe you have one foot in your business and one foot out—secretly keeping the job search warm. Maybe you want the spotlight for your brilliant ideas but the thought of your mother’s reaction makes you want to hide under the covers. Maybe you’re running on shame—the low hum of “I should be further along by now”.

None of this is weakness. All of it is human. But all of it is costing you.

So write it down. Whatever you want in your business—put it at the top of the page. List every pro and every con. Then go through each con and ask yourself this question, “Am I willing to work through this to get what I want?”

You don’t have to have the solution right now. You only have to answer honestly, “Am I willing?”

Because if you’re not willing, your want is actually a wish. And there’s nothing wrong with wishes. I wish I owned a Bugatti. It’s fun to think about. But the reality is—owning one is not something I actually want. A wish is something you’d enjoy having. A want is something you’re willing to work for.

So which one is it?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Because I promise you this. If you aren’t getting what you want in your business right now, it’s because your energy is split somewhere. And the pros and cons list is how you find it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

XXXO

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I was listening to a podcast this week and they mentioned Derek Sivers’ famous line, “if it’s not a hell yes, it’s a hell no”.

I love it, but I don’t think it goes far enough…

A hell yes or a hell no lives on the surface. It’s an instant reaction––before you’ve actually thought about what really matters. And while instinct is important, a hell yes or a hell no could be a life changing decision. Those deserve more than a gut reaction.

Save the hell yeses and hell noes for what you want for dinner.

Because most of us don’t actually know what we want at a cellular level. We know what sounds good. But go deeper (past the noise of everyday life) and it gets murky.

Your subconscious is running a completely different program than the one you’re aware of. And until you take the time to tap into it, you’re making decisions from the top floor of a building with no idea what’s happening in the basement.

So the next time you’re faced with a hell yes or hell no decision… think about this story first.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

When I was a stripper in the 1990s, I felt like a broken record—and the only word on repeat was NO.

NO, you can’t touch me.

NO, you can’t kiss me.

NO, I’m not pretending to be your girlfriend so you can make your ex jealous.

At the club, NO was effortless. I was clear on why I was there:

– Pay my college tuition
– Pay my rent
– Keep myself stocked in Fendi perfume from Nordstrom

But outside the club? Different story.

Not because I couldn’t say no. I could. But there were entire areas of my life where I’d never stopped to even ask myself what I wanted. And when you don’t know what you want, you don’t have standards. So you take whatever shows up.

In the areas where I was clear—school, work, my alone time—I excelled. I turned everything in on time, got good grades, never paid a bill late. And I protected my alone time fiercely.

I needed those evenings to watch Baywatch and make toothpick balls—styrofoam spheres stabbed with hundreds of toothpicks, spray painted silver, coated in glitter, and hung from the ceiling. Gorgeous ceiling decor. And an excellent booby trap.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

But when it came to men? I made the worst decisions and put up with an endless amount of nonsense.

I spent three years in an open relationship, secretly hoping I’d eventually become the only person he wanted—even though he’d been perfectly clear from the start that monogamy wasn’t on the table. On my 29th birthday, I found out he’d gotten someone else pregnant. I ended it. But it took three years of grueling anxiety to get clear on what I wanted.

It never occurred to me that I could have standards in my relationships that were just as clear as the ones I had at the club and at craft night. It wasn’t even in my realm of possibilities.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​And that’s what I want to talk to you about today. Because there is a version of your life—a world running parallel to this one—where you wouldn’t even consider putting up with certain things.

It’s not because you’re more disciplined. But because in that world, you are clear on what you want. And that clarity makes certain options visible. 

You wouldn’t entertain the client who haggles your rates because you already know exactly who you work with—and she’s not it.

You wouldn’t stay in a friendship that drains you because you’ve already decided what your friendships feel like.

That world isn’t fantasy. You can start building it today—if you’re willing to get clear on what you really want and do a little energetic teleporting. Which basically means making different decisions and not changing your mind.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

But you must get specific. Down to the tiniest micro detail.

Ask yourself, “What do I actually want?”

Go beyond what seems realistic given where you are right now.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

In your business:

– What kind of clients do you want to work with?
– What does your ideal day look like?
– What do you want your work to feel like?

In your life, what kind of relationships do you want—romantic, platonic, professional?

When you have that level of clarity, magic happens. You become a different person—extremely decisive. Someone who knows what she wants and goes and gets it. When you know what you want, you can have it.

And that is exciting!

XXXO