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Image says "Virtual PoleCon" "Thank you for attending" October 26, 2024. Supporting the pole business industry.

Virtual PoleCon 2024 Recap

We held the fifth annual Virtual PoleCon just this past Saturday October 26, 2024, to a small but enthusiastic, virtual crowd from all over the world including New Zealand and Europe as well as over the US!

This event was born during the pandemic and last year we changed our panel structure to focus on providing actionable information more clearly and directly for pole business owners.

We continued that same structure for 2024 with the Pole Business Panel, Pole Safety Practices and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) in Pole panel.

While all the panels discussed many different and challenging issues within our industry, some highlights include:

  • Self-care for business owners was a huge take asway from our pole business panel! This topic is so critical, and our panelists shared a variety of ways they found time for themselves including having hobbies they didn’t monetize, keeping their day jobs (rather than striving for full time work in the pole industry), and having a pet help you step away from working too much.
  • Mental health came up also in the pole safety panel. Our panelists discussed how being well-resourced across a broad spectrum of categories including (but not limited to) nutrition, mental health, and community support was essential for those providing physical pole services (such as instructors, performers, swers).
  • In the DE&I panel, our moderator challenged panelists and attendees to think about how to promote and accomplish proactive inclusivity, not just reactive inclusivity. The stress in this panel was that “being diverse” isn’t a “trend”—it’s a culture shift that starts from being committed to learning, putting yourself in new circles of people and thoughts.

As we continue to evolve as humans on this planet, the needs of our industry and the people that work within it will continue to change.

It is important to note that our industry isn’t really an industry yet. Most of only experience our own home studio or club and presume what happens there, happens “everywhere.”

We only have the perspectives of the teachers we’ve meet and maybe some people we follow on social media. There is not (currently) a regulatory body or single governing organization for all of pole. There are lots of pockets of information—good and less good. This can be scary as there are “no rules” on how best to do something in pole and in the business of pole. This can also be exhilarating as you—yes, YOU—can help create an industry that is successful, inclusive, and sustainable. The IPIA is one way to do that.

The IPIA will continue to provide resources to primarily support the educational needs of those working in the pole industry. We will additionally continue to provide resources to consumers so that they may understand and appreciate the unique challenge and intersections present in pole.

It is also important to the IPIA and to our industry that all panelists and moderators were paid for their time at Virtual PoleCon. While we appreciate those that donate their honorariums back to the IPIA, it is important to continue recognizing that our industry cannot survive on volunteerism alone.

We are all working towards a more supportive, inclusive, and sustainable pole industry in our own ways for our smaller and broader communities.

Interested in listening to the panels? Recordings are available. Email us for details.

*also posted on poleassociation.org

Colleen
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