@longtail are urbanyst or NN? Now you’re writing like Urbanyst.
Yes you are correct with relation to SMV currency. However, SMV is not looks alone. SMV is all STATUS, with looks being one form of status.
Take an ugly guy and position him in charge of a club, and he now has club 10s vying for him. Take him out of the club and he loses his SMV currency.
My point above was not that confidence (which is also an indirect form of status) beats SMV.
I know and have known several club and bar owners. Most are not ugly. They're normal to a bit above average looking. They definitely did not have 10's vying for them, and still don't.
One of them married an 8: hot blonde girl with big fake tits, gal is early 30's. He dated her long term, a couple of years.
A second hangs out at his own bar quite a bit, chats up the prettier cougars. Gives them free drinks. He doesn't have much success.
A third was busted for giving away drugs to girls after hours. The bar was shut down.
A fourth is a grossly obese guy, a genuinely ugly guy. He's married to a fat, plain looking woman. His bar is very successful. He has no success with women.
A fifth is a lady owner. Middle aged, heavy set, typical appearance for her age. She runs a successful small bar. She used to buy me drinks every time I showed, but stopped when I never fvcked her.
Bar owners in general do try to leverage the free alcohol angle, but with very limited success. Also, these bar owners don't make that much money. A schoolteacher makes more money than the average bar owner. Also, a lot of clubs struggle and turnover ownership every few years.
There are so many urban legends about certain niches getting laid "all the time." Every time I look closer, it turns out there is gross exaggeration.
I've met a lot of actors especially tv actors who work steadily, and some who are easily recognizable. They have very limited success dating. They don't have women throwing themselves at them.
Same is true for D1 college athletes. A few of them have above average success, maybe a quarterback for a top 10 ranked team. The vast majority of the guys are just anonymous, dumb fat jocks.