on Jun 15th, 2008Considerations When Opening Your Tanning Salon
Tanning salon businesses can fail due to unhappy customers or not enough income to cover expenses. They can also be very profitable businesses though if you go about it in the right way. Focus on the long term aspects of your business instead of just making a huge amount of money over the summer.
Overhead expenses can definitely eat away at a tanning salon profits. The cost of the equipment is very steep. You will need to crunch numbers to determine how much you can invest in them. The newer tanning beds come with great features and warranties but they also come with a hefty price tag. Even if you finance the equipment you will have to pay for it each month from your profits.
Used tanning equipment can be a problem as you don’t know how long it is going to last. While the purchase price will be less it can end up costing you more money in the long run. If it isn’t working then you are going to have too many people scheduled for appointments at the same time.
There is also the cost of employees to help you run the organization and electricity. The number of employees you have should be in relation to the number of customers you have. Seasonal help is very common at tanning salons. You can often hire high school and college students for minimum wage to help you during the spring and summer months.
With tanning beds operating all day long you will definitely have a very expensive electricity bill. Make sure the facility has enough power to supply it. You don’t want customers being delayed due to breakers going out due to the power circuits being overloaded. This can be an expensive area to take care of before you start your tanning business.
A quality tanning salon business is all about quality customer service and organization. You have to realize that people turn to indoor tanning to fit into their busy schedule. If they have an appointment at 11:30 during their lunch break, don’t keep them waiting until 12:00 to get in. You need to have a strict policy that those late for their appointments will need to reschedule.
Scheduling times for tanning salons requires some great software. You need to document the tanning machine a person is scheduled for and how long. Some people will stay in a tanning bed for 5 minutes and others will stay for 15 minutes. You should give them at least 3 minutes before and after the session as well. There should be another 3 minutes for cleaning before anyone else gets access to it.
A tanning salon comes with many different issues to take care of. Keep an eye on such concerns so it won’t cost you money or customers. Remember that you will have more people in the spring and summer than all year long. Save your money to cover expenses over the slower period of time as well.
About the author: Betty P Davis writes about the business of personal pampering. She investigates changes and trends and documents what works (and what doesn’t) when opening a day spa or getting involved in the tanning salon business.
