Tanning salon business

[Vince.]

I have been thinking about this as an interesting business that one could start. I'd be very interested to hear from anyone who either owns or knows someone that owns a tanning salon or has any knowledge about starting a business like this. I'm interested in pretty much everything...startup and operating costs, profit potential, etc. I live in Michigan fwiw.

[john voight]

This sounds like a great idea.
I have no idea about businesses, so consider this just some brainstorming:

Location in relation to climate (North Dakota or Florida, big differance) will likely play a key role. I have no idea who would be more likely to get a tan, though.

Pale skinned demographic: I don't wanna sound racist, but if you live in a predominantly black community, I doubt you will get as much business as a paler skinned community.

Year round efficiency: You need to be making money regardless of the outside climate/season, to get the best bang for your buck.

Here are some top hits from google, that I skimmed/am yet to read:

http://www.powerhomebiz.com/guide/cases/Rhonda.htm
http://www.etstan.com/tanning-salon-help.html (supplies and such)
http://www.sunbedservice.com/start_new_salon.htm (supplies)
http://www.tanningsalonfranchise.inf...n-location.asp (basic info, including brief discussion of the climate factor)

[slush fund]

[ QUOTE ]


Location in relation to climate (North Dakota or Florida, big differance) will likely play a key role. I have no idea who would be more likely to get a tan, though.


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i live in miami and there are tanning places everywhere here. there are two tanning bed places on South Beach. they do better in the winter, but they have been there for years so it must make decent money

[AggroFish]

OP: go ahead admit it, you watched sunset tan didnt you? Anyway, Take a look at a site like bizbuysell.com and you'll see that tanning salons are a dime a dozen. I've known people that have owned single locations and after all is said and done these things dont make that much money.

[kahntrutahn]

I met some twins years ago who were both driving matching H2s b/c their tanning salon business was BOOMING. Rich bitches... damn why didn't I marry a sugar mamma... [censored]

[yellowbastard]

It seems like if you really want to be successful in this business you would have to find a way to significantly undercut your competitors on price. Tanning is a homogenous service. There will be no difference between your tans and the other guy's tans down the street. If the guy down the street is doing 20 tans for $20 you need to do 20 tans for $10 and possibly suffer operating losses for a while until you build up the necessary volume to become profitable. Most of the people I've talked to also agree that quality is very important as well (new bulbs, radios with headsets, leg braces, clean store, ect...).

Location seems like it would also be very important. You want a place that people can see, and a catchy title that will stick in their minds. I was doing some research on a Regency Center in my home town and found that it was over $1800 per month's rent for a 1000 SF suite.

[yukoncpa]

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Tanning is a homogenous service. There will be no difference between your tans and the other guy's tans down the street.

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How about the UV free, spray tanning booths, that spray a uniform mist all over your body. Are they unique in certain areas, or are they too, now ubiquitous? They seemed like a neat idea when I saw one in California, but I’ve never seen the results to know if the tan looks natural. The idea seems great because it’s safe from any harmful radiation to your skin.

A way to make your product somewhat less homogenous is to add services with pretty girls, such as manicures and hairstyling. Of course, these places are now on every block, so not sure if this idea helps.

[BradleyT]

I thought beds would be about $2000 or so. I googled Wolff tanning beds and they're like $7,000 - $10,000 for the commercial beds!

I've never been in a tanning salon, how many beds does a typical place have?

[yukoncpa]

[ QUOTE ]
I thought beds would be about $2000 or so. I googled Wolff tanning beds and they're like $7,000 - $10,000 for the commercial beds!

I've never been in a tanning salon, how many beds does a typical place have?



[/ QUOTE ] I've been in a few in various states. They vary, but 3,4 or 5 seems standard. Usually, they are in the back of a solon offering other services. I knew a friend who rented a cheap place and just had one bed. He did extremely well. He gave everyone in the dorm who was interested the key and told them to tan as long as they wished and leave the money in the cash drawer and clean and lock up on the way out. Seems like most if not all were honest. He Made a couple of thousand a month doing this during the school year.

[john voight]

How about starting a new trend where you have different colors for the tan, red, blue, green, etc.. It would separate yourself from the competition.