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Originally Posted by international
So I have been thinking about expanding my sunless tanning business bc its really gone well in my town, and not a lot of people offer the service near me in my county. I have been brainstorming to get it going mobile. I want to know any suggestions you would have. I am trying to spread the worth via my exsisting customers, but need help getting a name picked out and stuff...anyone do mobile spraying now and have luck with it?
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The mobile sunless business is something that we are currently exploring ourselves. As salon owners since 2003 with one MagicTan booth, we have had great success with sunless. Our booth does very well and hard to replace when paid for and making money, however, we are looking at investing in a VersaSpa and going mobile. Due to extraordinary advertising costs, especially our first year ... we purchased a temporary airbrush tattoo system from TAT Intl and began attending local events throughout the summer to make money and advertise ourselves. We attended 13 events our first summer, paid for the system, made money and saved big $$ on advertising. Vendor fees, in most cases, include electric, and, depending on location, water is supplied, sometimes free, sometimes minimal charge (based on vendor type). The idea of introducing the sunless technology to thousands of people in a season, who may never see it otherwise, is a very exciting prospect. Whether they try it or not, just being able to see it, touch it, etc. will no doubt, in my opinion, sell it. We are already there promoting our salon, wearing the sunless, and I know for a fact that people would try it because it's there, or be intrigued enough to check it out later. Maybe even just tan the face, which takes no time at all. We have signs, flyers, rack cards that display our services (with pictures of our sunless booth, uv beds etc., but seeing the booth, and the results afterwards, would be huge. Even if they don't tan, the anti-aging hydration spary makes the skin feel so good that people will leave talking about how good they feel, and best yet, they just experienced the booth and how it works ... no worries of a bad tan, for the doubters among us, and yet they will see how easy the booth is to use, and may just try the tan because it's such a pleasant experience.
Which brings me to ... a modified 5th-wheel travel trailer (I actually have my eye on a small motor home, but a little out of my price range with everything else included, but it would be much nicer than pulling a trailer), i.e., spa on wheels, with all the amenities, private room for tanning and dress, power supplied by generator, cold water for rinse down stored on board. No ventilation or compressor needed (in our case, generator and water only when not supplied at location).
In theory, and with the 10K plus in revenue we make in a season on tattoos, at an average of $7 a TAT, that's a lot of people that we have in our chair and time to talk about all our services. We will no doubt look into attending more events next year, most likely every weekend through the summer, only to increase our efforts of recouping our investment sooner. Off season, we have room in our salon to set up and use. Once placed in the salon I'm afraid our clients would not want to give it up for the summer months. ... still have to think about that one.
These are my thoughts and ideas. We have been successful since day 1 ... much of that success can be attributed to "thinking outside the box" and never giving up! Coming from 23 years in the customer service field prior to going into business myself, I truly believe that customer service, quality products and a true passion for the business you're in is what will allow us to retire where the palm trees are real and the sound of the ocean is not on a CD.
Best of luck with your endeavor. And to be honest, it was a little scary putting myself out here like this and an idea that is truly ... just an idea, however, feedback about mobile booths and how individuals are working that type of business is welcome. I should also mention that I would not consider personal airbrushing. Experience and client feedback, from those who have been airbrushed and those who have not, prefer the automated booth hands down. Client feedback also indicates that they would never have tried sunless tanning if it were not for the private booth. Each to their own!
Have a nice day!