tanTALK - Tanning Salon Business Owners Community - View Single Post

Brian Oshman · 11-13-2009, 10:50 PM

My post is to outline the startup of a top notch high end salon. Your mileage may vary of course but it is an accurate assessment.

As for the advertising of "Turbo", "Mega", "Ultra", "Super Ultra Mega Turbo",....STOP!!!!!

This is the dumbest concept you can do. What you do is generalize your beds with all of the other uninformed competition and you will just have customers comparing pricing by names that you give the beds that all of the bottom feeder salons use.

Call the beds what they are and explain the type of tan and the amount of sessions needed to get there. The customer doesn't care nor understand anything about wattage, UVA, UVB, etc...what they will understand is that if it takes 20 sessions on your base bed to get tan and 10 sessions on your VHR bed to get tan and 5 sessions on your High Pressure bed (you know, the bed that has all facials

) and VHR tube beds ARE NOT HIGH PRESSURE, OR MEDIUM PRESSURE!!!!

Now, you sell from the top down. You explain to them that you only need less sessions on the better beds so that will equate to less visits to the salon and they will actually spend less money since they will have less expenses as far as fuel and travel and they will waste less time to get great results.

They will be saving time and money but a 25 to 30 bucks a pop you will be making more money overall when you keep the good stuff filled with bodies and you can do it with less beds since they don't need to be used 20 times a month so they are open for more people overall to utilize your establishment and it is more people to have an opportunity to sell to which is how you make more.

They will use less lotion and products but you will be selling to more people so you will be moving more product and you will not work as hard to make more money.

Also, the better beds do not have the harsh portion of the UVB spectrum, they will have more UVB but they will also have more UVA too. High pressure beds will not dry your skin like the base beds with high B fry baby lamps in them so your skin does not exfoliate as fast and the tan lasts longer and look better.

Also, forget the term, "Percent UVB". This term means nothing as far as true tanning power and if you don't use meters then you have even less clue as to what a percent of anything really is. See, the real way to measure output is in mW/cm².

Now, let's say that I have a lamp that puts out 25 mW/cm² A+B (total UV) and has an output of 1 mW/cm² B (UVB only) then the percent UVB is 1/25 = .04 x 100 = 4% UVB.

Now we have another lamp that has an output of 50 mW/cm² A+B (total UV) and has an output of 1 mW/cm² B (UVB only) then the percent B is 1/50 = .02 x 100 = 2% UVB.

Which lamp is stronger? Is it the 2% or the 4%?

Well it is the 2% UVB because we have all of the facts and not just the marketing hype. The UVB output between both lamps is EXACTLY THE SAME!!! Which is 1 mW/cm² B. The second lamp however has twice the UVA which will tan much better. You will get much more browning power out of lamp 2 even though it calculates out to less "percent" UVB.

Are you starting to see why this percent value is bull$h!t and misleading?

A reflector lamp will intensify the UVA which is what you want for a "real tan", not a reddening, fast fading one. Both lamps have the same exact UVB level and enough to get the melanin activated in your skin but the second one has the power to turn that melanin brown and get what is it we are selling? That's right, a real, long lasting tan.

So, the next time you hear that a lamp is Blah, Blah, Blah "percent UVB", then ask the question, "percent of what?"

As for what to do with your place, clean it up, re-lamp the whole place with some kick a$$ Supra® lamps. Add some new machines and raise prices. Do it right off the bat. Don't wait and just float along with the same old formula that is there now, that is the reason it is for sale, because it is slowly losing money. You need to invest in it or it will just die.

Put in a couple of real nice high end beds and a high pressure bed. As I said before, you need to sell from the top down. Yeah, the customers that use it will come in less individually but collectively you will be taking in much more revenue and you want the high end beds full and running. This is the level where you make your money.

DO not fall into the trap and believe that you cannot make money on high end beds or that your area will not support it because that is crap. High end beds work everywhere. It is the difference of whether or not you are a sales person or just a mere clerk chimp pushing the buttons up front.

Always tell the customer what they need, never let the customer decide on session time length and things like that. You are the boss.

Getting back to the high end beds, put some in and start making money. Raise the prices and give them new options. Some will leave but that is OK. The ones you keep will be more satisfied and a better salon will bring in better clients that spend more money. DO not bother upgrading the base beds first. They are not your money makers. Full base beds does not mean you are busy making money, it means that you are busy working harder to make half of what you can make in a quarter of the time with better equipment.

OK, now get to it. Class will resume at a later date.

11-13-2009, 10:50 PM	#9 (permalink)
Brian Oshman Guest Join Date: Apr 29 2001 Location: Stewartsville, NJ Age: 55 Posts: 3,121 Rep Power: 0	Re: Do you want to open a salon? My post is to outline the startup of a top notch high end salon. Your mileage may vary of course but it is an accurate assessment. As for the advertising of "Turbo", "Mega", "Ultra", "Super Ultra Mega Turbo",....STOP!!!!! This is the dumbest concept you can do. What you do is generalize your beds with all of the other uninformed competition and you will just have customers comparing pricing by names that you give the beds that all of the bottom feeder salons use. Call the beds what they are and explain the type of tan and the amount of sessions needed to get there. The customer doesn't care nor understand anything about wattage, UVA, UVB, etc...what they will understand is that if it takes 20 sessions on your base bed to get tan and 10 sessions on your VHR bed to get tan and 5 sessions on your High Pressure bed (you know, the bed that has all facials ) and VHR tube beds ARE NOT HIGH PRESSURE, OR MEDIUM PRESSURE!!!! Now, you sell from the top down. You explain to them that you only need less sessions on the better beds so that will equate to less visits to the salon and they will actually spend less money since they will have less expenses as far as fuel and travel and they will waste less time to get great results. They will be saving time and money but a 25 to 30 bucks a pop you will be making more money overall when you keep the good stuff filled with bodies and you can do it with less beds since they don't need to be used 20 times a month so they are open for more people overall to utilize your establishment and it is more people to have an opportunity to sell to which is how you make more. They will use less lotion and products but you will be selling to more people so you will be moving more product and you will not work as hard to make more money. Also, the better beds do not have the harsh portion of the UVB spectrum, they will have more UVB but they will also have more UVA too. High pressure beds will not dry your skin like the base beds with high B fry baby lamps in them so your skin does not exfoliate as fast and the tan lasts longer and look better. Also, forget the term, "Percent UVB". This term means nothing as far as true tanning power and if you don't use meters then you have even less clue as to what a percent of anything really is. See, the real way to measure output is in mW/cm². Now, let's say that I have a lamp that puts out 25 mW/cm² A+B (total UV) and has an output of 1 mW/cm² B (UVB only) then the percent UVB is 1/25 = .04 x 100 = 4% UVB. Now we have another lamp that has an output of 50 mW/cm² A+B (total UV) and has an output of 1 mW/cm² B (UVB only) then the percent B is 1/50 = .02 x 100 = 2% UVB. Which lamp is stronger? Is it the 2% or the 4%? Well it is the 2% UVB because we have all of the facts and not just the marketing hype. The UVB output between both lamps is EXACTLY THE SAME!!! Which is 1 mW/cm² B. The second lamp however has twice the UVA which will tan much better. You will get much more browning power out of lamp 2 even though it calculates out to less "percent" UVB. Are you starting to see why this percent value is bull$h!t and misleading? A reflector lamp will intensify the UVA which is what you want for a "real tan", not a reddening, fast fading one. Both lamps have the same exact UVB level and enough to get the melanin activated in your skin but the second one has the power to turn that melanin brown and get what is it we are selling? That's right, a real, long lasting tan. So, the next time you hear that a lamp is Blah, Blah, Blah "percent UVB", then ask the question, "percent of what?" As for what to do with your place, clean it up, re-lamp the whole place with some kick a$$ Supra® lamps. Add some new machines and raise prices. Do it right off the bat. Don't wait and just float along with the same old formula that is there now, that is the reason it is for sale, because it is slowly losing money. You need to invest in it or it will just die. Put in a couple of real nice high end beds and a high pressure bed. As I said before, you need to sell from the top down. Yeah, the customers that use it will come in less individually but collectively you will be taking in much more revenue and you want the high end beds full and running. This is the level where you make your money. DO not fall into the trap and believe that you cannot make money on high end beds or that your area will not support it because that is crap. High end beds work everywhere. It is the difference of whether or not you are a sales person or just a mere clerk chimp pushing the buttons up front. Always tell the customer what they need, never let the customer decide on session time length and things like that. You are the boss. Getting back to the high end beds, put some in and start making money. Raise the prices and give them new options. Some will leave but that is OK. The ones you keep will be more satisfied and a better salon will bring in better clients that spend more money. DO not bother upgrading the base beds first. They are not your money makers. Full base beds does not mean you are busy making money, it means that you are busy working harder to make half of what you can make in a quarter of the time with better equipment. OK, now get to it. Class will resume at a later date. Last edited by Brian Oshman; 11-13-2009 at 11:00 PM.