Rich

Wow, I just spent some time reading the fallout from the discussion on having a tanners section versus having tanners posting on the general board. Obviously tensions and feelings are running hot. I really hope a few things happen now that the moves have been made.
1. I hope the quality of posts and level of help for salon owners goes up.
2. I hope that the tanners find what they are looking for on this board.
3. I hope that this board can be a strong vehicle for owners and managers to help each other and inform others of what has worked and not worked for them.
4. I would really like to see work put into things that would benefit newbies and struggling salon owners. This could be done in a few ways. A frank discussion of what a successful thriving salon is in todays world. It is much different than last year and the year before and light years away from when I started.
5. I would like to see a collective move worked on to help the industry and issues that benefit salon owners. Be this support of the ITA or some other group.
6. A collection of industry resources on lotions, bulbs, beds, timers, software etc done in a fashion along the lines of consumer reports. There are at last count over 37,000 different lotions (I think) and there is no standard at all to compare them outside of trying them all. This is impossible.

In short, or long, I would love to see more order and guidance brought into the industry for all to benefit from and make the market place stronger and more stable. We all benefit from this. On line may be the only way to do this since the magazines tend to bow and scrape too much to the ad dollars. This is to be expected I guess but makes every story about every bed and vendor nothing but fluff. Then again, I could be wrong about all of this.

Teresa

Well put Rich. Let's hope we can get on with each section headed in its repective direction, to prove beneficial to all. I am like you...not that I don't care about tanners opinions, I do, but I hear them by the hundreds all day long. Not many industry professionals stop by daily to give me their tips and ideas.
I think we made a big step in the right direction, new we just need to keep it going!!!!

pam

Totally Agree! This is a good thing!
Pam

Tamar

Well said, Rich. Too bad this isn't slow season, it probably would not have gotten so out of hand. But there are no problems, only solutions, right?

Rich

No, sometimes there are problems. I don't think this change will make or break the board by itself. I really want to see a board or all the boards go the level of greatness that they should be. I don't know all of what that entails but simply to act as a social function is not the definition of greatness. We can all be much much more than we are we just to have to work towards it.

Tamar

I agree more than you know. Writing with my tongue in my cheek is my specialty.

It is tough for many to abstain from voting when you have a strong lobbyist (who has now left the platform).

Tan Talker

Go Rich, lets all do our part.

Rich

Here is the sad and all too true part. Not one single thing will get done. Bet on it.

solid

I think things will change for the better. Time will tell.

Rich

I say that based on how many false starts with a NAC. Most of the time it seems like the boards are spent biggering among themselves, talking about peeing in the trash can, those types of things. There is such a larger picture to focus on it is amazing. I talked with a guy tonight who has experienced great growth over the last few years because he has kept sight of the goal he set for himself and worked it the right way. I see posts from salon owners all across the country who need and want help to make their salons better and just do not get the way to do it. By all means I am not saying I have the answer to any of it but I try real hard to make my salon grow every year. I have invested heavy $, by my standards, to help it do that and I learned how to do it by gleaning as much good information off of all of the boards as I could. So far it has worked but I am still 2 or 3 years away from realizing the full extent of the effort. Many salon owners have come and gone on the boards over the last 5 years and some have just not gotten the messages. I still see lots of veteran salon owners complaining on the different boards about how their salon with its 6 base beds and 1 step up just isn't growing.
The information is here on how to make a salon grow and prosper, you just have to sift through the extra stuff to get it. It would be wonderful if the help could be lined out more compactly so others could benefit from the wealth of information that exists on all of the boards.