mckr33

I am seriously thinking of opening a new salon, which would be my first. I want to open one in the comunity I live in. It is a community of about 8k people, there is little competition in the area, I have turned to ETS for some guidance. After doing a demographic study of my area, they tell me my salon could potentially do 236K in gross sales a year. I am SERIOUSLY doubting it. Does anybody have any good advice? PLEASE HELP! Thanks......

Sheila in Minnesota

8k client base?

very little competition in the area????

unless you live on the dark side of the moon ~ I find it hard to believe that ETS gave you those #'s.

What's the demo's in the 3&5 mile radius? What's the Competition in the same....

A real small town can't really support a BIG salon - - 15 units + sunless is as small as anyone should really go if they plan to be able to 'hold off' any new competition - - - and the right 'mix' of beds is imperative.....

There are other bed mfgs out there that you should also be checking .... no need to even consider having all 'one source' on your equipment ~ ~ but even more important...

You need a helluvalot more 'advice' from people other than those wishing to SELL TO YOU .....

Don't be jumping into this industry too fast ~ ~ sometimes it's the other corpses that help you stay afloat for a while.

mckr33

THANKS SHEILA This is what the demo says: Avearge household income in my area is 120K per year. 0.00-3.00 14,454 population, 12 existing beds within, 50% female, 40% which is age 15-44 0.00-5.00 37,582 population, 37 existing beds, 50% female, 39% which is age 15-44 0.00-7.00 96,884 population 51% female, 41% which is age 15-44. Yes ETS did this for me. They claim average expenditure for tanning 0-3 miles is 236K, 0-5 miles is 712K, and 0-7 miles is 1.8 million. Annual anticipated gross revenue they have as 19,200 per bed. I dont see myself with a BIG salon. I am looking at a space that is 1285 sqft. I am guessing 8 units? Who else can I seek advice from besides ETS????? Thanks... Matt

Sheila in Minnesota

Tan America..... Sontegra..... are two that I think do a great offering for all levels of equipment..... but there are a ton of others.

There are so many things you need to consider.....

One would be to have atleast (minimum) 3-4 different levels of equipment

3 base beds (24-32 lamp units with no frills - no facial units)

2 mid level - - VHR VHR combo---- make this 3 if you are doing zero High Pressure units which I would consider your 3rd level.....

Can your area command the price / need for a total HighPressure unit??? A sales person will tell you yes .... but they are big bucks (re-lamping the f*ckers is like a mortgage payment) and you area may not 'part with the 45-55$ single session sales people will tell you you can get.....

Sunless.... personally not a fan ~ but it does keep you competitive and offering something for your psycho tanners that want to be Coretta Scott King or the few anti-uv tanners..... Again ~ your area and your competition is the key to figuring this out.

8 beds?

VERY HARD TO BREAK EVEN with 8 beds..... unless of course you own the building or pay $2 bucks a square foot.

It's an expensive 'hobby' .... and a heartbreaking way to be your own boss ~

There's a ton of threads on all the sites dealing with Start Up.... all the way thru closing your doors....

There are some good Consultants in the industry ..... and to be honest ~ it would be well worth the FEE to have an industry consultant help you with this ~ especially if you are really brand new to Seasonal Business....

Hope this helps :)

mckr33

Yes it helps thank you. I am thinking it might not be all I am thinking it is cracked up to be. I would be paying 2500 a month in rent. Hardly 2 bucks...lol... oh well we will see. I will check those other companies out. Thanks again... looking at your profile I am sure you know what you are talking about.

bronzeman11

Research, researc, research!!!! Tan America is good. All levels family owned, i personally like Sun Ergoline & Patryk at Sun Italia has been fantastic for our buisness for over 7 years. PM if you have any more questions. Good luck.

mikejones

That's criminal what they told you.

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Neon Beach

$236,000 a year? Any retail space available there?

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certan

236k is possibble with a small 8-10 bed salon as long as you have some high end equipment (VHR, HIGH PRESSURE) and your client base can support that type of equipment. When we first opened we had a total of 9 beds 4 - 32 lamp base beds a 42 lamp VHR bed, 48 lamp stand-up VHR and 3 High Pressure Beds and we did well over 236k. It all depends on your demographic, competition, marketing and if your willing to spend the money to get quality equipment. $2500 a month for 1200 sqf also seems pretty high for rent I would try to do some more bargaining, maybe pin 2 shopping centers against each other to get the best rate. I doesn't hurt to ask, all they can do is say no (Never take the first offer, they will always go lower or atleast throw some more finish out money in or maybe free rent for the first couple of months)

Total Population in my area: 1,144,646 (60% of which is Hispanic)
Male: 553,524
Female: 591,401
Population 18-60 years old: 557,887
Male: 206,418
Female: 295,680

White Male: 82,567
White Female: 118,272

Possible male clients: 8,256
Possible female clients: 11,827

These are rough estimates for my area

I currently have just over 10,000 clients in my data base, obviously not all are current

There are also over 50 salons in my area

MATT A