SteveO

Financial aid for the college students came in last week. Business is starting to increase for us.

parrot head

Up 400% over August, plus my Super sales person employee wants to buy the business. I won't get too excited until I find out if she can come up with down payment. She can do better in this business then I.

toasted1

@parrot head Will she get your Tantalk ID if she buys your business?

parrot head

You betcha, and she can talk tanning all day long.

kooltanz

You are going to quit just like that? Don't you save your profit from the busy season to pay bills in the slow season?

parrot head

The old sayings "make hay when the sun shines" and "save for a rainy day", is pertinent, especially in this business. Salon owners with any savy, know this. If this wasn't the case, many salons, including mine, would be closed after this summer.

octanning

Well, it's not been great here. I am in the middle of my first jason season and I must say I am not amused. Feels like staring that hockey mask in the face every day. I went into the business well capitalized, but i cannot keep burning through it at this rate. So we cut staff wayyyyy back, we are scheduling airbrushes and spending lots on advertising on facebook and perhaps on yelp. Did some groupon type deals and one was good, other one not so much.

Please tell me this is going to end soon. I know November is supposed to be the worst so I am not expecting anything great. Visited another salon last week and they were slower than i am - but that's cold comfort.

I think the weather here is not helping at all. Southwest is unusually hot this year.

Lobo 77

If you're doing it right (high level equipment, max customer service, super clean, strong location, good demographics) you'll be fine ... eventually. But given the state of the industry, there is little margin of error and anything less than perfect execution will lead to disaster. This has been a unique year, almost the perfect storm. Hottest and driest year since the dust bowl of the 1930's (who wants to tan indoors when its 90 and sunny in April), gas prices back up again, economic uncertainty, political b.s., tan tax (a built in 10% price increase) all combining to really weigh on the minds and spending attitudes of the middle class - our biggest customer base. Our customers just don't feel confident in their futures so they are cutting back on anything non-essential. If Obama is thrown out in 30 days, we will see a huge dark cloud lifted off people's minds and spirits. If not, we'll find ourselves wishing the tan tax was our only problem.

sunspa1984

Lobo...let's make it so. As much as Romney does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling...I would take him , **** I would take Bush 43, over this guy in office!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm_CjFjarGU

davidjsmithct

Lets see if he turns things around tonight or not. If not, expect 4 more years of the same.