parrot head

^^^^This is basically our plan here too. We will position ourselves in the next couple of years, to exit the business within 3 years. We own our building which is in a prime location, so will either sell it or lease it out. We are planning on selling our equipment, and closing the doors. Good luck to you Jeff. I remember some of your comments, during your good days, and I'm sure you had a great run.

dcjjp2

thanks Parrot, we did for a while, been here for 10 years, and in industry off and on since 18 (now 43).

It's bittersweet.

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Jeff

Turbo Girl

Here too. Sadly, the writing is on the wall.

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Bronze1

Ive been in the business for 10 years. I have a very good operation, one of the best in a very competitive town. As hard as this business is I'd still rather be us than most of my competitors.And I have some very good competitors. I did not come to this industry as a naive, uneducated or inexperienced professional . Most people looking at my operation would probably wish they were us. But I must honestly say, to a large extent, this industry isn't really isn't worth it. For the continued investment, the work, stress and sacrifice, it just does not reward the owner what it needs to. Frankly, I'm tired of so-called experts or veterans of the industry coming on and proclaiming that owners just need to "understand there market or positioning or structuring for profitablity." Most of these "experts" or "consultants" don't have any real answers past the basic approaches in the industry. If they truly were that knowledgeable they would be too busy running successful operations to have time to spend here to give advice. Which means I obviously am not as successful as I'd like or I wouldn't have time to post. but it would be nice if one or two or three truly successful (and honestly profitable) salon operators would be willing to post on here to help the rest of us who are honest, hard-working owners just trying to make a living in a challenged industry in challenging times.

peach

The experts cannot afford to tell you the truth; their living depends upon folks getting in and staying in this industry. If they told us the truth, many more would start running for the doors, which would collapse it. Which means they would be out of business. Quickly. But there is an orderly exit already going on.

And you are right in saying that there is no real good advise to give anymore. I have been running tanning salons for 21 years, and I don't have any great answers.

The only advise that I can offer is this; don't believe the hype that you hear in this industry. Don't believe that another 30k bed is going to save your business, run a tight ship, don't go into debt, keep your costs down, and do not spend 250k to open a new salon. Keep your overhead low, and don't try to be like the big boys in the tanning industry-be different. As long as there is indoor tanning, there will be a market for an economical alternative to the big box, gimmick ridden chains that are dominating the market now.

And finally, don't kid yourselves. Know when to get out. Do it while you are on the plus side of the ledger.

parrot head

Please don't read into my comments on this topic, as a sign that I haven't been successful in the tanning business. I am in my 27th year in this business, and have had a very good run. But, the better part of this run was the first 20 years and it has been going downhill ever since. When I invested more than $250,000, in my current location in January of 2005, I question if I might had had a better ROI putting this money someplace else. Never, would I spend half this much getting into tanning nowadays.

peach

I run a very low budget operation, but pretty nice one for the area and always profitable. I have never purchased new beds; I am always looking for deals. I have operated beds in the 15-20 year old range. I have no debt. But recently, I decided to upgrade my equipment from 20 year old to 5-10 year old equipment. You know what my net sales increase was after the expense and trouble? 0. So what did I spend all of that money for?

jms43

Anyone who can keep a salon open in todays economy & tanning world is successful!
I too run a very tight ship, have no debt and work as many hours as I can, it's the only way to stay ahead! It's hard rite now to figure out how much is the economy and how much is do to sunscare! I can tell a lot of our clients didn't vacation this winter so they didn't tan either, hopefully they will when it gets warmer & they put on shorts. I love
this buisness and can't imagine doing anything else, I've been doing this half of my life time, I truly will be lost the day I have to call it quits!

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peach

Another thread talks about passion in this business. I think that passion for the tanning business is all that a lot of people are running on right now. I haven't heard about how 2013 is going for everyone?

Steve Underhill

The real fact is that the consumer wants to tan no matter what. As an industry we generate jobs and and taxes. In the end the most that will happen is regulations. While there is negative aspects that the opposition are hanging their hat on, as time goes on there is more and more evidence of the benefits of tanning. In the end it will all come down to regulations. While it is going on we fight to adjust, however the salon operator that is not properly structured to maximize potential income or compete in todays market is certainly not prepared to withstand this attack. It is all about making adjustments and operating within the rules of the game. Most operators have not made adjustments to keep up with the growth and changes in the industry and how the consumer must be reached.

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Stephen Underhill
Consultant
steve@smuconsulting.com