Itsybee

For those who are already open, I am wondering (on average) how many new customers, from the very first day you opened your salon's door to customers, did you gain per day? Per month? And what was your average growth percentage each month for the first year? Of course, this will depend on many variables, but any info will help. Oh yeah, how long have you been in business, and what is your customer base now?Thanks in advance.........Stay tanned!

Neon Beach

Oh boy! I can remember when I first opend, I thought I'd be stealing clients like crazy from the other salons. Didn't happen. I developed my own clientele based on what my salon had to offer. So don't base your client potential on what you can steal, but on what you can gain on your own merits!

unity

Ya, this varies WIDELY. If a salon close to you folds, you base should go up a lot for a while. Someone is running a "new customer" special, or any special and the number of new sign-ups may drop. Also if you are located in a big city with frequent travelers you may have a high number of new sign-ups but few long-term tanner by comparison. Happens a lot in college towns. Students move in, salons get a rush of new tanners needing a place to tan. As you can see there are a lot of factors. We have a list well over 5000, they are not ALL active, I wish! Business about 4 years. Thats about 3.5 new sign-ups a day, which sounds about right.

Itsybee

I don't plan on stealing everyones clients necessarily, but the area that we plan on opening in is a mid to upper scale income type of neighborhood, and in the past year alone, has had the most retail and residential growth over any other area of the city. The closest salon is about 15- 20 minutes away, and we are about 10 minutes away from our University. I have worked in the Tanning Industry before, for several years in fact, and my business partner has been working in a salon for the past 10 years (the same salon that we met at). So I do know quite a bit about the Industry, however, have never until this point, done up a Business Plan, and so, hence my question about the percentage of growth over the first year. I'm not looking for concrete numbers, of course, but rather a "guesstimate". The units that we will be purchasing are: 3 Sonnenbraune 100W, 3 facial beds, 3 Sonnenbraune Pryzma 160W, 4 facial beds, and 2 Suncapsule 220W Stand ups. ( I know, don't bash the stand ups quite yet, in our area, stand up tanning is extremely popular). With this combination of units we will surpass any of our competitors as far as equipment goes, in the entire city. There is only one other salon with a Suncapsule and it is only a 200W, so I think we will do okay, but any start up info will help tremendously. You can never have enough knowledge!

tropicalescape

We opened mid November 2003 and to date we are just approaching 900 clients. I know we are definitely hurting our competition.

nativetan

I opened February 20, 2004. I'm at 230 clients. It varies tho some days I have 10-15 new ones then I'll have days where its all just regulars no new people. But all of that means nothing if they arent coming back after their packages expire. My clients that have bought packages are renewing and thats more important than the number of them I have on my files.

tropicalescape

Totally agree with you. Most of our new clients start out with the smallest package or do a WI to check our equipment out. Most end up renewing to a larger package.

Steve Underhill

As I see it there are several potential problems here. First I always recommend you never hire people that have worked in a salon in the past. They will always bring deep imbedded ideas on how a salon should be operated. A program that will be most effective will take a great deal of effort. Most salons have little structure in how business is performed and requires little effort by the employees, now that person is placed in an environment that requires effort. This employee will revert back to the effortless way they where taught. It is always best if all that your employee knows about tanning you teach them. In the case where as owners you have worked in other salons, you must let go of what you think you know about tanning. It is obvious that your ideas are misplaced by the equipment mix you mentioned. Never consider how many customers you will steel. Create a salon that raises the standard of what tanners will expect in a tanning salon. This does not suggest that you have base beds with facials or have to many systems of the wrong level or that you provide to much of a type of equipment that at best is preferred by 12% to 15% of the tanners. You must also remember that the sale is made in the lobby not in the tanning room. Now you advertise a special or lost leader that will draw every tanner in the area even if they already tan elsewhere. What they see hear and experience while there will determine if they stay. Based on the few details that you have provided I feel that your salon will not be structured to maximize income potential and in fact leaving the door open for another new salon or one of the existing salons to make appropriate changes to control the desired level of tanning in your market. Never play on a level playing field always attempt to tilt it in your favor or at least never let it be tilted away from you.