Slim0917

My wife and I are starting a salon in Houston. We have our location and lease done, we got our license from the state health dept., contractor is working on the building as we speak so we are trying to get our beds and the rest of our guts for the inside. We are working with ProSun out of Florida for our beds at the moment. What do most people do buy them all outright or lease some and buy some. Also, software, I've heard of Sunease and a few others any suggestions would be great. Also, insurance wise do alot of you go through similar companies or do you just use who you feel like. I only ask that because I did read the (The Bible of Indoor Tanning) and seen a few in there as well. Just getting started and want ed to hear from those who are moving along in this business.

TRTS

Welcome to the Industry and to Tan Talk. We purchased our equipment outright. We use SunTouch Plus Software. It was easy to setup and is easy to navigate in. As far as Insurance, we use Insuretec. We could not find a local company that would provide the insurance we needed. From what I have researched, Insuretec has provided us with a reasonable rate. What is your target date for opening your salon?

Neon Beach

Don't forget to get some formal training. From Smart Tan or other organization. Good luck.

engfant

If you want to be the TOP DOG in your town IN A HURRY, learn the SCIENCE behind tanning. You are gunna be dealing with the most CONFUSED, LIED TO group of people (all tanners lied to by Derms). If you know the TRUTH then you can't be messed with. If your understanding of tanning ammounts to "call the man to change the lamps" you gunna be in trouble.

THE FIRST THING I DID was MEMORIZE the manual for your tanning beds. Know what EVERY INGREDIENT DOES in the tanning lotions you sell. KNOW EXACTLY what your tanning lamps are putting out for UV. DO NOT BECOME a STAY AT HOME OWNER. You'll be out of business before you even know what happened.

You won't learn this in a week but it's something you should learn over time. Remember, ONLY DERMATOLOGISTS say the sun is bad. Scientists KNOW that the SUN gives life.

Do as the scientist does.

Runnn

Where in Houston are you guys going to be... have a name yet??

caribbeansun01

Hi Slim, are you sure you want to own a tanning salon? Just kidding. We would do it all over again if we could. But, we wish we had known about this web site sooner to get helpful info from all these wise professionals. =) Buy or lease your beds? I would say buy them outright. I spoke to someone at Tan America last month and he said if you're going to lease, read the fine print. Enough said, one little scratch on the bed and you"re paying up the butt. For software, we have SunEase. It"s a very easy program to learn and teach, but, if we were to do it over again, we would pick something else. There are some glitches with the program and customer service is not the best. Pick a program where the techs actually speak and understand English. Do a search on here, there are some good ones. Other than that, know your lotions, know your beds, know your bulbs, know your competition. I agree with Neon, get certified as well. That certificate looks a whole lot better compared to those who just stick you in a bed and let you fry. Good Luck!! You'll be open in time for season!

Slim0917

I'm reading, I'm learning and I'm doing. We have been at it for a couple weeks with bed manufacturers and we went with Tan America. Actually the other companies said if that they couldn't do the same beds and give us the prices Tan America did, worked well. We are also working with Sun Power Source on oour Spray bed, we did not want a Mystic due to our own personal experience and from talking with customers at the salon we use to frequent. And Neon, I'm in, I signed up with Smart Tan, thanks for the help, actually Sun Power SOurce recommended them as well. As for our software, does anyone agree that SunTouch is it good, bad, ok, just thought to ask, I seen TRTS response, thank you, anyone else care to say. Also, TRTS, we are also buying outright, thanks for the words. And finally, insurance, with 7 beds and 1 spray on, does anyone know close to what the rates will be, we do have to have $1M liability coverage. Other than that, things are actually going very smoothly. Thanks for the advice and I will keep reading... Also, Engfant, I will comply with the part about getting all the knowledge I can, my wife actually managed a salon for 3+ years so she has more basic knowledge than I, but we also have figured out, THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING TO LEARN.

Steve Underhill

I only hope that with as far along as you are that you have written your employee manual and tanning center guide. I also assume that you have decided on your marketing program and advertising strategies. With these things done the selection of equipment mix should be very easy. Equipment mix will make or break a salon especially in a market like Houston. Financing for equipment is available through a number of lease companies at a number of different rates. Of all companies what made you decide on ProSun if you don't mind me asking and what is your proposed equipment mix?

ramcat

I have found that Tan Track is one of the best. It is user friendly and it is base there in texas.

Slim0917

Steve thanks for the advice and yes we have our manuals, marketing and now our mix. Thanks for the concern anyway and as for ProSun, we did not use ProSun. See latest post we went with Tan America. And yes I know the leasing opportunities that are available, but we prefer to use our own cash, again, in the last post I put we bought outright. We like the benefits of that opposed to leasing, clear cut.