zen

Hi everyone! Glad I found this site. Here is the scoop... My brother and I are planning on opening a Tanning Salon together. He will be keeping his current job and I will be quitting my reatail sales job in order to be in the salon full time. I have discussed with him that we may need to put a reserve aside for me just in case we don't pull our numbers the first few months. I have a mortgage and wife at home and do not want to loose either! Any advise PLEASE???

Neon Beach

Everything is going to depend on where you are in the country. Sounds a bit scary, at least to me, that you are hoping to make a living from the salon, at least in the beginning. BE preapred for some tough times for awhile.

Good luck though.

sbtan

Don't ever go into business with family. There will be HUGE CONFLICTS--especially if you quit your job and the salon does not do well. Like you said you have a mortgage. Do you still collect a paycheck if the business is not profiting? These details should be worked out. Do you plan on running the entire salon by yourself? How many beds are you planning on? What hours will you be open? Will you work all hours? Think through all scenarios. What if you get hurt/sick who will run the salon?

SwedaGuy

We bought an existing salon last September, and I have yet to take home a paycheck...think about worst case scenario, and make sure you keep a roof over your head at all costs...

SwedaGuy

I happened to think that my last post didn't sound very positive, I didn't want to leave you with that impression. We don't regret our purchase one bit, it's just that things came up that we weren't expecting. Of course, we own another business, so we're not worried about our own finances. Additionally, with our previous experience, we didn't really expect to show a true, clear profit until after the 2006 season is over...

planatan

Sweda, when you checked the books prior to purchasing the salon, was it showing a profit? Just asking because I looked at several salons before buying, with a big part of my decision based on what the salon was earning.
Luckily I have had very good profits every month.

vdimon

Does anyone out there have a business projection outline I could use as a guideline to present to the bank? It is only 900 square feet and probably will start off with 5-6 beds, lotions, retail merchandise and a hand spray tan . Please Help!!!!
V-

SwedaGuy

Wow, planatan, that's a loaded question

There really weren't any books to check...the previous owner kept almost no records...

Actually, I didn't wake up that morning planning to buy a tanning salon, but by dinner time I was writing a check...what can I say, I'm an impulse shopper--and probably the poster boy for "How NOT to buy a business"...

Knowing virtually nothing about the indoor tanning industry, we had to learn a lot of stuff--fast...

But getting back to your question, our "other" business is retail systems, and it just so happens we had sold a cash register to the previous owner 5 months before she sold the salon to us. When we took posession, I was able to check the non-resettable grand total and ascertain her gross sales for that 5 month period, and I considered it favorable...

But, no, we didn't know that before hand, nor did we know the value of any prepaid visits we would have to honor. Though our situation has turned out well for us, that may not be the case for everyone, and I wouldn't recommend taking the same course we did...

john/amy05

i live in elizabeth city nc i have no other tanning salons in area where i will be starting a new salon ,this is a new venture for my wife and i , is it a profitable area , my wife looks at quiting her current job in the future ,

BigLeo

ZEN,

I think it would be wise not to depend on your tanning salon as a source of income. This is a seasonal business. It takes years to build a successful clientele base so that you can draw a regular salary. Whoops, a regular salary?? I am sorry I said that. There is no such thing. There is strong evidence just based on the numbers that the industry maybe over-saturated. Unless you are the only salon in town, and can identify enough of a market to justify opening a salon, don't count on it lasting. It never does, sooner or later another salon will open up just down the block. I've seen it happen everywhere. There are plenty of people reporting this right here on Tantall. Equipment manufacturers do not protect their salon clients. They will sell units to anybody who will buy them. If you go out of business, they don't care because they got their money. This is a mature, over-saturated industry. Oversupplied in just about every level-- UV beds, lotions, sunless units and lamps. Leo.