caribbeancolor

That is tough competition...like I said...I have 4 big competitors. I'm the only one by the college though.

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Brooke & Lillie

Neon Beach

$4200 a month in February and I would have hung myself.

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Mali

I guess I missed where he said his first month was Febuary??

BigLeo

Depends on the franchise. I look at it this way. they have to train you, provide marketing materials and support, help you with your launch. is it worth it? **** yes. unless you have previous tanning salon experience, get all the help you can get, either than or hire a tanning salon consultant. this is far better, and i know some of you pro's hate franchising, but they are here to stay, the really good ones offer 24/7 support. they have their reputation on the line. get one who will work with you on the royalties during the slow months. hold your hand during the critical first year. really get you through the slow months. if you can find a franchise with good references, check them out and get the skinny. don't listen to a lot of the stuff posted here. listen to the franchisor.

adam.sand

I did over 8000 first month, with NO advertising. (only had two beds running for first 7 days) No Signage. Only advertising was some flyers and walking around.

And I am now creeping 90 members on EFT, and about 45-ish minutes members.

So I can absolutely believe 14000 in first month.

adam

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There is STILL Tanning in West Edmonton Mall!

http://fromrigstoriches.wordpress.com

Mr. Belvedere wishes he had half of my ideas, and 100% of my nerve.

(put here by Belvy himself.. not me lol)

briocktj

So.... give me some advice. I am looking to open by April 30th of this year. (Late I know but..... ) I will have enough financial support (thanks Mom & Dad) to get me thru to next year but..... is it realistic to expect a tanning salon to give a profit of around $60000 to $100000 a year?

Kristia0712

No...I opened April 25th last year and it was the WORST time ever to open

runfast

Not sure if this is fact or not, but it was emailed to me the other day. Again, not sure of the source. It appear to be legitimate.

Some dreams come with too much risk

By Al Lewis
Denver Post Business Columnist
DenverPost.com

April Hudson got her driver's license at age 14 so she could shuttle around her two blind parents.

At age 19, she began investing in real estate. At 28, she had equity in rental properties and $50,000 in the bank.

Then, in April 2002, she bought a tanning salon franchise from Lakewood-based Executive Tans. Today, at 33, Hudson is recovering from personal bankruptcy. She claims Executive Tans and its founder, Wayne Smeal, overstated revenue potential and understated costs of operating franchised tanning salons.

More than 20 franchisees - owning about one-third of Executive Tans' 70 stores - are suing the company with these and other claims before arbitration panels. Hudson is among them. In struggling to get her tanning business out of the red, Hudson said she not only burned through her own real estate equity but her mother's as well.
"I made huge mistakes," she said. "Things I will never forgive myself for. My blind, unemployed mother - I owe her for all of the equity in her home."

Smeal, 44, a lifelong salesman who founded Executive Tans in 1991, denies his company made any misstatements.

"We have not overstated one iota," he said, arguing that some franchisees simply failed to control startup costs.

Executive Tans never lost a store until 2003, Smeal said, but since then it has closed 19 amid an unexpected downturn.

"I am not going to sugarcoat it in any way," he said. "It's a tough, tough business. Nobody in the industry is making tons of money. There are distributors going under. There are lotion companies about ready to go bankrupt.

"I truly think the gas prices have something to do with it," he said, explaining that the money consumers used to spend tanning is now going into their tanks.

"I don't think the business is down as much as I think the market is saturated," said John Overstreet of the Indoor Tanning Association.

In these tough times, franchisees that sue are trying to renege on franchise fees, said Smeal. "Instead of paying $1,285 a month to me, they're paying $1,000 to an attorney," he said.

The attorney in this case, Bud Culp of Denver-based Moye White, typically defends franchisors, such as Denver-based Quiznos. In this case, he's representing franchisees. He claims most Executive Tans franchisees never made money, and many are simply belly up. "I have never seen a franchise system like this in 16 years of doing franchise work," he said. "I don't want them in the business."

However it ends, the case is a cautionary tale for anyone considering the hyperbole-filled world of franchising. Buying a franchise can be a road to riches, but it also can be a road to ruin. Over the years, some franchise owners have told me they've taken on unconscionable debt loads only to toil countless hours for less than what a regular job would pay.

The Federal Trade Commission and a few states loosely regulate franchisors. Most disputes are settled quietly, often before private arbitration panels.

Hudson told me she bought into Executive Tans, expecting expert advice opening her store at Parker Road and Florida Avenue. "Executive Tans didn't lift a finger to help me," she said.

She said she spent $100,000 more than what Executive Tans said she needed opening the store in April 2002. Today, after filing bankruptcy, she says the store barely breaks even.

Hudson thought if she expanded, her business might improve. Borrowing money from her mom, she purchased a failed Executive Tans store on Arapahoe Road in Littleton in September 2004. She says she closed that store in July after learning the company had misstated revenues.

Smeal denies Hudson's claims and complains that she stuck him with long-term lease obligations after closing her store.

Jill Hutson-Martin, the first owner of the failed Arapahoe store, still owns two more that barely break even. Like Hudson, she hopes to rename them "Exotic Tans" and get as far away from Smeal as possible. She too claims Smeal grossly misstated numbers to sell franchises.

"We lost all of our 401(k)s," she said. "We lost everything in our home equity. We're still paying creditors. We have no life. He's taken everything we have. And he's doing this to a lot of people."

Kristia0712

It's VERY legitimate!

Mali

There is a HUGE difference between 8,ooo and 17,000