runnamuk

Hey every1 I've been reading all the great posts on here for a few months and took the plunge and signed up! Well anyways I have worked out a tremendous deal for a tanning salon. I'm of mixed heritage and have never set foot inside a tanning salon in my ife, I had zero clue of anything so I've been researching hard for 2 months now. My background is basically anything that makes a dollar. Since 23 I've been self employed from owning a second hand sports store to a music studio to real estate. I really can't complain. So anyways I was looking for a place to open a deli/ restaurant in MN (i live in Md but my daughter is up here) So I was gonna set up shop up here selling food. But when looking @ the deli spot I walked past the tanning salon that I thought was in business but wasn't. The owner had just up & left and left everything which the leasee now owns. It includes 6 entry level beds 2 premium 1 stand up and 2 davinci teeth whitening. So through heavy nego(my strong suit from my real estate days). I worked it out that I have to pay for none of the equipment it transfers with the place, got the place for 1650 sqft for $1950/mo CAM included ,no last month rent to move in so total to move in is $2900. Ontop of that the lease worked out that it opens feb 1(busy season) but rent starts out @ 950 and increase 10% monthly until $1950 & at the end of the 2 yrs I keep the equipment. So I feel like I kept all out of pocket costs to min. My question is this, I need to hire sum1 that has ran a tansal b4 & would know the ins and outs. How much would I pay this person? Would it b an hrly rate or is it like a rental that can come in help setup the place,train me and then go for a flat fee. & I was also wondering what is considered a good day as far as traffic wise ? 50 ppl ? 100 ppl ? In a 12hr span.??? Well thanks in advance !!! (sorry for the spelling errors I'm doing this from a cell phone while on a train =)

parrot head

As you know, location, location, location are the three most important things in a business. Evidently, because the former owner, just up and left everything, it wasn't making any money. The equipment lineup isn't going to make you thrive, so what gives you evidence you can make expenses, let alone a profit? I'm not trying to be critical here, just realistic. Now, to answer your questions: Are you looking for an employee or a manager? Employee, hire at $8.00 to start. A manager with experience, $30,000-$36,000 a year, to start. As far as people count, depending on your demographics, In February. you should be seeing over 100 cliants a day. Here again it depends on population of your area. You have too many entry level beds, so get rid of at least 2 and upgrade to level 3 vhrs if you have the power to add bigger beds. If your close to western Wisconsin, feel free to come down to my salon. You can see my setup and pick my brain.

runnamuk

thanks for your reply, Yeah I also thought it was odd to just up and leave $30K of equipment so I did some research and the neighboring shops told me that she was never opened & always had the door locked during business hours. One time she flew back home bcuz her son went to prison & then she said that her husband passed.(I also have a $5K buyout after the first yr of the lease incase this thing loses $$$) As I was told after her first month she would leave to go back to TX for a week or two at a time & had no one to run the salon & by Month 5 she left & never returned. The nearest comp is 4.3 miles & 11 mi away. It seems like a great location, there are 3 large apartment bldng complexes within walking distance & also a high school within walking distance. Two huge neighborhoods with houses & 3 strip malls within 2 mi w/o tanning salon & the demographics for the area were 14Kppl with 12K being white. I was just wondering what is a good traffic count for an 8 bed salon open 12hrs & what would be about avg ?

sunsally

Sounds like you did a good job negotiating - the low out of pocket costs is key! And your rent rate is very reasonable - and giving you time to grow was very smart.

The original owner had the added expenses of the buildout and equipment to payoff (and rent deal may not have been as sweet as yours) - so your operating costs may be far lower than theirs and allow you to succeed where they failed.

A few thoughts:

1. Is your daughter available to work there at all? If not, is she available to "monitor"/manage it locally? Could she be in charge of deposits/money? If so, have a drop safe installed so that any cash deposits can be picked up by her every few days/week - the merchant deposits (credit cards) will go in automatically (and this will be most of your revenue anyway).

2. What software do you have installed? If none, I would recommend Sunlync. You will be able to see what is going on in "real-time" from your home in MD, including how long a bed has been sitting dirty, etc. This is key for an off-site owner.

3. Do you have cameras installed? If not - install them so, again, you can observe from off-site what is happening in your business. Have them capable of seeing the front desk lobby area - mostly to see what your staff is doing/how they are interacting with customers etc --- but as a backup, to help with customer theft prevention as well.

4. For staff - you want sales people as your first priority - experience in tanning isn't as critical. If you or your daughter will be in charge of the bills, ordering, etc you need someone who can sell, who will be reliable and perhaps someone who can train and oversee other staff. The "busy hours" for tanning salons tend to be 2-8 ( or so) so better to have someone who can work some afternoons/evenings, not just someone who wants 8-5 and then depend on part timers to take all the evenings and weekends.

5. Your equipment mix may be fine - depends on what your business model is going to be. You are set up better for high volume/low price tanning right now. This may or may not be right for your market. If the electric, room sizes etc are right - you could consider a few more upgrade units in place of some of the base beds. Sunless would also be a strong option.

6. Given the poor previous business ownership, I would advise changing the name (and signage) and advertising "new ownership". I would also advise hanging banners NOW saying "Coming Feb 1". I would also set up a website NOW - and have that address in the windows. You won't just open the doors Feb 1 and "have" a busy season. They have to know you are there and that takes time to build some awareness.


Your breakeven is going to be about 100-110K/year. To make this happen in year one, you are going to need to take in about $70-80K in the first 5 months you are open. To do that you will need to be VERY aggressive and hit the ground running from day one! Aggressive promotions, strong membership signups and a staff that can sell will be critical to your success!

rrm44

if you have never stepped foot in a tanning salon and know nothing about it, one of your first steps is to get smart tan certified. The certification will give you at least a basic knowledge of tanning and what to do. More courses are available for more education. Owning a salon is not opening your doors with tanning beds and "renting" time in the equipment. You are selling the tanning experience. Be smart about it, Be educated about it. A lot of people find good deals on tanning salons, open, and then close 6 months later because they have no idea what they are doing. And be prepared to foot the bill for the salon for a while. Even tho feb 1 is the start of the season, you have to make sure you have enough advertisement to get the word out. Its not a if you build it they will come thing. Hope this helps.

runnamuk

God thank you guys so much !!! @ sunsally , I probably didnt explain it well enough but i moved to MN from MD, so i will be a hands on owner. My daughter is 5 btw =) I decided to name it that bcuz you see so many father and son or so and so and son and no Father and daughter stores ? At least i havent.NEways I will look into the Sunlync because the only thing they took with them was the hard drives fromthe CPU's ? lol Anyways I would be happy with any profit let alone 70K in the first year, when i start a company i do submerge myself into it and get really up on it because I like to know what im doing/selling/providing. @RRM4 i was actually looking at getting certified and hopefully can squeeze it in during the holidays before i open but if not I will get it within a few months before I open. BTW i was wondering is it wierd for a guy to work the desk at a tanning salon ? Is that considered creepy ? or is it common place ?
thanks again,
Runnamuk

Nlightstan

I work the desk at the 2 stores I own ...and am male...just dont be "that guy" and you shouldnt have a problem but make sure your professional and educated and your gender wont matter customers just want to know YOU know what your talking about...IMO

runnamuk

Lol Ok, I dont wanna be that guy....I just wanted to have customers feel comfortable when they come in. I was wondering what % of the clientelle is male on avg ? Like 15-20% ? And I keep wondering what is a good day as far as sales go or # of people for an 8bed salon ? any ballpark would help.....You guys are terrific !
thanks a ton.

Nlightstan

Just an estimate 5% of guys tan in a salon ...most guys that tan do it at the gym....YUCK

parrot head

In a nutshell, there's a reason why the former owner didn't attend to her business. Your population numbers really dont give you a hugh number of cliants that will tan. You need more then just warm friendly bodies to make a salon with that equipment mix, a viable profit entity. You need more, and deep pockets might get you respectible numbers. Good luck.