vassk1

I currently reside in Connecticut but am very seriously looking into moving to Florida. My girlfriend is about to become a licensed massage therapist. I am thinking about purchasing a tanning salon in the Tampa-St. Pete-Clearwater area with the idea of her running her massage therapy business there as well.

Personally, I think it has the potential to be pretty lucrative and the promotional possibilities are endless. I figure she can the run the business full-time while she builds her clientele.

The problem is, from reading this website, it doesn't seem like the tanning business is very profitable and I've read many more horror stories here than positive ones.

What do you all think? I need a salon that profits about 30-45k per year. Add that to what her massage should do and it seems viable. Are there a good many salons that profit this much?

Any and all info is appreciated. Thanks.

vassk1

A little more information. I am interested in purchasing an existing salon that does around 100k in sales per year. We will have around 75-80k liquid assets although I am intersting in purchasing a lawn care business for myself. Is there ample funding available with a sizable deposit. Prob go with seller financing. I do have a degree in Finance but am still gathering experience in regards to this new venture. Actually saw one online that has 95k in sales with a customer base of 2000. Says owner benifit is 47k with a price of 85k. Are there a chance of these numbers being legit? Thanks.

mr belvedere

Jump on it like it stole your lunch money!

sunsally

Read, read, read --- you'll find plenty of info on here that will help you be better informed!!!

In general - 95K in sales with "owner benefit" of 47K? VERY unlikely. Means beds are ancient and in need of upgrading (but paid for), owner works 70 hours/wk at no salary (other than their "benefit"), rent is low as can be because the location stinks, they aren't doing any advertising or marketing, etc.

Sales of 100K/yr -- little or no profit at this range. Usually need sales of 200K+ to begin realizing any significant profit - and sometimes not until 300+ depending on the size and overhead.

Seller financing? Rare. Most are getting out because they were losing money, or have seen their own market turning and no that's the way it'll be going soon.

75-80K liquid but want to start another business also -- sounds spread too thin on $$ - AND time. SBA maybe for the $$, but time will still be an issue.

Run the salon full time WHILE doing massage full time?? How? Tell people to wait 30 minutes to tan until you finish the massage? Or keep interrupting the massage to greet customers, sell them packages and lotions, tour them around the salon, clean after they are done, etc?

I'd say....move to St. Pete, buy your lawn care business and have her take a job at a salon that offers massages to begin building clientele. On the side, one or both of you work part-time in a tanning salon. Do that for at least a year - go through a "busy" as well as a "slow" season.

Nothing for sale today is "too good to be true" that won't be there in 1 year or even 2. But the risk of jumping in too fast and uninformed and losing all you have amassed so far is quite possible in today's market.

Not a pessimist, not even unsuccessful - just a fair "warning" for newbies that think it looks like an easy buck. Those days WERE here - but have passed. The industry still has big money to be made, but only if you are ready to invest SIGNIFICANT dough.

Best of luck with your potential move and career decisions!

BigLeo

I totally agree with SUNSALLY. When somebody is selling their salon it's usually because they want OUT. Their loss is your gain, but be becareful..you might be buying somebody else's problem. This is an industry that has matured and from what I have read from people who are very knowledgeable, 2005 was very "soft", which translates into..NOT A VERY GOOD YEAR for the majority of salons. Weather and high energy costs entered into the picture, but I believe that there are too many salons chasing to few tanners. I've said this several times before. The 'GOOD OLE' days are long gone. I would recommend that you pick your markets carefully and don't depend entirely on tanning as your sole source of income. Consider ancillary products and services that do well year round. Remember, tanning is a seasonal business.