Tanning veterans: ur biggest mistake?

tropicgirl · 01-19-2006, 12:27 PM

I thought it would be nice to do a post and let all the newbies know what your biggest mistake was when opening/planning/running a salon. Maybe it can help them from making the same mistake.

I'll go first:

I had very close competition, but her beds did not even run a close 2nd to mine. However, she was only charging 25.00 a month for unlimited. I was afraid that if I charged more than her, that people would not give my salon a chance. I felt like I had to match her to draw business in, and then I could increase the price over time to where it truly should have been.

This is a mistake because people dont like price increases. Do not set your pricing based on what the competition charges. Apples and oranges. If you need to set your pricing to get people in, Post your price sheet with where you want it to be ,and you can run "Specials" when you first open. I have been slightly increasing to get my prices where I want them. Not only have I lost out on a lot of money in the past few years, but it has been hard transitioning the prices.

I'm not sure if I'm going to make it now, and I think this has been my biggest downfall. Newbies, learn from our mistakes!

KnxTan · 01-19-2006, 12:36 PM

Not to mention - if you are in a town or city with a salon on every block, you decide to open a 3 or 4 home unit salon, complete with white wicker and a rubber palm tree - DON'T DO IT. Keep your day job.

SandiGirl · 01-19-2006, 01:38 PM

Very good advice tropicgirl. We sorta did the same. We are more expensive but I do think our beds are worth more than we charge. I'm putting up the prices on our drop-ins and couple packages. We'll see what happens.

cametotalktan · 01-19-2006, 04:05 PM

Hmmmm; my biggest mistake, let's see. Where do I begin. There are soooo many to keep track of on a daily basis. BRB I need to stew on this for a bit...

caribbeansun01 · 01-19-2006, 07:09 PM

I think our biggest mistake was not capitalizing on SPIFF's. Our distributor wasn't the most helpful you can say.

Ezliving_Jim · 01-19-2006, 08:14 PM

Our biggest mistake was adding a sunless spray-on tanning booth last year.

cametotalktan · 01-19-2006, 08:19 PM

Okay, I thought about it! ADVERTISING!!!!! We did not set aside any money for commercials when we opened. We are doing it now and we are sooooo busy. I say to you spend the money geta good advertising agent and show your stuff.

CAYENNE2005 · 01-19-2006, 08:24 PM

My biggest mistake was not getting a bigger place and also building such a small counter! Next store will be much better.

safaritazn · 01-19-2006, 08:53 PM

cametotalktan How much would you suggest we should put aside?

CAYENNE2005 · 01-19-2006, 09:05 PM

My friend that owns a marketing and advertising company told me $10-12,000 per month.

01-19-2006, 12:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
tropicgirl I love Derf!! Join Date: Jul 13 2003 Location: middle america Posts: 1,013 Rep Power: 8	Tanning veterans: ur biggest mistake? I thought it would be nice to do a post and let all the newbies know what your biggest mistake was when opening/planning/running a salon. Maybe it can help them from making the same mistake. I'll go first: I had very close competition, but her beds did not even run a close 2nd to mine. However, she was only charging 25.00 a month for unlimited. I was afraid that if I charged more than her, that people would not give my salon a chance. I felt like I had to match her to draw business in, and then I could increase the price over time to where it truly should have been. This is a mistake because people dont like price increases. Do not set your pricing based on what the competition charges. Apples and oranges. If you need to set your pricing to get people in, Post your price sheet with where you want it to be ,and you can run "Specials" when you first open. I have been slightly increasing to get my prices where I want them. Not only have I lost out on a lot of money in the past few years, but it has been hard transitioning the prices. I'm not sure if I'm going to make it now, and I think this has been my biggest downfall. Newbies, learn from our mistakes!

01-19-2006, 12:36 PM	#2 (permalink)
KnxTan I love Derf!! Join Date: Oct 8 2004 Posts: 1,033 Rep Power: 8	Re: Tanning veterans: ur biggest mistake? Not to mention - if you are in a town or city with a salon on every block, you decide to open a 3 or 4 home unit salon, complete with white wicker and a rubber palm tree - DON'T DO IT. Keep your day job. __________________ A liberal is someone who is so open minded, their brain has fallen out. “Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid.”

01-19-2006, 01:38 PM	#3 (permalink)
SandiGirl OFFICIAL BFF member Join Date: Jan 2 2005 Location: BFFland Posts: 3,331 Rep Power: 36	Re: Tanning veterans: ur biggest mistake? Very good advice tropicgirl. We sorta did the same. We are more expensive but I do think our beds are worth more than we charge. I'm putting up the prices on our drop-ins and couple packages. We'll see what happens.

01-19-2006, 04:05 PM	#4 (permalink)
cametotalktan I love Derf!! Join Date: Jul 10 2004 Location: california Posts: 4,970 Rep Power: 35	Re: Tanning veterans: ur biggest mistake? Hmmmm; my biggest mistake, let's see. Where do I begin. There are soooo many to keep track of on a daily basis. BRB I need to stew on this for a bit... __________________ When I grown up I want to be Angerfant.....

01-19-2006, 07:09 PM	#5 (permalink)
caribbeansun01 I love Derf!! Join Date: Dec 2 2004 Location: Depew, NY Posts: 1,670 Rep Power: 8	Re: Tanning veterans: ur biggest mistake? I think our biggest mistake was not capitalizing on SPIFF's. Our distributor wasn't the most helpful you can say. __________________

01-19-2006, 08:14 PM	#6 (permalink)
Ezliving_Jim I love Derf!! Join Date: Mar 12 2002 Location: Virtual Reality Posts: 2,136 Rep Power: 10	Re: Tanning veterans: ur biggest mistake? Our biggest mistake was adding a sunless spray-on tanning booth last year.

01-19-2006, 08:19 PM	#7 (permalink)
cametotalktan I love Derf!! Join Date: Jul 10 2004 Location: california Posts: 4,970 Rep Power: 35	Re: Tanning veterans: ur biggest mistake? Okay, I thought about it! ADVERTISING!!!!! We did not set aside any money for commercials when we opened. We are doing it now and we are sooooo busy. I say to you spend the money geta good advertising agent and show your stuff. __________________ When I grown up I want to be Angerfant.....

01-19-2006, 08:24 PM	#8 (permalink)
CAYENNE2005 I love Derf!! Join Date: Jan 31 2005 Location: Around the corner Age: 40 Posts: 2,571 Rep Power: 127	Re: Tanning veterans: ur biggest mistake? My biggest mistake was not getting a bigger place and also building such a small counter! Next store will be much better. __________________ http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2454464 myspace.com/350zclubofflorida www.myspace.com/oceanrayz

01-19-2006, 08:53 PM	#9 (permalink)
safaritazn Join Date: Aug 3 2005 Location: Mahopac, NY Age: 39 Posts: 338 Rep Power: 7	Re: Tanning veterans: ur biggest mistake? cametotalktan How much would you suggest we should put aside?

01-19-2006, 09:05 PM	#10 (permalink)
CAYENNE2005 I love Derf!! Join Date: Jan 31 2005 Location: Around the corner Age: 40 Posts: 2,571 Rep Power: 127	Re: Tanning veterans: ur biggest mistake? My friend that owns a marketing and advertising company told me $10-12,000 per month. __________________ http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2454464 myspace.com/350zclubofflorida www.myspace.com/oceanrayz

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