brandx1969

Hi everyone! I am soo thankful I found this site! I am on the beginning to research opening a salon and have found valuable input on this board. I know how to get demographic data for different locations but where can you find info on the tanning industry like what age group tans the most, young college kids, adults with jobs, or who spends the most per tan, etc.

I know utility bills are going to vary widely like income but what is the range? Hours you should be open?

Do you look at running the business as your cost per tan, the clients cost per tan?

How about total members? Do I need to look at the business as how many members I need per month, per year?

Is a residential or business location better?

How do you get info from what your competitors are doing? Like their membership? Customers per day?
One salon did mention they see 100/day while their other branch gets 300/day, but this area is already saturated with tanning salons.

I understand these are all estimates and are different per location. I am just looking at what info exists out there and to see if I can hit that.

I have read a ton of good info on here already and anything else is GREATLY appreciated!!!

movieking

What are your plans or reasons for opening in a saturated market?

mr belvedere

Because the only barrier to entry is funding, and with due diligence, the newbie can bury the competition.

__________________
"A dusty bible leads to a dirty life ..." -Synonymous

brandx1969

This is not the area I am looking into, just gathering info about tanning salons in general.

brandx1969

Thanks for the vote of confidence!:)

So if a construction contractor is my business partner then I am doing pretty good so far?

Tommy

The urban industry profile we use is:

White 18-44 from an average household income of 50K, living within a 3 mile radius of the salon.

For rural areas, I'd reduce the average household income and increase the 3 mile radius to 5.

Industry information on tanning salons is pretty hard to come by, but here are some sources:
http://www.islandsuntimes.com/11-04/cs_season.htm
http://www.sundash.com/sundash.asp?I...iness+Magazine
Good Luck.

Tom

brandx1969

Thanks Tom for the info. I checked it out but the sites aren't updated, is there a more recent source?

Tommy

Not that I know of, but if you should find more pass it along.
Good Luck.

Tom

Parafly9

I'm curious about all this too. I have been working for a Gen. Contractor for 2 years now and could definitely supervise any buildout. That should save some $ right there.

I could probably dig up $50k or so to get started .... beyond that I would need some funding.

sunsally

NO - although many think that.

While PART of the expense is the buildout, it really is so much more than that!!! At most, being able to Do It Yourself or get goods at contractor cost will save you maybe 50K MAXIMUM, and perhaps as low as 25K -- depends on how much you were going to put into it in the first place.

Still have the "decorative" elements. And of course -- the equipment!!!

But the bigger issue is just the cost of RUNNING the business. Advertising! Utilities! Payroll! (or if you work it yourself, NOT getting the salary you used to get!)

$50K to start?? You're in a hole already. In Northern CA, generally rent rates are outrageous to begin with so you start at an extreme disadvantage.

Unless you have BIG $$$ to get in, and immediately BURY any and all competition with a FAR superior salon (in the eyes of customers, not just the eyes of a biased and proud owner!), you'll either struggle along like most, or lose it all. First 2 years are the telling ones.

If you have $50K, there are a lot of other businesses with far greater upside potential and not as many start-up and ongoing costs. Tanning, as a largely seasonal business that only 10% of any given population utilize even in good times (and that number is going down with the anti-tan propaganda) is not that.