Another good tanning salon tip for you is to not get burned. Burning will only make your skin exfoliate faster and you will have to start the tanning process all over again. A good way not to burn if you are tanning for the first time this year is to ask the tanning employee to cut down your time based on your skin type. Most salon employees should be able to make a recommendation for you. Don’t feel that if you are not going in for the full time, you are not getting your money’s worth; you are. You need to gradually build up a tan and even a few minutes in a tanning bed for the first couple of sessions will get the process started.

One of the first things we ask our customers to do is to exfoliate their skin prior to getting airbrushed. The outer layer of skin, the area that gets tanned, is subject to the regular, natural exfoliation that the body goes through. The body naturally leaves some areas drier than others and using a dermal exfoliator helps remove the dry skin leaving it fresh to serve as the base for the sunless tan. Exfoliating helps prolong the tan because your body won’t shed the fresher skin as quickly as it would have the drier skin.

The second step to getting a longer lasting sunless tan is by preparing the skin with a PH balance spray just prior to the spray tan. The PH balance treatment will help remove excess oils and perfumes and helps the tanning solution penetrate the outer skin layer.

Showering immediately after airbrush tanning is a huge mistake. Showering, and doing any activity that may cause sweating, right after tanning could cause streaks to form and does not give the skin enough time to absorb the tanning agent (DHA). It is best to ask your supply representative how long customers should wait before showering given that various airbrush tanning solutions have different development periods. There are accelerated solutions that require about 4-5 hours, and the more common solution requires about 10-12 hours to set.

Since the active ingredient (DHA)in the tanning solution has a drying effect, it is imperative that moisturizer is used, afterward, to help make the tan last longer. Keeping moisturized helps the body refrain from naturally exfoliating the skin as quickly, leading to a longer tan. In addition to regular moisturizing, there are moisturizers with DHA that help keep the tan maintained a little better by lightly tanning the skin.

Wearing loose clothing also helps prolong the tan. Any clothes that may cause friction against the skin acts as an exfoliator. Basically, you don’t want your skin to exfoliate, because that would mean you losing your tan at a quicker rate.

One of the biggest advantages of starting a business during a recession is the fact that you can get good deals on leasing business spaces. “According to Grubb & Ellis, the average retail rental rate was up 1.7% in 2007, but is showing a big decline in rental rates- some instances as low as 10%, with a forecast for even lower rates (Articlesbase).”

Sometimes just opening a business makes more sense than standing in an unemployment line. If you could find the capital to open, you could be well on your way to a successful business.

Sources:
http://www.insidecrm.com/features/businesses-started-slump-111108/
Articlesbase – http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/great-deals-in-the-market-on-office-leasing-in-todays-economy-787810.html

Some of these services actually work best in your off-season such as the infrared body wrap systems. These systems claim to have weight loss benefits, can contour your body, and can improve the appearance of cellulite. Most tanning salon’s slow times usually occur during November, December and January and these are the perfect times to sell this particular service. Not only will it supplement your tanning income and get you through the slow season, it will help boost your revenue and growth during the rest of the year.

Dermabrasion Systems and Skin Care Products are also very popular and you may benefit by just having them available in your salon. Keep in mind, though, that some of these day spa products or equipment may require some licensing. Check with your state or Board of Cosmetology to find out if licensing is required in your state.

By offering additional services in your tanning salon, you are more likely to see more revenue from your current customers and you are likely to see your customer pool rise. If people who don’t normally tan come in to your salon to have a session on the body wrap or have an appointment for dermabrasion, you would be making money that you otherwise would have not. And, since they are already in your tanning salon, you will have the opportunity to introduce and sell them on your tanning services.

So, if you own a tanning salon, or are looking to start one, know that the business is a seasonal one. Expand your service offerings, with services such as the infrared body wrap or dermabrasion systems, in order to increase revenue during the slow part of the year. The more people you have visiting your salon throughout the year, because of additional services, the better the opportunity to sell them any of your services.

Always have your equipment mix picked out and hire an electrician before signing your lease. Have the electrician make sure that the tanning bed equipment that you have chosen will work with the existing power panel or have him let you know what it will cost to upgrade the panel.

While the electrician is there, you may also want to have him check the incoming voltage. A lot of indoor tanning beds require anywhere from 220 to 240 volts of power. It is always good to know what your incoming voltage is. You may need to have buck boost transformers installed to either increase or decrease your incoming voltage to the recommended voltages needed by the equipment.

Customers know that just because a tanning bed has a “this bed has been sanitized” sign laying on it, does not mean it has been properly sanitized. Tanning bed cleaner such as Lucasol is widely used in the tanning salon industry. Lucasol is a hospital grade cleaner that is also known to disinfect HIV. But, if the product is not being used in accordance with the instructions on the label, then it’s possible that the tanning bed is not being sanitized properly. Lucasol is a concentrate and paying special attention to how much Lucasol is being mixed with water, and paying attention to the instructions on the label, is of utmost importance.

Cleaning the acrylics, with tanning bed cleaner such as Lucasol, on your tanning beds is one thing, but it’s also a must to remove hair from under the acrylic, clean air vents, and clean the tops of the tanning bed when you are doing your regular tanning bed maintenance. Keeping the whole tanning bed clean gives a better impression of the overall cleanliness of the tanning salon. In addition, cleaning the vents, filters, lamps, and ballasts will also keep the tanning bed in tip-top shape keeping the tanning bed from that extra wear-and-tear.

Aside from the tanning beds, keeping the rest of your salon clean helps keep customers stay confident in your tanning salon. As I mentioned before, tanning lotion splatter is unappealing and dirty. It’s also tough to clean if it isn’t cleaned up quickly. Having the tanning salon attendant pay attention, not just to cleaning the tanning bed, but to the floor and walls after a customer tans can also help from this unwanted detraction.

Creating a check list helps keep the tanning salon clean. Clean bathrooms, mirrors, floors, windows, counter-tops, lotion displays, all help with keeping customers happy and feeling like the salon they are visiting is in the best shape it can be. A squeaky clean salon gives a positive impression for customers leading to greater retention.

The main types of advertising tanning salons usually adopt are newspaper ads, television ads, direct mail, radio ads, and websites. There are various ups and downs to each of these types of tanning salon marketing campaigns.

Newspaper ads are typically flexible and timely. Newspaper advertising is perfect for tanning salons located in smaller cities where a customer on any side of town might decide to go to your business. Newspapers provide customers with a good sense of believablity. The downside to newspaper advertising is that once the public reads the newspaper, it is basically thrown into the trash. There is no residual advertising and people do not tend to pass these type of ads around to friends. Look to small local publications in addition to the main newspaper in your city. These tend to have better pricing, but not as high a circulation.

Television ads offer a good way to quickly get your tanning salon noticed with mass market coverage. TV advertisements offer good pricing per exposure and appeals to target audiences with careful time slot planning. TV ads can be expensive to produce, however. Contact your local cable provider to see if they offer local television advertising slots.

Direct mail is an excellent way to get your advertising into the hands of potential tanning salon customers. You can be selective as to who receives your direct mail by buying lists and mailing to certain zip codes, or people who have signed up for other services that are similar to that of a tanning salon. Depending on how many pieces are designed, printed and mailed, prices may vary.

Radio ads offer a wide audience. You can be selective as to which radio stations air your advertising and what time they air, targeting specific audiences. Tanning salons tend to do fairly well with radio advertising in the pop genre. The only down to radio advertising is that people tend not to pay as much attention to the ads, so it is extremely important to have an advertisement that appeals to the target audience and sticks out from the rest of the ads.

Door hangers, and leaflets are another great, low-cost way to advertise your tanning salon. You can market your salon to select audiences. Hanging advertisements on the handle of people’s doors puts the advertisement right in their hands. Apartment complexes are excellent for leaving this type of advertising because of the high density of people. Leaving leaflets on cars in parking lots is another good way to get advertising in people’s hands. The only downside to using either of these is that people may find this type of advertising annoying.

Advertising your tanning salon is extremely important, whatever method you decide on. Once you have a general idea of what you want to do, call around locally and see what kind of prices, offers, and other ideas you can get from marketing agencies. You want to increase traffic to your tanning salon and marketing is an essential way to do so.

Editor’s Note: Check with your local government prior to using marketing tactics such as placing leaflets on cars and hanging advertising on door handles, as permits may be required.

Use a tanning accelerator – Most indoor tanning lotions have ingredients that help you produce more melanin while tanning. More melanin produced means a darker tan. Tanning lotions also have ingredients to keep your skin moisturized during and after your tanning session.

Use a daily moisturizer – Tanning in tanning beds causes most people to sweat. This can make your skin dry if you are not using an accelerator or a moisturizer to replenish the moisture lost. Having dry skin can actually deflect the UV tanning rays and if this happens, you are not getting the most out of your tanning session.

Do not overexpose – I know we live in a society where we want to get the most out of what we pay for. This can be a negative when trying to achieve the best tan. For example, you pay $8.00 for a tanning session and the maximum time on that tanning bed is 20 minutes. The tanning salon attendent makes a recommendation of 12-14 minutes based on your skin type. You argue that you can go in longer and actually talk them into the full 20 minutes. If you burn, your skin will exfoliate faster and you will end up back at the beginning. Building a tan is a gradual process. It is better to gradually build up your tan than to be overexposed.

Some of today’s indoor tanning lotion accelerators also contain bronzers, tingle, cooling and sunless ingredient in them. Each of these ingredients does a completely different thing and you should choose the tanning lotion that will work best for you.

A tingle lotion or “hot” lotion as some people call them should be used only by people who have reached their tanning plateau and cannot get any darker. These “hot” tingle lotions will help stimulate circulation by bringing the blood toward the surface of the skin. You will notice that your skin gets a reddish color when using these “tingle” lotions and you will also feel a slight tingling sensation.

Tanning lotions that contain bronzers help tint your skin with plant derived ingredients. Using a bronzer lotion while tanning will give you that extra color you need if you are needing to look as dark as possible that same day. Lotions with the sunless ingredient called DHA is similar to a bronzer except that this DHA is the type of ingedient found in spray booths and airbrush tanning solutions. It will tint your skin as a bronzer and will last a few days longer.

Another main reason to use tanning lotions is because when you are tanning, you start sweating. Sweating this moisture out of your skin will also cause your skin to become dry. Most indoor tanning lotions have moisturizers to keep your skin moisturized even while tanning. Using an after tan moisturizer is also very highly recommended.

Editor’s Note: Please remember that “Indoor Tanning Lotion” contains no sunscreen and provides no protection from the sun.

Just because money is rolling in during the season does not mean it can be spent frivolously. Putting money aside for basic operating costs should be a primary goal heading into the off-season. If you plan for the basics you will be able to successfully manage your tanning salon without having to close up shop.

Obviously, without the basics, your business would easily close. Rent is the first of the basic costs. It is important to have at least 2 to 3 months of rent saved up for the off-season. If you have a few really bad off-season months, at least you’ll have saved up enough money to keep your doors open without your landlord re-taking possession. You want to keep your salon doors open; otherwise, you will not be making any money to keep the salon afloat during these rough times.

Basic costs such as electric, phone and employee salaries are also extremely important. For utilities, such as electric and phone, You should save up at least one third of what you spend on these during the busy season. In other words, if you’re spending $1000 a month on utilities, you will want to put away $333 for the off-season. Your utilities will probably not be a third of your cost during the off-season, but it will help cushion the expense.

Tanning salon owners tend to forget that, not only do they need to keep basic operating costs going, they must continue to maintenance equipment and keep them running for customers during the off-season. These customers are of utmost importance because without them, you will not survive the off-season. Without keeping up with the maintenance on your equipment, like changing lamps, acrylics, etc. the customers will be turned off and either find another place to tan, or stop tanning altogether. Budgeting for lamps, acrylics and other equipment maintenance items will keep your salon in tip-top shape during the off-season. Not only that, but your salon will be ready for the busy months without having to scramble to put cash together to get everything in operating order for the season.

Survive the dreaded off-season simply by putting money aside. With these few areas of your business that need budgeting, you will be better poised for the off-season and will likely see another successful year.