Tanning Bed Central

Take advantage of your tanning business opportunity

If you are looking for a low-maintenance, high income business, it is time you took advantage of the tanning business opportunity. The market is huge – in fact, the tanning salon industry is worth more than $9 billion a year in the United States alone.

But how do you get started? You have two options. You can either build your very own tanning salon from scratch, or choose to buy a franchise.

Starting your own

The key to successfully taking advantage of a tanning business opportunity is to be able to address five key areas: site selection, salon layout, equipment selection, policies and procedures, and marketing.

Selecting your site. You must be able to scientifically analyze your customer demographics and competition before picking out a salon location in order to maximize your tanning business opportunity . Never rent out the first commercial establishment you see – you must make sure that the area is active enough to bring in customer traffic, and that your signage can conspicuously hung there. Always negotiate your lease before signing up with the landlord. More often than not, you can get substantial discounts if you only ask.

Designing your salon layout. Even how you position your beds, shower rooms, reception areas, and other important sections can affect how potential customers respond to your salon. To optimize your tanning business opportunity , be sure to make your best, most income-generating equipment the center of the salon's layout. Never make the mistake of choosing space that is too small. Look to the future – you may have to expand one day, so there should be room for that.

Selecting your equipmen. Be sure to put a variety of equipment into the salon – each one catering to different client requirements. Take advantage of tanning business opportunity by differentiating your equipment from that of your competition, and then capitalizing on that edge. Remember that a cheaper bed is not always the most cost-effective bed. Explore financing possibilities if you cannot yet afford to buy higher-end beds, so you can free up your working capital and put it to better use.

Establishing policies and procedures. Operations is the core of a tanning salon business. Undermining the importance of a standard operating procedure is tantamount to wasting a tanning business opportunity . Your employees need to know what to do even when unusual circumstances come about. Their function in the team should be clear to them as well.

Finally, marketing. Do not limit your market just to existing tanners – you need to be able to recruit potential tanners as well. Have an organized marketing plan for the year so you can allocate a budget for advertising. Exhaust all inexpensive ways to get the word out. Remember that taking advantage of a tanning business opportunity does not mean spending thousands on advertising.

Getting a franchise

If you would rather not go through the complications of starting your business from scratch, then buy a franchise instead. It's fairly easy to find a franchise tanning business opportunity. You typically need about $40,000 to $70,000 in initial cash out to get license to operate established salons, but total investment goes up to about $140,000 to as much as $500,000, depending on the franchisee. Choose a franchisee that allows you ‘absentee ownership,' so that you never have to worry about operations. They train your staff, buy your equipment and even do marketing for you. Just sit back and relax, and watch your tanning business grow.