Dear Readers,
Being in the publishing business is the equivalent of jumping into a time machine and blasting two months into the future. The IST editorial team sits down every two weeks to discuss topics for future issues – so, a lot of the content you read in this issue was probably decided in mid-July. That’s not to say that IST doesn’t have the most current industry news … we are tanning’s number one magazine.
Why did I start a tanning trade magazine? Because the IST team has over 100 years of combined experience in our great industry. When I decided in 1997 to publish a periodical for people in the same business as I was in, I knew I could do it better than anyone … and we’re still doing it better today.
Speaking of planning ahead, you should have already finalized your plans to attend the ITA World Tanning Expo in Columbus, OH. By the time you read this, you’ll have only a couple of weeks to make sure you’re part of an event that WILL impact your business, not only in the third quarter of 2015, but what you take away from the TWE will help you to be more accomplished businesspeople in 2016 and beyond.
Several organizations, including federal and State governments, would like to see our industry go away. I can say without hesitation that if I thought I was hurting anyone by offering UV tanning sessions to the public, I would have left the business 30+ years ago. I believe that getting some sun is good for me – that moderate sun exposure is not only good for humans, but a necessary part of life. Whether you believe in God or evolution, we all grew up under that big ball of fire and without it (forget the fact that we’d freeze to death), nothing on earth would exist.
The one thing our industry has done wrong, which has given ammunition to our adversaries, was to begin making medical claims. Yes, I’ve said it before. Do we get vitamin D from the sun? Yes. Is it the best source for getting vitamin D? It is. However, we’ve done a very poor job of training our staff to be experts on the product we sell. Sun is Life® Training is the tool you need to run a professional tanning facility. So, make plans today to attend the ITA’s Tanning World Expo and get you and your team certified (on Friday 9/25, 11am-3pm) with what I consider to be the best program available.
Don’t forget that the FDA has mandated new “black box” warning signage for all UV equipment in your facilities! If you haven’t complied with this mandate yet, you’re late! You can get all the details at istmagazine.com.
If you receive IST but don’t read it, you’re doing yourself and your team a disservice. I have one of the largest salon chains in Michigan, and I not only read IST, but everything else I can to help me run my business. This is why you need to be in Columbus on September 25-27. The keynote speaker is not a reality TV star; he was just inducted into the National Speaker’s Association Speaker Hall of Fame! So, attending this event isn’t about whether you can afford to do it, it’s about whether you cannot afford NOT to.
As always, there’s lots of great content in this issue – you can always count on that from IST.
Thanks for reading!
Vince
