Location: Locust Grove & McDonough, GA
Owner: Conni Martin
Number of Stores: 2
Years in Business: 3.5
Staff Members: 11
Number of UV Units: 19/10
Lotions: Designer Skin, Devoted Creations, Supre Tan, Ed Hardy
Salon Software: Helios
Other Services: VersaSpa, Custom Airbrush
Salon Training: Sun is Life®
Distributor Partner: Heartland
Best-selling Lotion: DC Woke Up Like This
Most Popular Tanning Package: Level 4
For this month’s salon feature, I chatted up a few “Georgia peaches”: Conni Martin, Owner and Chris Roberts, Manager of Q Tan in Locust Grove, GA. “The Grove” is about 35 minutes south of Atlanta and has become quite the bedroom community for workers in the Capital City. I started by asking Conni how Q Tan came to be.
“Joe, opening a tanning salon was a dream of mine,” she says. “After I took early retirement from Home Depot, I started exploring the possibility of purchasing or starting a new salon.” Conni says she researched about 30 salons and franchises that were for sale in her area. “When I found Q Tan in Locust Grove, I immediately knew this was the one!” she exclaims.
Once the newness of an idea kicks in, it’s time to put it in gear. I asked Conni about her first objectives. “After purchasing it, I went about changing the atmosphere, so that every customer would feel like ‘family’ in our salon, and we treat them as such.” Chris had worked for the previous owner for three years prior, and Conni promoted her to manager. “I have to tell you, that was one of my best decisions!” Conni says. She decided to open a second location in McDonough in 2014. “This time, it was designed by me – each bed, every item – with a salon layout that would best serve our customers, based on my experience from my original location,” she adds.
Many salons are thriving by implementing social media marketing, and Q Tan is one of them. “We grew our marketing through Facebook and now have over 15,000 people following us.” Conni says they also use billboards and yard signs to help get the word out. Of course, I’m a firm believer in investing in salon education, and Q Tan is right in line with a staff trained by the Sun is Life® Certification program. “Having our staff educated and certified has been very important to us so that we can best serve our ‘Q’ Family,” says Chris.
So, what’s in the future for Q Tan? Conni remarks, “Our five-year goal would be to have five salons within a 40-mile radius of our original Locust Grove facility. This would allow for easy hands-on management, and on a larger scale, I believe we could reduce costs through large product purchases that would help with economy of scale.”
When asked about the challenges for today’s salon operators, Chris feels strongly that she can compete with anyone by creating customer loyalty. “Our biggest obstacle seems to be the continued government attacks and ‘tanning is bad for you’ in the media.” She adds that Q Tan salons provide the most advanced equipment in order to reduce the risks of overexposure. “We educate our guests that moderate exposure at Q Tan prior to enjoying outdoor activities such as the beach, pool, or lake actually decreases their chances of sunburn.”
I ended our chat with a question about the Q Tan mission. “What drives me and my staff to come in every day is the satisfaction we receive from the feedback of our ‘Q’ Family,” Conni says. “We create a fun and enjoyable environment so that when we state: BEST BEDS…BEST PRICES…BEST STAFF, it totally rings true! Our catch phrase is: Now, come get your tan on!”
