Dear Readers,
As we all know, government mandates kept salons in most states closed anywhere from 2-3 months due to COVID-19. However, as of July 1, 95% of salons had reopened … a bright spot in the darkness!
This tragic event couldn’t have happened at a worse time. In my salons, over 75% of net profits are earned in just five months of the year, and three of those were stolen from my company. But, we must all push forward and hope that our loyal salon guests will support us and allow us to survive.
Of course, IST will keep you up to speed on the “status” of our industry. We will continue to bring you creative ideas from seasoned leaders about the profit potential of equipment and services. We are here to play an important role in helping you recover from the COVID-19 crisis.
If you were fortunate to have the cash, I hope you used the shutdown to update your salons … I certainly did! I’m not talking about expensive equipment upgrades, I’m talking about a new coat of paint, sneeze guards and products needed to implement enhanced cleaning and disinfecting protocols. My facilities got a deep-cleaning from top to bottom, chainwide. Did you train your staff about providing tanning services in the post-COVID reality? Hopefully, when you re-opened, you made our industry proud … the world is watching every business to see if they are safely serving customers in the “new normal.”
Since the first salons were allowed to re-open across the nation, Sun is Life® Training has certified hundreds of operators and staff. These owners know that education is more important than ever for the health of the industry. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me – not because I wrote and own the program, but because it is necessary for salons to withstand increased scrutiny and succeed at the next level.
When it comes to public health and safety, most tanning salons – as in MI – are categorized with hair, nail and massage businesses. I worked hard with my state representative and senator, but was unable to convince the powers that be that tanning services do not involve close contact. Thus, our uneducated governor closed MI salons for 90 days. Bottom line: our industry must do a better job of advocating at the state level, so that this never happens again.
Interesting cover, right? Operators looking to boost revenue with complementary services should check out Jerry Deveney’s feature on cryotherapy (p.18). Plus, so much more from our excellent contributors!
Be well and thanks for reading.
