- Stores: 1
- Location: Pottsville, PA
- Years in Business: 2
- Owner: Melanie Seigfried
- Staff: 6
- Tanning Systems: 7 (ETS, Inc.)
- Tanning Levels: 3
- Lotion Brands: Australian Gold, Devoted Creations, Fiesta Sun, Norvell Skin
- Solutions, Supre Tan & Swedish Beauty
- Software: Helios
- Other Services: Aesthetician Servies, Custom Spray-Tans (Norvell), Dry-Infrared
- Sauna, FIT Bodywrap & Hydromassage
- Training: Sun Is Life®
- Distributor Partner: Four Seasons Sales & Service
Begun as a mother-daughter operation, Totally Tan of Pottsville, PA has evolved into a thriving and growing tanning spa.
Having enjoyed a long career as an elementary school physical education teacher, Melanie Seigfried recently decided to add salon owner to her résumé. “My daughter, Krysta, worked at Totally Tan while she was in high school,” Melanie said, “and she found out the owner wanted to sell the business. We knew it had a good name and reputation so we decided to buy it.” While Totally Tan looked great from the outside, Krysta redecorated the interior, changing from a beach motif to an upscale theme featuring two-toned gray walls, laminated wood flooring and yellow tanning room doors. The biggest change was abandoning the antiquated client card file system and installing Helios salon software. “We learned so much about salon operation from reading IST Magazine and attending Four Seasons Sales & Service expos,” Melanie added.
While Melanie originally bought Totally Tan for her daughter to operate, she ended up owning the salon herself. “Krysta was a junior in high school when we took ownership,” she said, “and we ran the business together for two years. When she got married and moved to New Mexico, I decided that I wanted to continue operating the business because I had come to enjoy getting to know everyone who came into the salon.” Retiring from her teaching position after 35 years, Melanie dove headfirst into full-time salon ownership and says she knows it was the right decision. “I love providing people with a place where they can come and relax for 20 minutes,” she added.
Although salon operator certification isn’t required in PA, Melanie elected to take the Sun Is Life® training course at a recent Four Seasons Expo in Winston-Salem, NC. “This is a great training program!” she exclaimed. “It covers everything someone needs to know about salon operation and I couldn’t agree more with its philosophy of not making health claims about our services. There are so many great ways we can sell our services, so there’s no reason to try to pretend we’re doctors.”
With the recent addition of 1,500 square feet of space, things are about to become more beautiful at Totally Tan. “Because this is a seasonal business,” Melanie explained, “we’ve used the expansions to add aesthetician and spa services that attract more clients, especially during the off-peak months.” The new addition made room for an aesthetician who offers facials, micro-dermabrasion and waxing, and the service menu is complemented by Hydromassage sessions, an infrared sauna and spray-tanning.
“When my son-in-law finishes his military deployment,” Melanie added, “my daughter would like to come back to help me run the business again. I’m looking forward to that.”
