Dear Readers,
I write this on a Monday following an outstanding Michigan weekend – it’s a short season, but there’s nothing like summer on the lakes up here in The Mitten.
While everyone gets into vaycay mode this time of year, it’s also a great time to hit the re-set button on your business. Get with your team to brainstorm ways to streamline your operations, and also look at ways to possibly diversify your service menu – you can find many ideas for both in any issue of IST! Many salons are enjoying great success with bodywraps, massage chairs, infrared therapy, just to name a few. Some (like me) who have been in the business for a long time have a “purist” outlook – I’ve felt that I should stay focused on tanning services; but after talking to many owners of salons both small and large, I’m convinced that diversification can not only increase customer counts, but also the all-important PCA. You may have considered this in the past; maybe now is the time to revisit the concept. So, take the month of August to catch up on your IST reading; I know that our expert contributing writers offer a wealth of valuable information on salon operation at every level.
Our business has certainly changed; the industry has been in a fluid state for many years. Over my nearly four decades in the tan biz, I have felt the many ramifications, both positive and negative, that the ever-changing economy, prohibitive regulation and negative press have created. Our current administration has been punitive in its overreach and unrelenting in its efforts to destroy our industry. Without doing the necessary research, they launched a mission to regulate us out of business. And while we’ve survived the Tan Tax, that legislation created the perception in the minds of the public that tanning in any form was bad for people. I’m proud to say that our two industry organizations – the ITA and the ASA – joined forces and met with FDA officials in late June to, again, educate them on the state of our industry and offer factual data for their consideration. It is unthinkable to me that the federal agency which has been trying to create new ways to regulate us can be so clueless about our industry. Be sure to read John Overstreet’s “ITA Update”, and if you’re not involved in protecting your own business by being a member of your industry organizations, what are you waiting for?
I hope you’re having a great summer and that you choose to use it to better your business. Carpe diem!
Thanks for reading.
