As I write this letter and reflect on 2012 as it relates to our industry, many thoughts come to mind – the Tan Tax and its effect on salons, negative press, teen tan bans, state legislative battles and problems with the international industry – I have, sadly, realized that I’ve been part of the problem by not being more “vocal” with my thoughts and reasons as to why we are where we are today. Yes, our economy is challenging, our current President is not “small business friendly”, the list goes on. We can debate which has had a more negative impact on our businesses; however, we as an industry are to blame for most of our problems.
Over the last decade, U.S. salon operators have been educated/trained/taught that we should arm our staff with information about the positive effects of indoor tanning, even training them to talk with salon patrons about health benefits. Are there benefits? Yes. However, salon operator training programs have gone much too far to convince salon operators that making and promoting medical claims is a sound business practice. I’m proud to tell people that I’m in the tanning industry. Why? Because I’ve done the right things.
I’ve spoken out strongly, not only with words, against salon training that focuses on promoting medical claims. I truly believe that moderate indoor tanning can be a positive part of most people’s lives (except those who shouldn’t do it). I’ve known for quite some time, though, that we’ve needed a change of focus – avoiding medical claims and concentrating on increased professionalism. This was the impetus behind my development of the best training and certification program ever offered in our industry. My program – Sun is Life® – takes an academic, yet user-friendly approach to training our most important asset – our frontline salon staff. We need to stop teaching staff to speak of health benefits when they’re not sufficiently trained in such matters. Over the next year, I plan to use the reach of ist Magazine – the industry’s No. 1 publication – to convince our readers that standardized education will increase our professionalism and improve the public’s perception of what we do.
Sun is life Training & Certification is what you need to take your salon business to the next level and it’s ready for you right now – it’s up and running online. Even if your state doesn’t require it, your staff should be certified. Your salon can be the one in your area that proudly displays your employees’ SIL certificates and lets your customers know that everyone on your team is certified. All you need to do is visit sunislifetraining.com or sunislifecertificaiton.com and you can make it happen.
We all want to “make it happen” when it comes to starting a New Year with a new perspective and new goals. Once again, our annual feature “We Resolve…” shares the resolutions our staff and contributing writers hope to achieve in 2013. In addition, the achievements of many in the industry are recognized in this issue – be sure to check out the list of Industry Choice Award winners for 2012 on pages 76-77. If your favorites are among the winners, I hope you’ll reach out and congratulate them on being recognized for excellence in our industry.
As always, this issue is loaded with other features to help you run your business – not to mention our annual Buyers Guide – the industry’s best. My staff did another great job putting this comprehensive resource together, and they’re all very happy that it will be another year before they have to do it again! As you may know, many of the product manufacturers and distributors represented in the Buyers Guide have been hosting regional events that showcase the latest in lotions, equipment and so much more. They invest considerable time and resources into these events, and I hope you’ll take advantage of any opportunities in your area. There is a current list of regional events on our website at istmagazine.com.
In closing, a promise for 2013: My team and I will continue our commitment to improving the professionalism of our industry – and bringing you the best trade publication possible.
I wish you all a healthy and prosperous New Year!
