- Locations: 1
- Years in Business: 2
- Tanning Systems: 6
- Tanning Levels: 3
- Staff: 3
- Distributor: Future Industries
- Other Services: Airbrush Tanning & Teeth Whitening
The name means “very beautiful”, and Molto Bella Tanning in Pittsburgh, PA continues to live up to it.
A little more than two years ago, Kayley Peterman and Nikki Valiquette decided to purchase an ailing salon and turn it into something gorgeous. The result was Molto Bella Tanning, a popular, full-service salon that delivers tantalizing tans to many in the Pittsburgh area. And since the ladies know how to attract clients in today’s economy, their many satisfied tanners provide lots of positive word-of-mouth advertising. As the two ladies continue to operate their successful salon, they look forward to keeping their clients happy while attracting even more.
From Down-Time…
The story of Molto Bella Tanning is the story of Kayley Peterman and Nikki Valiquette’s long-time friendship. “Nikki and I always talked about owning a business, and when I graduated from Bradford School with a degree in hospitality and travel management, we decided to open a deli,” said Kayley. “Unfortunately, the building we purchased was abandoned by its former owners, and the remodeling process is taking longer than we expected. After we learned that the building had to be completely gutted, we started joking that we could open another business in the time it will take to fix the first one, and that sort of took on a life of its own.” It’s not surprising that the two chose to open a tanning salon – Kayley worked at one while she was in college and Nikki has always wanted to operate one of her own.
…To Tanning Time!
After thoroughly researching the indoor tanning industry, the two purchased an existing salon on August 16, 2010. Because the salon is in a section of Pittsburgh known as “Little Italy”, they decided to give the business an Italian name – Molto Bella – which means “very beautiful”. “The salon has been in business for over 15 years and has changed ownership and names many times,” Kayley explained. “We purchased it on a Saturday and, in 36 hours, we had the place painted, remodeled and opened to the public. From the very beginning, we received a lot of compliments on how clean and organized it was, and we continue to hear that today.”
Molto Bella’s décor features its chosen theme through a pink and green color scheme in the tanning rooms, while the lobby features a relaxing décor. The salon features six tanning units to help clients take their tans to the next level – an ETS, Inc. SolarForce 648, a SunCapsule Sea Breeze booth, an ETS SunStar ZX32T, an ETS SunVision Pro 24SF, an ETS SunVision Pro 28LE2F and a TanAmerica Catalina. The salon also features airbrush tanning by Norvell Skin Solutions, as well as teeth-whitening by Bleach Bright and Twilight Teeth. Molto Bella sells lotions by Australian Gold, Designer Skin, Devoted Creations, JWOWW and Supre Tan, and operates using Helios software.
Making it Easy
While word-of-mouth advertising has helped Kayley and Nikki build their business, they still have to get people through the doors to get them talking. “We understand that because today’s economy is tight, people are second-guessing all their luxury spending,” Kayley said. “To attract new clients, we have a lot of coupons that we print on flyers and on the back of restaurant menus that offer people savings if they utilize our services.” Some of Molto Bella’s popular specials offer new tanners 20 percent off any package purchase, plus an additional 10 percent off to those who bring a coupon. Other coupons offer discounts based upon the total dollar amount spent – $5 off purchase of $25 or less, $10 off purchases of $50 and $25 off all $100 purchases.
Kayley and Nikki use Molto Bella’s Facebook page to promote savings to their clients. “Since Facebook is so immediate, we use it to host our daily specials,” Kayley said. “Whatever special offer we post, clients simply have to come into the salon and say that they saw it on Facebook in order to take advantage of it. This works on the same principle as our coupons – if people know that they’re getting a value, they’re more likely to justify spending the money.” Some of Molto Bella’s Facebook specials involve a free gift – lotion packette, moisturizer, eye protection, etc. – with a purchase.
Bring on the Crowds!
Although they have two successful years of salon ownership behind them, Kayley says that she and Nikki aren’t ready to open another location right away. “We’re still waiting for our deli to be remodeled,” she said. “Once that’s completed, we’ll need to see how we’ll divide our time between both of our businesses. Since we’ve experienced some off-peak months that were slower than normal, we plan to do everything we can to bring as many people as possible in here during our peak season, and we plan to do that by offering promotions to get them excited about tanning once more. It’s all about improving upon what we already have.”
When two friends share one dream to own their own business, the results can be very beautiful, indeed. This is what Kayley Peterman has discovered after two years behind the counter. “I love that my job involves giving people advice that helps them get the results they desire,” she said. “When this happens, it makes our clients very happy, and seeing them happy lets me know that I’ve done my job well.”
