- Location: Vernon Hills, IL
- Years in Business: 6
- Number of Stores: 1
- Owner: Donna Freed
- Staff: 5
- Tanning Systems: 7 (Dr. Müller, SonnenBräune & SunCapsule)
- Tanning Levels: 3
- Lotions: All About Me, Australian Gold, Designer Skin, Hempz, JWOWW & Swedish Beauty
- Software: SalonTouch Evolution
- Other Services: Boutique, custom spray-tans (All About Me) & teeth-whitening (Twilight Teeth)
- Training: Sun is Life®
- Distributor Partner: All About Me & PC TAN
The need for change led one woman to purchase Southern Exposure Tan Spa & Boutique. As she continues to enjoy its success, she’s also preparing for the day her daughter will take over.
After being laid off from her job as Vice President of a bank, Donna Freed was left with a severance package and a wide-open future. What did she do? She went to a local tanning salon, and she was not impressed with the experience. As Donna explained, “The salon in town was not in very good shape and the man behind the counter didn’t look like he was enjoying his job.” Donna decided to share her experience with him and the man told her that he and his wife wanted to sell the business. She remembers walking out the door, then turning around, walking back inside and giving the man her phone number. “I told him, ‘If your wife is serious about selling this place, tell her to give me a call.’”
After purchasing Southern Exposure, Donna and her fiancé, John Leck, immediately went to work remodeling the old salon. In a few short months, they had the place looking like a boutique, complete with colorful pastel shades of purple, blue and yellow and Pergo flooring. The couple also had to “remodel” the salon’s marketing plan, picking up where the previous owners practically dropped off. “After purchasing a sign at a local ice rink and advertising in a coupon-clipper magazine,” Donna said, “we’ve found that social media marketing is most effective for us.” Advertising “Monday Funday” and “Wicked Wednesday” sales on Facebook have turned these events into huge hits, Donna says, while cross-marketing her custom spray-tan services has helped add beauty pageant and ballroom dancing contestants to her roster of guests seeking these services.
Custom spray-tans are a big part of Southern Exposure’s business, and Donna’s daughter Tonya recently experienced some additional training in this art from Sun is Life®. She was one of many salon owners who took the program’s “Got Sunless?” module when it was given away during the month of April. She found the information very helpful, saying, “This will be an excellent tool for training our staff in every aspect of spray-tan technique. Right now, my mom, (employee) Lyndsey Winter and I are the only ones who offer this service; but thanks to Sun is Life, we can begin training other team members.” Tonya added that she and Donna are very interested in taking further Sun is Life modules.
While a second location is something Donna admits to having considered, being close to retirement age has put such thoughts out of her mind. Instead, Donna says she could see herself one day turning the business over to her daughter, Tonya, while she and John retire to a warmer climate. However, her long-term plans are not stopping her from making improvements now. “I could definitely see us relocating the salon to a bigger facility,” she explained. “Currently, we only have seven tanning units, so a bigger salon would allow us to offer more to our guests.” ■
