With the season slowing down a bit, it’s a great time to catch up on reading all the great content in your ist Magazine – every issue has valuable business articles and advice from industry experts that you can plan to implement in the months ahead. If there’s a topic you’d like to see covered, feel free to let me know!
Our coverage of the growing threat of bans on teen tanning continues with this month’s Cover Story written by Joe Schuster. Joe has come on board to write for IST, bringing decades of industry experience in many capacities. He also offers two “Special Interest” pieces – the bottom line is the importance of promoting a unified, professional and factual message about indoor tanning to the public. Joe will address important topics and invite your comments – I hope you take the time to participate and join the conversation about matters that concern all of us in the tan biz.
Every month, I try to get a micropulse of our industry and I think it’s important for salon owners to read what others in the industry are doing. I consult with a group of professionals who run salons of every size and they share their data with me because they trust ist Magazine. My report this month is encouraging! Salons in most of the country had a slight increase in both service and product sales, tanners have been even or slightly down – which means that salon staff are getting better at sales. I’m also happy to report that almost all salons are reporting a sizeable increase in sunless sales. I believe that this is due in part to an increase in staff training. Salons acknowledge that a well-trained staff creates a more professional environment that translates to higher sales. If you’re interested in sharing your data with me and being part of the group of industry leaders who believe in professional training, email vince@istmagazine.com.
On that note, I’m happy to announce that Sun is Life has been chosen as the exclusive salon operator training and certification program for the 2015 ITA Tanning World Expo on September 25-27 in Columbus, OH. ITA’s return to the tradeshow business is good news for all of us! You probably remember the large crowds and valuable networking at the premiere expos produced by ITA. If you haven’t booked rooms for this industry-changing event, do it soon at tanningworldexpo.com. Key players in the tanning community will be there!
The tanning community, though widespread, is relatively small. Of course, everyone likes to know the “little things” about people (#facebook), so we’re having some fun with our new feature “7 Questions with …” Check it out. Along with the fun things, we’ll continue to feature articles by industry leaders and business experts to help you succeed.
History has shown that June is still a busy time for most salons, especially in the Northeast. I hope this month stays strong and will send us all into a busy and profitable summer. Take some time off to recharge – it’s good for your business and your soul.
Thanks for reading!
