Another reply to an E-mail:
Quote:
Good afternoon Mr. Brian Oshman,
I found your name and contact info on TanToday.com
I read the advice that you gave to a tanning salon owner hopeful. The title of the blog was “do you want to open a salon”
For a while, I have been toying with the idea of opening a tanning salon in a market that I feel would be successful.
I have not yet done extensive research, but the market I am considering seems to have all of the attractive features I am in search of.
Here is the issue I am having. I am young, in my early 20’s. I have good credit and a full time job but currently only make $45,000/yr due to a recent job change.
I have less than $10,000 liquid and no property in my name. Would it be completely out of the question to get a loan that would sustain opening and initial operating for a tanning salon?
I would appreciate any information you can offer.
Thank you in advance and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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The industry is in turmoil right now. I would not invest one penny into opening a salon right now.
You seem to have a decent job so you should stick with that for now. 10K will really get you nowhere in starting a tanning salon. If you really want to plunk down your life savings, go into serious debt, work 80+ hours a week for let's say less then half of what you are making now for a good 3-4 years then go for it, but I would strongly suggest that you don't. You do not have enough working capitol to do this right and will just lose your shirt.
If you must do a tanning salon, see if you can find one in your area that is trying to sell and make them an offer of 5-10K. Keep in mind that a purchase like this will get you in the door with a complete salon but it will need some serious resuscitation to make it profitable. You will most likely need to remodel, re-lamp, and add some newer beds which used will still cost a good bundle of money. Don't forget utilities upgrades too if there is not enough power or A/C or both.
It will be very tough for you to get a loan if not impossible with only 10K collateral. Do you own a home? If not, there will be nothing substantial that a bank would be willing to place a risk on. Startup loans are nearly impossible to get for tanning salons as they are tough enough for established businesses.
Think long and hard before you take a plunge like this. Do you like your spare time? Well that will be gone too. Weekends and all. Owning your own business is not as glamorous as it seems, especially in this industry. The market is so saturated right now and there are tons of places going under and the potential tanning population is decreasing too.
Save your money and save your a$$. This is a seasonal business that only generates real money three to four months out of the year while the rest of the time you are left sucking wind, struggling to make ends meet and struggling to capture a piece of the ever shrinking pie.
Sorry to be so gloomy but tanning is in trouble right now.
Hope this helps,
Brian