How many sq. ft. would I need...

[sunkissedpr1ncs]

How many square feet would I need for a 20 bed salon? (I need lobby space, restroom, laundry room, etc as well, obviously).

[MacDaddy]

3000 Sq. ft. minimum.

[blondjuls]

What kind of equipment? Mix?

[weeble]

There are far too many variables to discuss to be able to give you an answer here. It all starts with a demographic study of the area.

Why don't you give Steve a call at SMU consulting.

www.smuconsulting.com

If you haven't gotten past the "how big should my salon be" phase, you are going to need professional help.

[sunsally]

From reading the few posts you have made so far, it seems like you are TRYING to do things the right way, but we 'veterans' see red flags already!

It appears you are in the process of writing your business plan - but have already decided you need a 20 bed salon and modular walls. That tells me you started this process by talking to an equipment salesperson -- which should be among the last steps.

A few questions:

1. Why 20 beds? Does your area support this? Is it sufficiently underserved currently that there is a need for a 20 bed salon?

2. Why modular walls? Planning on moving them later? Think they will be cheaper? Like the "look" and figure the expense will be worth it?

I'd reverse the process somewhat ---

1. Do a SERIOUS look around the larger community where you are contemplating opening. What salons are there now? If you go by this time of year - traditionally going into the "slow season" -- are they still packed? Busy but not packed? Or dead? Because unless they still have some pretty decent traffic coming in, your market may already be saturated. Are any of the current salons available for sale? Even if they don't have a sign in a window, might want to inquire - never know if they might say "yes" for the right price!

2. Find out about local rent rates. With the "ticket item" cost of tanning, the seasonality, etc unless the rents are within a certain range, you will be behind that 8-ball from the beginning. Look also at what is available - new construction may "give" more toward Tenant Improvement incentives, but the timing on when you get the space will be harder to predict.

3. Start examining your financial situation. Is your credit STRONG? Do you have significant cash reserves to put toward the project, for the hard costs up front as well as operating reserves to get through the first year or two? If you are working currently, run the numbers to determine what the costs/opportunities of leaving that job to run the salon vs. staying in that job and running it as an absentee owner.


I know you are trying to write your business plan and you are probably knee deep in trying to figure out exactly what number to put in exactly which box. But what you need to do first is take a BIG step back, and really examine the viability of your idea to even open a salon. If it is just because "all the other salons in town are gross and dirty" or "they are just rude at the other salons", I can almost guarantee you will not make it through the first 3 years.

Oversaturation and undercapitalization are the two BIGGEST factors in the failure rate of new salons in the first 3 years. Make sure you won't fall into that camp, BEFORE you get started!

Good luck!

[frankie]

20 Beds will go in 2400 sq ft. I have plenty of room and rooms that are large enough. I have 2 rooms up front 10x9 and a 10x8. I have a a orbit, giant Sun, Silver Bullet, in this salon. I have 1 rest room, storage room, and laundry room. 2 halls, etc. Oh 2 of those rooms are a mystic and a standup. I have a beautiful counter upfront too. Make sure you have a true sq ft space. Most measure from the outside wall and it will mess you up if not careful.
If you do a 20 bed salon make sure your area will support that large of salon. If not you will find some of your beds will just sit and not be used. Better to start with a 12 bed salon and add beds. JMO Good Luck

[movieking]

125 - 150 sq ft per bed seems to be what works best for me when I do floorplans on the computer. Those numbers include hallways, storage restroom(s) and lobby.

[sunkissedpr1ncs]

Hello everyone, thank you so much for your help and advice! Ok, so yes, I am just starting out, I just finished my business plan actually (whew!) and am meeting with banks later this week to discuss funding. I decided to do this becuase I used to work at an older, rundown salon in my city for a couple years and I have always wanted to own my own after I saw the need and want for an upscale salon in the city. I graduated from college in May with a BS in Business Administration and got a job as an accountant right after. After a couple weeks, I absolutely HATED the job although it payed good I just couldn't see myself there forever. My fiance told me to quit my job and start working on opening my own tanning salon b/c that's all I've ever wanted to do and it would be the only thing I'd be happy doing. So he's paying my bills and taking care of me financially while I'm doing this. He's a CPA so he is also helping me in whatever way he can with this. Our credit is both excellent as well, so I'm not worried about that.

I actually didn't start with talking to a distibutor until the end of last week and I decided to have 20 rooms and modular walls through my own research and area knowledge.

In my city, there are a few other tanning salons which are ALL run down and they rip the customers off b/c they hardly ever change their bulbs, but they tell the customers they change them all the time. (I know this b/c I used to work at one of them). There are nicer salons in the neighboring cities, but people either don't want to drive 20-30mins everyday to tan, or they think they do and end up wasting their money when they realize how much of a hassle it is (like me). So there are tons of people I know who just tan at the salons in my city for the convenience but absolutely hate them.

The rundown salon I worked at has about 14 beds and they do relatively well. The appointment books were always completely full in busy season and there would still be 10 more walkins every hour that we had to accomodate as well. That is why I want 20 rooms for my salon. I figure that these people would much rather tan in an upscale, sanitary salon that still charges about the same prices (plus they will actually be getting TAN). All the other salons in the city are pretty much the same as well in the busy season regarding number of customers, etc.

I decided to go with modular walls b/c I think they look so much more elegant than traditional walls and I will be able to do more with them if I decide to remodel, etc.

I am trying to determine sq. ft. b/c originally I was looking at a 3200 sq ft space, but then decided against it because it had poor parking availabilty. So now there is a 2800 sq ft space open in a brand new shopping center and I am wondering if 20 beds will fit in there comfortably or if I need to go bigger. The following are the beds I may use, not exactly sure yet, still deciding. So please don't criticize the equipment or my choice of it I am just trying to illustrate the size of the beds I want, etc to see if the space will work or not:
10 base beds prob the Ergoline Ambition series,
3 verticals,
2 mid-level upgrades prob. the Ergoline advantage series,
3 higher level upgrades-2 of them prob Ergoline Affintiy series, the other Ergoline Excellence 880,
1 Matrix L33 HP
1 VersaSpa

I'm not sure which verticals I will go with, even if I do go with Ergoline's I will have them in rooms even though they do have changing rooms. I have found that people are weirded out by not being in a room when they tan and I want them to be comfortable when they come to tan.

And the cost of most of the spaces around the area I will be in is $20/sf with $3/sf CAM. I plan on negotiating TI costs and 90 day buildout, etc so I can save some money with that as well.

Please give me any advice or info you can, I really appreciate it!

[Glowtanning530]

why so many stand ups?

[sunkissedpr1ncs]

I might cut it back to 2, not exactly sure yet. From my experience, a lot of people like stand ups and there are a lot of people I know too that ONLY like to do stand ups. It's just kind of a rough estimate right now.

[Din]

You need MORE HP beds.....1 is surely not enough.

I'd go with 2-3 as they are your money makers.

1 HP bed for every 5-6 pcs of equipment.

[sunkissedpr1ncs]

You think? I'm not really sure how high the demand is for them in my area. I know the salons in my city do not have any. The salons in the surrounding cities may have 1 in each salon, if any. I was, however, considering having 2 regular standups and the Matrix V28 as the 3rd. What do you think about that? Good idea or not?

[lewdyju]

Don't charge the same price as your comp, you will have new equipment and upscale enviornment no reason to low ball. It is always easier to come down on your prices but harder to explain and increase. Your comp has been open for 14 years, their overhead is much less than yours will be. You can't possibly work on a price list before you have your equipment mix, rent total or all/any other expenses factored in. Just don't play price wars with them, if you match them, then they will come down on prices and then what? You price chase them. Price your salon out accordingly, if it is everything you say, you won't have to offer an expalnation for the difference.

[Glowtanning530]

Charge what you need to pay your bills. People will pay for quality. Plus you want to have your reg prices be a bit high so you can do introductory specials

[maggietan]

I would only start with 1 stand up-I started with 1-added another and Now I am back to 1.You can always add later.It sounds a sif the bed distributor is pushing more then you need.Ambitions are ni but I am not sure I would start out with that.

[lewdyju]

Plus, you don't have to max yourself out the day you open, leave room for expansion.

[Tanning Queen]

Too many base beds. You want more people to upgrade so have less base. If you have more of the better equip., it gives the impression that it is more in demand and more people use them vs the base.

[Din]

depends on the beds......

[frankie]

Like Queen too many base beds and I would only have 1 standup. Put it right beside your sunless and have a small door going from each room.

[mr belvedere]

Originally Posted by lewdyju

Plus, you don't have to max yourself out the day you open, leave room for expansion.

That is great advice, Jewdylu!! You ought to listen to that right there - don't bury yourself under maximum debt right out of the gate! Go with the minimum mix with room for expansion later when you're established.