How to Start a Tanning Centre Business

Starting up a small business can be a difficult process, not least because you will undoubtedly be competing against companies twice your size for a share in the market, and it therefore requires a great deal of hard planning, researching, and of course, financing. The latter can be obtained from a variety of sources, including family and friends, personal savings, and bank loans/overdrafts. However, there is only so much these can offer, and many wannabe entrepreneurs find themselves unable to find the finances they need to supplement their growth plans. Business Angels are small syndicates/individuals who can normally invest anything between £75,000 and £250,000 in your business, in return for a percentage share of the firm, known as equity. On top of their financial pledge they will also offer their industry expertise, tips and analysis to help your company achieve its targets.

The business plan should include details on how you intend to start the business; whether you are going to start from scratch with new premises, or simply take over an existing business and possibly re-brand it. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, for instance if you take over an existing business you may already have an established client base, but then you will also then have to overcome any negative attitudes towards the shop which have been inflicted under the previous management. It can be quite hard to re-build a reputation once it has been tarnished. The location of your store will have a large impact on the type of clientele you will attract; if it is on a busy high street then you should get a good level of business simply from passing trade, but if it is in an obscure spot then you will have to rely on good marketing, repeat business and word of mouth advertising from existing customers.  

Once the premises and location have been secured, you need to look at the type of business you want to run. Will you have a mixture of lie down sun beds and vertical tanning units? Will there be a spray tanning booth? If so, you need to employ qualified staff - these will cost more. The actual booths can be very expensive, so you need to look at ways to finance them - will you lease them or buy them straight out? These costs will need to be included in your plan so that any potential investor knows exactly what you will be using their money for.

As well as running the sunbeds, there are other products and services that can be incorporated into the business plan, such as pre-tanning/aftersun products and moisturisers, and other beauty treatments, such as massages, fitness sessions, saunas and manicures.

It is important to set the correct price, and this means doing enough market research to find out firstly what your competitors are charging, and secondly what the average customer would be willing to pay. You may be able to charge more if you consider your service as ‘premium', and this could be a unique selling point which can be turned to your advantage. Will you offer any discounts for loyal/repeat customers? As with all service industries where the product is not tangible, the emphasis is on the experience of the session - are the staff friendly/knowledgeable, was the customer comfortable and did they enjoy the service you provided them?