Smart Tan Nashville Report & Pix

Last month’s Smart Tan Downtown show was a grand success, providing attendees with valuable education, an exhibit hall packed with product and service providers, and some awesome parties, to boot. The event kicked off on Friday with training opportunities by day and a social mixer at night.

Saturday morning’s keynote presentation by Bill Rancic – winner of Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” – drew rave reviews. I overheard several salon owners commenting that he had great business advice, yet came off as a “regular person,” just like them. That’s how I felt about Tony Hartl of Planet Tan fame, who shared three building blocks that would help salons blow past their competition.

Big props go to Smart Tan for their ongoing efforts to provide educational tools to salon owners and their customers. Vice President Joe Levy and CEO Matt Russell shared a plethora of available resources – from the Vitamin D Angels program to WeAreSunshine.com to supporting the work of Dr. Marc Sorenson and the Sunlight Institute. I also loved their tribute that acknowledged the recent work of some industry heroes – ordinary folks like us who have donated their time and resources to enhance the industry (and the public and political perception thereof).

I’ve got a ton of photos to share, so I’ll put the reporting “on pause” for now and get some pictures up.