Behind The Counter: Electric Beach Tanning Salon

Name: Jim and Gwen Wint
Salon: Electric Beach Tanning Salon
City, State: Odenton, Md.
Years in business: 7 years

Q: How did you get into the industry?
A: We acquired an existing indoor-tanning business in December 2001.

Q: What is the philosophy behind your success?
A: Providing better quality products and services, value priced for our clients. We are a small business in a small community; we take care of our clients as we want to be served.

Q: Best advice for maintaining or growing sales in this economy.
A: We promote tanning memberships at a value price to encourage clients to tan more months of the year. We offer discounts on lotions for multi-unit purchases every day. We offer aggressive tanning-package promotions during our off-season (from mid-July to January).

Q: What advice would you have for new salon owners?
A: Research everything inside and out. Write a business plan and understand your numbers. When making projections, always overestimate expenses and underestimate revenue. When making purchases, remember that everything is negotiable. Conserve cash. Also, understand that we are now in an economic recession and possibly entering into an economic depression. Democrats have gained control of Congress, the presidency and more state and local offices. I note this because, in my opinion, Democrats historically have been unfriendly towards business and we therefore need to be prepared for increased government regulation, higher operating expenses, higher taxes, higher unemployment and inflation.

Q: What’s your favorite or least favorite aspect of your job/the industry?
A: Our favorite aspect of the industry is the freedom entrepreneurship offers. Our least favorite aspect is overcoming inaccurate, negative media and public opinion about indoor tanning.

Q: What’s the hardest lesson you’ve learned in the industry?
A: Hype is not reality. Case in point: We bought a sunless spray booth in 2005. It was the biggest mistake we’ve made.

Q: How do you market to new clients? Any advice for others to follow your lead?
A: Our target client lives within four miles of our front door. Any money spent advertising outside that radius is mostly wasted. Therefore, our advice is to think local and act local. For example: We advertise in local directories with a 1/8 page ad; we advertise on a local map;.we post coroplast signs at intersections and highway exits;.we display several red-white-and-blue commercial “Tanning” message flags on the road in front of our building to draw attention; we maintain a Web site with a No. 1 Google-search ranking for “Tanning Odenton;” and we offer a military discount because Ft. Meade is two miles away from us.

Q: How have you seen the industry change? Is it for the better or worse?
A: It seems like our business has become more difficult since the beginning of 2007. Negative media and public opinion has intensified; operating expenses and payroll expenses have increased; taxes have increased; electric utility rates have increased; government regulation has increased; gas prices are higher. Everyone is facing similar household budget constraints—as a result, non-essentials are eliminated to counteract the rise in other costs.

Q: What do you believe is your salon’s greatest asset?
A: Our employees are integral to our continued success. They are the eyes and ears—and the public face—of our business. They make everything happen.

Q: Which of your products and services are most popular?
A: Indoor tanning is the only service we offer. Our best-selling lotions are from Tan Inc. and Designer Skin.

Q: How has your salon changed over the years to best serve the evolving industry?
A: We reinvest in more powerful tanning equipment every year and we emphasize our tanning-club memberships to clients.

Q: Why do you enjoy the industry?
A: I find pride and personal satisfaction in operating a successful small business. Life as an entrepreneur affords me more freedom and opportunity than working as an employee ever did.

Q: How are you contributing to the industry?
A: We are very actively involved in lobbying our state legislators to oppose anti-tanning salon-regulation initiatives and tanning-tax proposals. Tanning-salon owners must be political activists and tanning-industry proponents to state and local government.