You need a minimum of $298,900 to open a tanning salon (Medium Scale Salon). When it comes to opening a tanning salon, the major areas that you should look towards spending the bulk of your cash is in renting or leasing a standard facility, converting it into a tanning salon.
You also need to equip the salon with the needed UV tanning equipment, Spray – On tanning equipment, tanning airbrush, Computers and receipt issuing machines, Sound System (For playing music), Point of Sale Machines (POS Machines), CCTV Cameras and Flat Screen TVs.
Aside from that, you are not expected to spend much except for paying of your employees and utility bills and stocking up on inventory. These are the key areas where you are expected to spend your startup capital on;
Estimated Cost Breakdown for Opening a Tanning Salon
- The total fee for registering a business in the united states of America – 0.
- Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines, and other software) – $3,300.
- Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of the tanning salon in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $3,580.
- The total cost for hiring a business consultant including writing a business plan – $2,500.
- The total cost for the purchase of insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation, and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,400.
- The cost for renting or leasing a space or warehouse that will be converted into a tanning salon and that can accommodate the number of customers per time (Reconstruction of the facility inclusive) will cost – $80,000.
- Other start-up expenses including, commercial satellite TV subscriptions, stationery ($500), and phone and utility deposits ($2,800).
- Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $40,000
- The cost for start-up inventory (stocking with amino acid tyrosine to produce melanin and other related tanning supplies) – $15,000
- The cost for the purchase of storage hardware (bins, rack, shelves, case) – $3,720
- The cost for counter area equipment (countertop, receipt issuing machine, etc.) – $9,500
- The cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $4,750
- The cost of purchase and installation of CCTVs: $2,000
- Equipping the tanning salon with (vertical solarium tanning bed/tanning machine/solarium device with 48pcs Germany UV lamp tubes, furniture (table, stools, and sofas), telephones, filing cabinets, and TV et al) will cost – $80,000
- The cost of launching a website: $600
- Miscellaneous: $2,000
From the rough estimate listed above, you would need a minimum of two hundred and ninety – eight thousand nine hundred USD ($298,900) to establish a medium–scale but standard tanning salon business in any city in the United States of America.
Please note that this amount includes the salaries of all the staff for the first three months of operation. If you are interested in opening a tanning salon, one of your major concerns should be financing.
In as much as there are several factors that influence the cost of opening a tanning salon, there are key factors that will definitely apply to all entrepreneurs irrespective of the size and location of the tanning salon they want to open. In this article, we will look at the 10 key factors influencing the cost of opening a tanning salon.
Factors That Influence the Cost of Opening a Tanning Salon
Table of Content
- The Location of the Tanning Salon
- 2. The Size of the Tanning Salon
- The Cost of Rent or Lease
- The Cost for Renovations and Add-ons
- The Cost of Furnishing and Equipping
- The Cost of Hiring and Training Your Staff
- The Cost of Obtaining Licenses and Permits
- The Cost of Marketing and Advertising
- The Cost of Insurance
- The Cost for Inventory
The Location of the Tanning Salon
When it comes to starting any business, the first decision that is expected of any entrepreneur is to choose the location to start the business. The truth is that you cannot successfully conduct feasibility studies and market surveys without choosing a specific location.
Interestingly, all locations ideal for a business don’t come at the same price. For example, the cost of starting a tanning salon business in a city like Beverly Hills, California will be far higher than the cost of starting a tanning salon of the same size in Silver City, New Mexico.
In essence, the location you choose to start your tanning salon business will greatly influence the cost of starting the business.
2. The Size of the Tanning Salon
Another major factor that will greatly influence the cost of starting a tanning salon is the size of the tanning salon you want to start.
For example, if you want to rent a facility for your tanning salon in a shop that is 400 square meters, you are expected to spend less when compared to someone who wants to start a tanning salon in a shop facility that is over 4,000 square meters.
The Cost of Rent or Lease
The budget for rent or lease is yet another factor that will no doubt influence the cost of opening a tanning salon. If you want to operate a mobile tanning salon, you are expected to create a budget for rent or lease. Interestingly, the cost of renting a facility doesn’t come cheap and it is one of the reasons why some entrepreneurs have not started their businesses.
For example, if you plan to open your tanning salon in a city like Los Angeles, California, then you should budget to pay between $30,000 to $150,000 per year for a standard shop facility and that will translate to about $30 to $150 per square meter space.
The Cost for Renovations and Add-ons
Another factor that will influence the cost of starting a tanning salon is the amount you are expected to pay for renovations and add-ons. The truth is that no matter the choice of salon property you choose to rent or lease, you are expected to at least renovate the facility.
You are expected to make the place look good and appealing to potential customers and this doesn’t come cheap. Even if you the landlord decide to handle the renovation work, you should expect that somehow, the cost will be transferred to you in the form of rent.
The Cost of Furnishing and Equipping
The cost of furnishing and equipping the tanning salon is yet another cost that will greatly influence the amount needed to start a tanning salon business. Interestingly, without furnishing and equipping your tanning salon, no one will patronize you and you won’t be able to carry out your services.
So, you are expected to budget and purchase tanning salon equipment such as tanning beds or booths, spray tanning equipment, UV lamps, and a ventilation system. You are expected to also budget for furniture, computers, flat-screen televisions, sound systems, and security gadgets (CCTV et al)
The Cost of Hiring and Training Your Staff
Irrespective of the size of the tanning salon you want to open, at least you should have a budget of a minimum of two or three employees to start the business with. No doubt, you may decide to occupy more than one role as the boss, but there are certain aspects of the business that you may not be able to handle hence you would need to hire employees.
In essence, the cost of hiring and training staff is one of the factors that will to a large extent influence the cost of opening a tanning salon.
The Cost of Obtaining Licenses and Permits
Another factor that will influence the cost of opening your tanning salon is the amount required to apply and obtain the needed licenses and permits to be able to legally launch and operate your tanning salon.
Although this cost might be far lesser than all other costs discussed above, the truth remains that they are costs that will add to the total amount needed to open a salon. The cost of obtaining your business license, zoning permit, sales tax permit, tanning permit, and lastly signage permit, will definitely add up.
The Cost of Marketing and Advertising
The cost of marketing and advertising the tanning salon business is yet another key cost that will influence the cost of starting a tanning salon business. Interestingly, in this era of social media and the internet, you can use a small budget to achieve great results when it comes to marketing and advertising your tanning salon.
Be that as it may, the budget for your tanning salon will not be complete without filling up the column for marketing and advertising.
The Cost of Insurance
In the United States and of course, in most countries of the world, it is illegal to start a business without having the required insurance policy covers in place. You are expected to have at least general liability insurance, property insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance in place.
This insurance policy covers cost money and they will add to the budget you are expected to spend when opening your tanning salon.
The Cost for Inventory
Lastly, the budget for inventory is yet another major cost that can influence the cost of opening a tanning salon. Before you can successfully open a tanning salon, you are expected to have a budget for inventories such as towels, lenses, tanning lotions, skin care products, sunglasses and cleaning products et al.
Even though your budget for inventory may not be as high as that for equipment and rent et al, they are still part of the cost that will influence the cost of opening your tanning salon. Interestingly, the bigger your tanning salon, the bigger the amount you should budget for inventory.
In Conclusion,
Please note that this is a rough estimate and we usually advise our readers who are interested in opening a tanning salon to go to the market or directly contact wholesalers and suppliers of the types of vertical solarium tanning bed/tanning machine, UV lamp tubes, flat-screen TVs, sound system and related gadgets they want to have in their tanning salon in order to get the real-time prices of these items.
Starting a tanning salon business doesn’t come cheap, and if you are able to take into consideration all the factors that are listed above and you do your due diligence, you will be able to launch your business successfully. The truth is that, if you are a good bargainer, you can get a better deal that will help you beat down the estimated price as listed above.