How we became American Sun Systems and the 15th Annual Southeast Tanning Expo

How we became American Sun Systems

and the

15th Annual Southeast Tanning Expo

About 25 years ago, my husband and I decided to start a new business together. I had left the banking industry, working only part time jobs for friends and raising our 2 year old daughter. He was working extensively on the west coast and happened upon a new beauty trend that was gaining tremendous popularity – indoor tanning. He was in Seattle at the time and noticed people with tans in an area that was predominately cloudy and rainy. A typical skin type 2, he was curious and bought a tanning package, a bottle of accelerator and within 2 weeks he had his first head to toe tan.

When he returned home, he was ecstatic about the experience and I was impressed with the results. We did a little research to find a distributor of tanning beds in our area and after a lot of discussion and research, we proceeded to open our first tanning salon; one of the very first in our area of roughly one million people. We met with our banker and a builder and after about 3 months, we open Sun Sations. Because there was basically no education or support at that time, we were on our own. We gave it our all, diving head first into the challenges of uncharted waters so to speak.

With a lot of perseverance, we grew the business tremendously. It was an amazing and rewarding process; to create and nurture a business when there was relatively no track record on this brand new industry. Within a year, we were selling and servicing our brand of equipment; shortly after that we added lotions and accessories as well thus becoming the first full service distributor on the east coast – American Sun Systems. As if that wasn’t enough, we opened another Sun Sations in a neighboring city which was a huge success as well.

Soon, we were instrumental in starting the first educational and training programs in our area. The organization was ITAC (Indoor Tanning Association of the Carolinas) which later came to be known as the ITAA (Indoor Tanning Association of America). We worked closely with the state as they began implementing regulations. That organization was disbanded several years later & replaced by other national efforts.

Around 1990, we made a choice to move into distribution exclusively. Because of our experience with our salons, our commitment was to help other entrepreneurs be equally successful. Our business was expanding as customer needs increased. Technology was rapidly developing; tanning lotions and equipment were becoming more sophisticated. Thus, building the best team possible was key to enabling future growth along with top notch service. Around this time, we started doing annual symposiums which allowed education, training & new product introduction to local salons and prospective business owners.

Today, we are preparing to play host to approximately 1500 salon owners, managers and staff at our 15th annual expo in historic downtown Winston-Salem at the Benton Convention Center. What a progression, from a small meeting room in a local hotel to a convention center! Contact us to register for this event. You can make room reservations directly with the hotel; we’ll give you those numbers upon registration. It is very heart warming to see our customers, hear their individual success stories, and watch their interactions with other business owners as they share stories. I can say we truly are a part of one of the most rewarding and exciting industries in the world. Did you know tanning has been around for almost three decades now on the cosmetic level; originating in Europe from a simple way to treat skin disorders. It has been amazing to watch an industry mature and transform and know that there is still a lot of growth and development to come.

While we have had our challenges with the media over the years, we now have a huge PR movement to educate the public about tanning via television. Rick Berman and company will headline this effort, funded in whole by the ITA (Indoor Tanning Association) and its members. Chip Stroud, president of American Sun Systems and our entire sales staff were a the ITA show in Nashville, TN on October 12, 2007 as concerned salon owners and vendors banded together financially to protect what we work for each day; protecting our rights to tan by exposing the positives about indoor tanning. If you are not a member of ITA, please join so we can keep these efforts going. Visit http://www.theita.com/ or call 1.888.377.0477 for details. You can even call our sales reps.

I sincerely hope that if you are looking for a new business opportunity or want to grow your existing salon, please give us a call or visit our website at http://www.americansunsystems.com/. As a full service distributor with a background in salon operation & ownership, we are prepared to walk you through the process of initial salon development or even a simple add-on. Our team of industry professionals have a lot of knowledge and skill and are eager to assist with your purchase, service any equipment issues or simply answer your questions. Also, our 2008 Buyer’s Guide is now available. If you are not on our mailing list, please contact us for your copy today.