How to Make a Career Change With a Tanning Salon Franchise

Making a career change can seem a daunting thing to do, but with the training and support of a big national franchise, you can overcome all the challenges that are thrown in your way. If you’re looking to make a career change with a tanning salon franchise, here’s how you can make it happen.

Partly because of the pandemic, three in five employees are now looking to make a career change [People Management]. Whether you're looking to run your own business, be your own boss, earn more profit, or have more job satisfaction, making a career change with a tanning franchise is a great way to make a new start in an exciting career.

And what better industry to make a career change into than the tanning salon industry. With as many as 4,000 tanning salons already in the UK [The Sunbed Association], this is a big industry. For the right franchisee, this can be a very profitable career change to make. 

Why make a career change with a tanning salon

The tanning industry is certainly competitive, but as a franchisee, there’s lots of reasons for optimism. Only one percent of franchises closing cited commercial failure as a reason for closing, making franchising one of the safer business models to run [British Franchise Association]. 

On top of the additional job security, being a franchisee will also allow you to:

• Be your own boss
• Benefit from expert training and support
• Work flexibly or remotely if you want to
• Count on the support of an extensive network of like-minded franchisees
• Have a pre-existing customer base.

When it comes to making a profitable career change, there are few more exciting opportunities than a tanning franchise. Best of all, you’ll be able to reap all the rewards of running your own business, while minimising your potential risks. There’s never been a better time to make a career change. 

How to make a career change with a tanning salon franchise

Before you open your doors, you’ll need to do a few essential things to get your tanning business up to speed. 

1. Research the market

Carrying out detailed market research is an essential part of any new business, and what you cover in this initial phase can make a huge difference to your business’ fortunes. When researching the market, it may be worth making a note on some of the following points:

• What kinds of businesses are already operating within the industry? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
• What could your franchise business do better? 
• What makes your franchise unique?
• How will you market and highlight your strengths?
• What kind of price point will your business operate at? Will it be higher or lower than your competitors?

This isn’t an exhaustive set of questions, and you may well have some other areas of interest you will need to research further. But once you’ve carried out your market research and made a note of the subjects that interest you the most, you will be in a good position to decide which franchise is a good fit for you.

2. Choose your franchise

There are many big franchises operating within the tanning industry, but that doesn’t mean that they will all be a good fit for you. Before rushing into any kind of decision that you may regret later, start by creating a shortlist of franchises that you think you would be a good fit for. 

Consider their franchising fees and costs, the amount of training and guidance you’ll receive, and also whether the investment seems like a worthwhile opportunity. Make sure you take into consideration the small print of each franchise, as failing to ask the right questions can lead to mistakes further down the line.

Once you’ve researched the market, chosen your franchise, and carried out some due diligence, you should have a good idea which franchises are a good fit for you. So what next?

3. Work out a business plan

Based on some of the initial conversations you have with your chosen franchisor, banks and key stakeholders, you’ll need to put together a business plan that takes into account much of this initial feedback. This initial plan will form the backbone of your future business growth, so this is a good opportunity to display the passion and ambition you have for your business.

Business plans always change, so don’t feel like this is a binding document that needs to be followed to the letter, but business plans are still important documents that you will need to fully understand. These documents can be used to secure funding, identify opportunities in your market, and outline future growth strategies, so they are important documents to take stock of. 

4. Make a career change with a tanning salon today

Making a career change can be a daunting thing to consider, but as a franchisee, there’s every reason to be optimistic about the future. Not only will you be able to enjoy all the benefits of running your own profitable business, you also won’t need to worry about the traditional challenges facing new businesses. 

It isn’t just the tanning sector looking to make a post-covid comeback. The hair and beauty sector is also looking to make a big comeback, and is bringing a whole host of new tech trends to make the industry more exciting than ever. If you want to explore other opportunities, you can have a look at the UK franchise directory for all other sectors.