As a woman of fair complexion, Patti Yeo often had trouble enjoying time in the sun without burning. After passing this trait into her children, she became more concerned with moderate exposure and getting a base tan without burning.

When she learned about her friend’s indoor tanning business, Patti thought it was a great and useful service to offer people. She purchased the name and logo from her friends, then worked with her husband Ken Yeo to open their own location of California Tan in December of 1988.

Patti had always been the entrepreneurial type, spending many years as a self-employed seamstress and bookkeeper, but her new venture in the indoor tanning industry would go on to bring her whole family together. As her children grew up, they played and later worked in the salon. When her daughter Penny Hubbard had children of her own, Patti decided to change roles and focus on being a grandmother while handing the reigns to the next generation.

26 years later, California Tan is still succeeding as a family-run business as a result of their focus on service and education.

Click here to read the entire article in the latest issue of Smart Tan Magazine online.