Lorraine Ferrari, Aztec Tanning

Lorraine Ferrari jumped head first into the tanning industry as a way to stay busy during the down season of her golf promotion business. It was only after joining the ranks of Canadian tanning salons that she realized the depth of education and service it takes to keep the business going. To make sure her business would thrive, she hired a passionate manager and adopted sunless tanning.

Q: Why did you decide to hire a manager for your store?

A: I hired Carolynn seven years ago. The busy seasons of tanning and golf promotion overlap a little bit, and after the third or fourth year of Aztec Tanning, I realized I needed the extra help. Carolynn takes on a great deal of responsibility; this salon is her baby. She loves the tanning industry and takes a lot of pressure off of me.

Being able to tag team with my right-hand person has helped us grow the business more quickly and efficiently. That’s why I like bringing my manager to conferences like Nashville. It’s not a huge expense, and it really gives her that extra push.

Q: How has sunless tanning helped your business?

A: Sunless became a great addition to the business – we all love it. Every member of my staff gets trained to spray tan, but only certain staff members handle male spray customers. We have tried different formulas and are really figuring out what works for us.

When we acquired the client list of a competing salon, it was especially beneficial because they didn’t offer sunless. So we offered clients a free tan just to come in and check us out.

We got our airbrushing system in my second year of business when we went to the Smart Tan trade show in Nashville. We loved the airbrushing system and took instructional courses on how to spray clients. I was worried that my lack of arts and crafts skills would hold me back, but we did so many free sprays to practice on people that we became great. Now we have customers who request me personally.

To learn more about the salon, visit www.aztectanning.ca.