Countless articles and seminars have attempted to answer salon owners’ most pressing questions: How can I survive How can I thrive? The answer are so numerous that it becomes overwhelming before it’s helpful. But maybe the problem isn’t the answer; maybe we’re not asking the right questions.

How can you make a difference? How have you already made a difference? These are the unexpected questions that can lead you and our industry to future success.

When you pull back the curtain of numbers, demographics and other business minutiae, you see that the root of our industry’s power comes from real people and their stories. Customers, salon owners, employees, and even the random people we meet in our communities have stories about how UV light — whether from sunshine or sunbeds — made their lives better.

Smart Tan sponsored a contest to gather these kinds of stories, and we received submissions from across the country. We are proud to share the top three stories exemplifying how tanning can make a difference in someone’s life.

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