California Tanning Supply Sticks With Its Customers
By John P. Ribner

California Tanning Supply doesn't lose track of its customers after a sale is made. Owner, Tim McQuay, helps build his clients' salons from the ground up!

When Tim McQuay started his product distributorship, California Tanning Supply, in 1989, he was one of only a few distributors who sold high-pressure tanning equipment. A lot of things have changed since then. Now, Tim says high-pressure units are the future of the indoor tanning industry.

Tim started California Tanning Supply a year after he opened his first tanning salon. "I was selling high-pressure units made by Ulra Tan," said Tim. "I saw the units at a trade show the year before, and I thought it would be a good idea to have them in my salon. After a while, other salon owners wanted to buy those units, so I sold them." Tim didn't get out of the distribution business when Ultra Tan stopped manufacturing-he just diversified his product selection. Today, California Tanning supply sells tanning equipment made by Ultrabronz America, Royal Sun, Sun Capsule and Garda sun.

Beginning to End.
Some distributors might sell equipment to a customer and then consider the relationship over. When a salon owner makes a purchase from Tim, that's just the beginning! "We help get salons started from the ground up," he said. "We help our customers with everything from securing the best location and lease, to installing the electrical, working with the contractor and training their staff once the salon is finished. This takes up much of my time, but it's worth it because it helps create customer loyalty." Tim said his company helps start an average of 30 new salons each year. California Tanning Supply has helped set up salons on the West Coast, the South and the Midwest.

Tim's dedication to customer service is something he learned at his first job." I was a salesman for Martin Industries, which made furnaces and fireplaces," he said. "We worked with contractors who built up to 200 homes at a time, and we put one of our units in each of those homes. After the initial sale, we stayed in contact with those contractors for service help and to answer any other questions they had." Tim said the company closed its California branch in 1988. Looking for a new career, he soon opened his first tanning salon, Magic Tan, in San Jose.

Success
Now with five locations, Tim is a successful tanning salon owner and says that's why he's a successful distributor. He has many customers because salon owners are eager to imitate his success. "This is a seasonal business, but I'm able to make $300,000 to $400,000 in gross sales in any one of my five salons," he stated. "We've trained over 400 salon owners in the past 14 years. They're all doing well, and many of them are earning double what my salons are making!" Tim borrowed a few ideas from the health club industry to increase revenue throughout the year. One of those ideas is using electronic funds transfers to bill tanners for their memberships. "Tanners might not come to the salon as much in July, but we bill them with the EFT, and the money comes in because they don't cancel their memberships," he said.

Tim said that offering bigger and better tanning equipment can make salons successful. "A salon owner can only generate so much money with low-pressure equipment," he said. "Sooner or later, they'll have to add some medium- and high-pressure units to keep up with inflation and competition. This allows salon owners to tan more people in the same amount of time, and charge more money per session." Tim says that the majority of new salon owners seem to be aware of this trend because most of his recent sales have been high-pressure tanning equipment.

Two Lives
Tim does a good job of balancing his work and family lives. He said that some of his mentors in the tanning industry told him that they regretted not spending as much time with their families while they were building their businesses. Tim is determined not to make the same mistake. "I love my career, but I also love my family," he said. "I want to spend as much time with them as I can. That's why I haven't worked a weekend in many years. I suppose I'll start working weekends once the kids go away to college." Tim has been married to his wife, Michelle, for 15 years, and they have two children-Briana, 14, and Austin, 12.

The McQuay kids love sports-something that they probably get from their dad. "I played football and baseball in high school, but I wasn't tall enough to play basketball," Tim said. "I didn't get as tall as I am now until I was a senior, but by then it was too late. I still play a lot of pick-up basketball for fun, though." Tim might not have been able to play basketball in school, but his son does. "Austin is in seventh grade, and he's already taller than I was when I was a sophomore!" Tim exclaimed. "He's involved in basketball, football, baseball and track. Briana plays volleyball and basketball." With both of his kids involved in school sports, Tim has many games to attend throughout the year. "I schedule my work around my kids' games," he stated. "I've only missed one, so I think I've been doing pretty well."

Good Industry. Good Future
The indoor tanning industry is still a "mom-and-pop" industry, and Tim likes it that way. "This industry is still relatively young, and there are no major corporations coming in and taking everything over," he stated. "People in this industry are still concerned about the way that it's run. It wouldn't be that way if there was a major chain knocking on our door." Tim says that while all of this could change at any time, he thinks that the future looks good. He isn't worried about the possible economic recession that the media has hinted at. "My business has survived during two recessions," he stated. "Tanning memberships are not extremely expensive items, so people still can still afford them during a recession. And as long as salon owners still need replacement parts and service, distributors will do well, too."