Today we’d like to introduce you to Hailee Smith.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started my tanning journey when I was 12 years old, I was going to a water park and convinced my dad to let me tan in a bed. Fast forward eight years, and I found myself applying at a tanning salon that offered custom spray tans. When I went away to college, I started a tanning membership at a tanning salon. The booth spray tans were turning out blotchy and uneven. I knew I had to purchase my own spray tan machine. I wasn’t trying to start a business but it happened overnight! I was able to make connections with sororities and others through word of mouth.
When I graduated in 2019, I was nervous that mobile tanning wouldn’t thrive in the St. Louis area. I was wrong! I connected with a large women-only networking group and was able to grow my reach through there. Mobile spray tans are an affordable, healthy luxury. Why leave your house to get a beautiful spray tan!?
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Establishing my business at college made it hard to move back to the St. Louis area. I had to start from the ground up again, in the long run, I think it was the best thing. Networking and visiting other areas really strengthened my business and who I am as a person.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I knew coming back from the pandemic, I needed to level up my business. I am taking more courses to learn better application, ingredients and overall business tips. I have even started spraying out of Project Deliverance on The Hill once a week! This gives my client the option to leave the house and enjoy a new type of spray tan by me!
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I have another spray tan artist in Indy that has become my mentor. She too, does mobile spray tans and started studio tans in 2020. I love the book Profit First by Mike Michalowicz! It was very eye-opening, and I have now read it twice. No one talks about the financial side when giving tips or meeting for coffee. This was very helpful.
Dee Turner wrote Bet On Talent, which’s all about customer service and her journey through the Chik Fil A franchise. It talks about mindset in a workplace, I read this book before covid and still think about it almost every day.
Pricing:
- $40 Basic tan
- $45 Signature tan, includes drying powder
- $55 Deluxe tan, includes 2 skin additives & drying powder
- $25 In studio basic tan
Contact Info:
- Email: hellosunlesstans@gmail.com
- Website: sunlesstansbyhailee.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunlesstans.byhailee/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunlesstans.byhailee/
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/zxxqtVUdgP8
- Other: https://app.squarespacescheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22288588
Image Credits
The two girls on the couch was photographed by Virginia Harold
