A great guide to help you choose your starter kit!

Choosing the right starter kit is important. Here are some points to consider when choosing which one to buy:

 

  • Marketing materials: Are marketing materials important to you? Marketing and branding is going to be essential to your new business, so they should be. Getting your own information leaflets, writing and printing your own pre- and post-tan care information, and making your own appointment or loyalty cards can be time-consuming and extremely costly (printing is not cheap!).

 
More comprehensive starter kits will come with a variety of marketing materials included to get you started. If you are aiming for this kind of kit, then make sure you are buying from a brand that suits your business and its clientele. The last thing you want to do is launch your new business, and then change your entire look and feel only a few weeks in!

Think about the kind of client you wish to attract, your treatment prices, and your business ethos. If you've decided to promote organic cosmetics, for example, the "cheap and cheerful" style of branding may not necessarily fit the message you are trying to convey to your new clients.

  • Tanning machine choice: Starter kits can come with a variety of machines, but there are three major players in the tanning machine world: the original MaxiMist, the HV5008, and the TS20.


All of these machines are manufactured in the UK by Earlex, with a few differences:

- MaxiMist machines are sienna brown in colour, and come with an upgraded, commercial-grade hose and extended MaxiMist-backed 12-month warranty. The MaxiMist machine is often chosen by salons who like the look of the burnt sienna system along with a brown spray tan popup tent. This machine certainly has an air of 'up-market' or exclusivity
about it.

- The HV5008 is functionally the same as the MaxiMist in that its turbine, gun etc. are all identical. It has a slightly weaker hose, but the plus side of this is that the hose is flexible enough to be stored in clips around the outside of the system (with the MaxiMist, the hose has to be carried separately). The HV5008 always comes in black, and is backed by an Earle 6-month warranty. Many suppliers (Fresh Indulgence being one of them!) choose to give their clients an extended 12-month warranty as standard, however, so this is something to look out for.

- The TS20 is the perfect machine for new businesses, small mobile businesses or as a backup system. It is capable of handling up to ten tans per day. It uses the same gun as the HV5008 and the quality of the tan is just as good.

 

  • Solution: Look out for some favourite 'tricks' some starter kit sellers will employ! "Includes 6 bottles of spray tan solution," for example, can be highly misleading. What is a bottle? 100ml, 250ml, or one litre? Also ask yourself the same questions as you did with the marketing materials - is this actually a tanning solution you wish to promote? Does it complement your business? There are some great deals to be had in getting solution included with your kit but if it's not a solution you intend to use, does it really have any value to you?