Sunday, November 8, 2009 Previous editions
Saturday, July 04, 2009
PRAISE be the recession!
This downturn is not without its devastating human impact but none of us can deny it’s firmly handing back the power to the consumer.
One woman who has turned the belt-tightening to her advantage is Janet O’Regan, who was initially devastated when she found her working hours as an office administrator in Cork city were being cut.
But with her recession-busting business plan in place, she is now struggling to get a day off.
A long-time fan of the spray-on tan, she’d long thought that the salon treat was "outrageously overpriced" and it would be much easier if the tanner could just come to your home.
And so she set up a mobile tanning company where she is selling tans to clients in the privacy of their own home for — wait for it— the princely sum of €20, a saving of more than €30.
In business just a couple of months, there has been an overwhelming response from the public.
"I always had thought that if I set up a business, that’s what I’d do and I did my market research so I knew that it would work but I’m still shocked at the demand," she said.
Hugely popular with busy mothers and entire families in advance of a wedding, she says girls are also holding tanning parties.
Others are getting "tanned up" before their summer holidays and hairdressing chains have called her so staff can get a bronzing on Thursday nights for the coming weekend.
"The whole process takes just 20 minutes and that includes putting up the pop-up tent that I use to protect surroundings," she says.
Spray tanning can last for up to seven days if the person exfoliates in advance and moisturises regularly afterwards, Janet says.
"The big thing I suppose is the price. I priced it for the recession and people have reacted correspondingly. There is so much stuff priced outrageously — even still," she said.
Janet can be contacted at joregantan@gmail.com
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