Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in beauty and cosmetics but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Angie Ruh, Founder of Shine Spray Tanning, located in Omaha, NE, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Shine has two brick-and-mortar locations in Omaha, Nebraska. We Specialize in Spray Tanning. Along with Esthetic services, including waxing, lashing, and skincare. Our customers are over 90% Females ranging from teens to 70+ years of age. We provide a safe, natural tan. Our mission is to keep youth away from tanning beds, as the most damage to the skin is caused in the younger years and shows up later in life as different forms of skin cancer. Our motto is "Spray Don't Lay, The Bed is Dead" Founded in 2002, we have spray-tanned hundreds of thousands of people for an array of special events. Including Homecoming, Prom, Graduations, Trips, Weddings, Pageantry, Dance and Cheer Competitions, Photography, Date Nights, and Weekly boosts of color. The list is never ending on what we are spray tanning our clients for.

Our new endeavor is our online self-tanning products for purchase nationwide. We build a quiz that will go live this month where clients can answer questions about their skin, and we will tell which level of self-tanning products will look the most natural on your skin and ship them right to your door with helpful application tips and tricks on a QR code to watch. We want our clients to feel comfortable applying self-tanning products at home if they are not in the Omaha area to get sprayed by our technicians without the fear of "turning orange."

Tell us about yourself

Hello, My name is Angie Ruh. I have been an Esthetician for over 27 years now. Being extremely pale and burning terribly bad in the sun and tanning beds in my youth, I wanted to find a better solution. Self-tanners were still working the kinks out in my late teens and early 20s. So I was buying all I could find and mixing brands together to find a good color match. On my journey, I came across spray tans. I immediately flew out of state to be trained by the inventor on a small airbrush gun you would use to do nail art. It literally took over 30 min to airbrush a body! I found skin care chemists to make better spray tan solutions. Working side by side with them to develop hydrating, natural solutions that my pale, sensitive skin could handle. Poof! Shine was born! June 2, 2002. We were even in Omaha before the Tanning spray booths arrived.

Being a midwesterner and pale, I am motivated every day to help people feel and look beautiful and trust the self-tanning process. We all look a little healthier with some natural color on our skin.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Looking back, just surviving through hard times and getting up after failures. We really do learn from our mistakes and not give up during those times. It is amazing, after 20 years, to look back and see how far Shine has grown. 2020 about took us down since we are such a special event business. We lost 75% of our income. But we made it, and 2021 was an incredible year for Shine. I think just hanging on during the tough seasons is an accomplishment in itself.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The hardest part is honestly managing employees. I am not great at it. I'm definitely better today than even a couple of years ago. But I think I'm too nice. I do not hold people accountable and can get walked on easily. But again, I'm getting better.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. You must have passion and heart and truly believe in your product/service.
  2. Failures are lessons. Learn from them and know they will happen over and over.
  3. Take care of your body and mental well-being. You are not 9-5 anymore. You are always on the clock. It will take all of you.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.shinespraytans.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShineSprayTans
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shinespraytans/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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