When producing its popular salon management software packages, Interactive Designs, Inc. has one thing in mind – the tanning salon professional. Knowing that a tanning salon is a fast-paced environment and often has a high employee turnover rate, the company’s programs – SunTouch, SalonTouch and SalonTouch.net – are fast, efficient and very user-friendly. As the company heads into the future, its plans are to continue to improving upon its programs, making them more – as their name implies – interactive.

The Beginning
When Michael Young founded Interactive Designs, Inc. 16 years ago, he had no idea he would be creating software programs for tanning salon owners. While attending Southern Polytechnic State University and earning a Bachelor’s degree in computer science with a management minor, Michael worked for computer giant IBM. There, he earned his chops, eventually heading the company’s multimedia department. When he graduated, he formed his first company, Interactive Designs, in 1990. “At that time, we were mainly developing custom multi-media training application software to be utilized with touch-screen monitors for the insurance and fitness industries,” Michael explained. “I wasn’t even aware that indoor tanning even existed.”

A Fateful Intro
In 1991, Interactive Designs would venture into the world of producing salon management software. “One of our employees went to college with a friend who owned a tanning equipment manufacturing company, and they needed a software program,” Michael recalled. “They approached us to develop a package for them, and this served as our introduction to indoor tanning.” While researching what the company needed in terms of software, Michael discovered an even bigger market for his management software programs – indoor tanning salons. “Once we understood the needs of tanning salon owners, we knew that we could produce a software product that would be beneficial for them,” he added.

Truly Interactive
Being new to indoor tanning, Michael and the Interactive Designs team were committed from the beginning to create a superior product. The company actively sought out tanning salon owners to help in the development of its first salon software product – SunTouch. “At the time SunTouch was created, every program out there was DOS based so when we introduced SunTouch, it was the world’s first Windows based application in this industry,” Michael explained. “Many of the options and features that were added to that program came directly from salon professionals who had offered a lot of input during its development. This is the way we’ve always operated. No one knows their business better than the people who operate it each day, so no one will know what they need in a software package better than those business owners. We would not be where we are today if it wasn’t for the relationships with our salon clients.”

The “Big Three”
Today, with its three salon management solutions, Interactive Designs says it has something for every salon. “SunTouch was introduced in 1992 and was designed to be an easy-to-use computer software system,” Michael commented. “Salons tend to have high employee turnover, so having a straightforward program allows owners more time to train their staff on sales techniques and other essential job duties. Everything in SunTouch was designed to be done in four clicks or less, and is ideal for the owner of a single salon.”

As many of Interactive’s original clients began to expand their businesses, the company realized the need for a program to keep up with them. Hence, the development of its second software package, SalonTouch, which was introduced in 2001. “This program allowed our clients to link multiple salon locations through a WAN connection and offered more than 250 new features. Today, SalonTouch offers more than 500 unique features, such as electronic funds transfers, credit card processing and gift cards/coupons,” Michael explained. “Despite its advanced features, SalonTouch is still very easy to use.”

Three years after SalonTouch came SalonTouch.net, which is the “hosted” version of SalonTouch. It features all of the benefits of SalonTouch with the added ability to easily access salon data from anywhere. “The information is stored on a secure server on the Internet, so a salon pro can log on at any time, from anywhere they can take a laptop and an Internet connection, to see what’s going on at their salon in real time,” Young explained. “We introduced this program at the ITA World Expo 2004 in Orlando, and it’s been a huge hit with every size salon.”

A Relaxed Atmosphere
Knowing the fast-paced, highly technical world of computer software programming can bring its share of stress, Interactive Designs takes steps to make its corporate headquarters a relaxing place to work. Entering the company’s 5,800 square-foot facility, visitors are immediately impressed by the laid-back atmosphere. The lobby features a drop-down ceiling and antique chiseled stone floor, which immediately creates an environment unlike most offices. Sconces light the hallways and conference room, and there’s even a fitness area for employees to utilize for de-stressing. “We have a very relaxed environment here and our staff appreciates it,” Michael commented.

Michael says the entire 15-person Interactive team is hardworking and dedicated. “I’m very fortunate to have a staff that truly cares about the products and services it provides and it’s not uncommon for any of them to put in whatever hours are needed to service a client or meet a deadline.”

Continuing the Tradition
Interactive Designs is committed to continuing its role in the indoor tanning industry. The company’s future goals are very straightforward – to expand the market and continue to make its programs more flexible and user-friendly. Since more salon owners are also offering ancillary services, we’re working on developing modules that cater directly to the salon’s needs, no matter what type of ancillary services they offer,” Michael said. “One thing we know is that salon owners and managers don’t have a lot of time to keep training new employees to use complicated software, so the easier we make our systems, the more time salon owners have to train their staff on sales techniques.”

Heading into the future, the dedicated professionals at Interactive Designs plan to continue focusing on priority No. 1 – its clients. “Everything we do is for the salon professionals,” Michael commented. “We have an excellent working relationship with our clients, and we’re very proud of that. Our entire approach is based on looking at it from the perspective of providing software that suits our clients’ needs, and we will never lose sight of that, which is why we have repeatedly turned down overtures from other companies whose focus is other than software,” he stated. “We take great pride in having one focus – salon management software.”

“In the next few months we will unveil new products and services that are certain to set the industry on its heels,” Young says. “We’re very excited about this, which makes it even more difficult to wait.”