Well cross this off my entrepreneurial bucket list!

I had the excitement of attending the first open casting call for Shark tank season 10 in Las Vegas! As like many other entrepreneurs, I am obsessed with this show and have always loved watching Shark Tank. I sit and envision myself on stage pitching the sharks. (And of course getting a deal! lol)

One of my business dreams is to have my products in Sephora and on QVC (Lori..are you reading this? I’m ready! )

So it all happened pretty quickly. On Jan 5th I got a text message from a friend. She wanted me to know that they were holding the first open casting call at the annual CES convention in Las Vegas at the Venetian hotel in 6 days on Jan 11th!

Once I heard that my head was spinning! I live in Florida but ironically I was actually scheduled go to Las Vegas as a sponsor for a spray tan convention that same weekend! I was thinking to myself OMG what are the chances? I already had a flight and hotel room already booked at the Venetian for Jan 13th.

I have lived my life with the belief that things happen for a reason and I started thinking…what are the chances that they were going to be holding an open casting call at the SAME hotel I was already booked at! But I had a lot to think about logistically. Being a business owner it is hard for me to get away from the office during the week due to the large amount of daily shipping and day to day operations. I started thinking.. do I take a chance & go to Vegas early or do I wait for another location to come closer. Am I going to have enough time to prepare the application and pitch?

Needless to say the next few days were crazy, I was in full over analyzing mode and my boyfriend was a huge & amazing help. He has been my biggest supporter since day 1 so he was all for it. You have to take opportunities when they are presented as you never know if and when you will get another shot. (Plus waiting for another location might not have worked out.)

I called the Venetian to change my reservation to arrive a few days early. I was told that the hotel rate just for that Wednesday alone was over $700 for the night!! (Gulp) Being that the CES convention is the largest, all hotels were crazy expensive. Heck the motel 6 was close to $300 a night! So after a bunch of debating I sucked it up and just figured that this would be my vacation. I had to go alone so I was actually on my own for 4 days until other people arrived for the Spray tanning convention.

So now the fun part! I had to complete a 18 page application. I had to provide info on there such as my financials, why I wanted an investment and what I would do with that money etc. Being detail oriented I even put together a binder (Pink of course!)

This process was actually very important for me as an entrepreneur. Perfect Glow has been very successful but when gathering all of this information it really hit home & put into perspective the success I have achieved. Seeing on paper how much I have grown this business and have accomplished over the past few years was quite an emotional process. I thought to myself that regardless of the outcome I was really proud of what I have built and blessed that I actually was able to even have an opportunity to have a shot at this!

The night before I was scheduled to fly out I got this fortune cookie at dinner (Ahhhh) Was it another sign?

Day 1 – I arrive in Vegas

The first day I got there the hotel was a madhouse. I had stayed at the Venetian before and have never seen it so packed but they were hosting the convention. The first night I decided to turn in early due to jet lag and having to wake up early the next day I wanted to get my rest. I went to the small gift shop to get some necessities for the room (water and wine lol) and when I was paying for my items I saw Mark Cuban leaving with (I think) his Vitamin water ! There were thousands of people in this hotel and I am in the gift shop the same time as with Cuban!

Was this another sign? I tried to find him in the sea of madness in the hotel but didn’t (What was I going to do if I did? I don’t know, maybe give an elevator pitch or mention I had a cool Pink binder? I can’t quite tell ya but knowing my personality I am sure I would have come up with something.)

That night in my room was the first time that my nerves really started to settle in. You get a 1 minute pitch at the casting call to present and sell yourself. I just kept rehearsing my pitch over and over. (Being that I am a native New Yorker talking is NOT a problem for me) BUT I just couldn’t cut my pitch down to under that minute. I kept writing down different versions and of course overthinking it! Eventually I decided to just do a pitch that came from my gut.

I will say that doing months of Facebook live broadcasts on my business page was a huge help to me. Most of the time when I do them I do not go off a script and just speak off the cuff. So that was something that was very helpful to prepare for the open casting call as well as giving me confidence to speak in front of others.

Day 2- Open casting call

The next morning I arrived at the open call casting area 2 hours early around 7am. They say that is not necessary to show up early because anyone that got there by a certain time was guaranteed a wristband. But I just figured that the earlier I got there maybe I could be selected to do my pitch earlier. I was afraid of a very long day and being told to come back at like 5 pm. The line was already very long but not a madhouse like I was expecting. They said that you could bring props if you needed to and I had brought bottles of my self tanning products to show my pretty branding and product line. But I forgot them in my hotel room! (Melissa…are you kidding me? ) A nice woman said she would save my spot in line. Heels off, I rushed back to my room to get them (A cardio workout if you know how big the Venetian hotel is) When I came back, the line had moved into the main ballroom so I had to go further back on the line.

The CES convention was going on simultaneously so there was a lot of law enforcement and even bomb sniffing dogs. (I was happy to see all that security actually) When it was time for me to make my pitch there were even 2 uniformed police officers standing behind the casting director.

I do have to say that for such a huge opportunity I was actually surprised at how many people showed up without even completing the application. But on the flip side it was pretty cool to see all these people trying (like me) to get the shot to make their dreams happen.

The casting crew was very nice and eventually they started handing out wristbands. I was put into the second group that had to come back 2 hours later ( Not too bad) This clip is from when I got my wristband. (Number 110)

So I enjoyed a cocktail to calm the nerves, played some slots (Didn’t leave rich) and did some live videos on social media to pass the time.

Time to Pitch

When it was time to go back it was a little bit of a wait but again not too bad. They call your number and you go up to do your pitch. I thought it was going to be in a separate room but I did my pitch in the main ballroom (But it was not like you were on display as the rest of the crowd really cant hear you)

I didn’t pitch to any of the sharks as they were not in attendance ( just the casting company) They were all very nice and Mindy and the crew really did a great job making people feel comfortable and less stressed. At least at this location they didn’t hold you to the 60 second rule which was great as of course I exceeded that a little bit so that was a big relief. I talked about my Perfect Glow self tanning products, pro spray tan solution and spray tan academy. It was probabally less than 10 minutes total and they were very nice. Then they just say to give it a few months to see if you get selected to move forward in the process.

Afterwards I went to Italy (Aka the Venetian) got a glass of wine and felt relieved. Auditioning for Shark Tank season 10 was such an amazing experience. Every entrepreneur should do whatever it takes to follow their dream. Without any risk there is no reward. All I can say at this point is that I have to wait and see what happens.

Hopefully there will be a Blog part 2 🙂 Stay tuned!

JANUARY 25, 2018

Meet Melissa Weinberg of Melissa Weinberg Tanning and Beauty in Palm Beach

VOYAGEMIA STAFF

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Weinberg.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was in the financial industry for most of my career. I always wanted to do something in the beauty industry and since I had experienced skin cancer I felt that spray tanning was the perfect fit. I started spray tanning in 2009 as a part-time mobile spray tan artist. I worked nights and weekends 7 days a week building my company. It took a few years of hard work but I have built my business into a top leading brand in the Sunless beauty industry & regarded as a top Spray tan expert in my field.

I worked on formulating my own product line and in 2014 I introduced my professional line of self-tanning products called Perfect Glow Sunless™. My professional and retail products are used and sold by countless salons, spas and spray tan artists worldwide. I also run my local business Melissa Weinberg Tanning and provide custom airbrush tanning services in the Palm Beach area.

Sunless education is important to me and I founded the Perfect Glow Spray Tan Academy. My academy is top rated and I train spray tan professionals on how to start their own spray tan businesses and improve their skills. I also travel across the US hosting classes as well as in South Florida and offer an online class as well.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Like any entrepreneur, I had to overcome many struggles. One was working 2 jobs and trying to do a career change at the age of 39. Working 7 days a week was not easy while trying to juggle home life but I knew it had to be done and also wanted my salary from my full-time job to fund the creation of my product line.

Eventually, I left the creature comforts of the corporate world (Like a weekly paycheck and full benefits and 401k).

I also handled every aspect of my business for a very long time. Scheduling and spray tanning clients on the service side and on the manufacturing side I did whatever I could to save money. I did my website designs, set up my E-commerce store, and everything from Purchasing, marketing, social media management, sales, customer service and even today I still personally ship all orders.

But I continue to grow and now have added on sales managers and trainers for my brand.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Melissa Weinberg Tanning and Beauty – what should we know?
I am known as the South Florida spray tan expert & I provide custom airbrush tanning on the Palm Beaches. As a company, I am most proud of a few things. First is my product line that I created as a female entrepreneur in her 40’s. I am proof that you are never too old to follow your dreams and can rinse up from starting a brand from scratch without investors or a ton of capital with good old fashion smarts and hard work

All of my products are based off organic and natural ingredients, Paraben free, gluten free, Vegan and cruelty-free. (I am part of PETA Beauty without bunnies program.) My products are truly odorless and there is no foul spray tan smell or heavy scent to mask chemicals as found in many other products on the market.

What also sets me apart is that I truly care about my spray tan clients and have top reviews. When someone comes in for a tan they are going to get a truly personalized experience form someone who cares. I customize the color based on their skin tone and educate them on safe sun. Since I am also an educator I make sure that the spray tan application is precise and the color is flawless. My tans last up to 9+ days and I even offer a rapid option where the client can rinse off in just 1-4 hours!

For my professional salon beauty pros, I strive to give the best service available. and my customer service & products are top rated in the sunless beauty industry. My products were used on the Superbowl 50 Carolina Topcat cheerleaders by their spray tan provider and most recently my spray tan solution was used on Jlo! She was spray tanned by Fabiola the owner of Sobe tan in Miami who exclusively uses my product line.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Staying humble. No matter how much success I continue to achieve I will never forget where I came from. I am truly grateful for my spray tan clients supporting me and choosing my services these past years.

As a beauty brand, I feel that customer service is a lost art and I strive to go above and beyond for my customers. I treat them with fairness and appreciate everyone who places an order. My customers are not just a number to me. I am available 7 days a week to help them with anything they need.

For my retail self-tanning line, I feel educating the public in the benefits of safe tanning is important and offering them a salon quality line is important to me. There are many cheap tanning products out there loaded with chemicals with sub-par results and turning people that dreaded orange. I am happy to offer a true salon quality product. It is my same professional spray tan formulations but for home use.

Contact Info: