At the age of 17, Jenny Backman got a job as a bed cleaner for a local tanning salon. A self-described beauty and skin care fanatic, she instantly fell in love with the tanning industry. In the late 1990s, she worked her way up quickly to a management position. Noticing her passion for the industry, the owner trusted her and gave her a lot of responsibility within the salon. Then, in 2008, Jenny decided she wanted to take her duties to the next level.

“In 2008, I wanted to take it a step further. I decided to ask the owner of the salon I managed if I could buy one of her stores. She agreed, and that’s when I became an owner. Since then, I’ve opened two other salons on my own — this is where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do,” says Jenny.

With three successful stores, Carolina Tan Factory has become a household name in Lexington, Irmo and Columbia, South Carolina.

Click here to read the entire article in the latest issue of Smart Tan Magazine online.