In a recent SmartTan.com poll, half of salons reported better financial performance in the first quarter of 2013 than in the same period of 2012.

Exactly 50 percent of salons said their first quarter performance in 2013 was better than in 2012, while 44 percent reported worse financial performance in 2013. Six percent reported no difference between first quarter 2012 and 2013.

While not overwhelmingly positive, these results do show that business is headed in the right direction. In an earlier Smart Tan poll, only about one-third of salons reported having better financial performance in 2012 than in 2011.