by Ardeana Hamlin
of The Weekly Staff
HERMON — Amy Porter isn’t one to stand around on the sidelines and watch. She likes to make things happen, and she likes to keep busy, especially when it comes to business.
In September, Porter, who grew up in Lincoln, closed her Roxy’s Cafe and Creamery, which had opened in January at the Hermon shopping plaza, and on Oct. 23, she opened Justified Tanning in the space the cafe once occupied. She said the move was prompted by a series of unfortunate personal circumstances, which, as it turned out, meshed neatly with her idea of launching a new enterprise.
The only tanning salon in Hermon, Sunny Destinations, which had enjoyed a 10-year tenure in the town, had closed. Porter saw an opportunity and bought the three Ergoline tanning beds, manufactured in Germany, from Sunny Destinations, and installed them at Justified Tanning.
“We do tanning, hair and nails,” Porter said, “and have the possibility of room to grow.”
Porter’s experience as a business owner began seven years ago when her mother was ill. “She needed small oil deliveries because she couldn’t afford large ones,” Porter. When she couldn’t find a company to deliver small amounts of oil, her husband suggested that they start their own oil delivery company. Together “on a wing and prayer,” Porter said, they launched their CHEAP Oil company, which will deliver a minimum of 50 gallons of oil. Porter and her husband still run the business out of their home in Carmel.
But summer is a quiet season for an oil business, so in 2013 Porter told her husband she’d like to sell ice cream. “We took my husband’s snowmobile trailer and turned it into Roxie’s Snack Shack, parked it alongside Route 2 in Carmel and sold ice cream and food.” That venture led to opening Roxie’s Cafe and Creamery in the Hermon shopping plaza, but now is Justified Tanning.
“It’s doing very well,” Porter said of her new business. “I like interacting with people.”
In addition to tanning, the salon offers hair styling and manicures. Hair stylist Shannon Bond, an Empire Beauty School graduate, leases space from Porter. She calls her part of the business Shannon’s Hair and Nails.
“This has been phenomenal for me,” Bond said. “My walk-in rate has tripled.”
Bond, who grew up in Brewer, said she is doing so well she is looking for a nail technician with experience in acrylic and gel, as well as shellac techniques.
“I have clients from throughout the Bangor area and even had a walk-in from Nova Scotia,” she said.
Porter said she has learned a lot from her experience as a businesswoman. “Being an entrepreneur — you can make it or break it. When you own the business you have to live it and put all your effort into that business. I could never work for someone else ever again.”
Bond echoed Porter’s insight. “I’m more in control of what I am doing,” she said of running her own salon. She said she does not miss the days when she was working four different jobs to make ends meet.
The decorative items at Justified Tanning, Porter said, are created by Krissy’s Creations of Carmel. “They are changed out monthly,” Porter said, “and all the items are available for purchase.”
“If it weren’t for all the people who helped us build this business, it never would have happened,” Bond said.
“We couldn’t have done it without family and friends,” Porter said.
Justified Tanning will hold its grand opening Dec. 14 to 20 and offer specials on tanning and hair styling.
Justified Tanning hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. 2 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m.-2 p.m Sunday.
Shannon’s Hair and Nails hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; and by appointment on Saturday.
For information, call Porter at 605-0235, or Bond at 949-8227 or 605-0235.