Sola Salons Bonita Springs: Marshall Rauner Builds Salon Suite Legacy

Marshall Rauner didn’t just stumble into the salon suite business — he saw it from the inside out. A former commercial banker, Rauner was introduced to Sola Salons when franchisees became his clients. After relocating to Bonita Springs to join his parents, who had opened their third Sola at the time, he and his wife dove headfirst into operations, opening a fifth location this year.

Now, the Rauner family isn’t just building beautiful spaces — they’re building trust, loyalty and long-term opportunity for independent salon professionals in Southwest Florida.

1851: Frame your personal story for us. What do you want us to know?

Marshall Rauner: My wife and I moved down to the Naples area four years ago to run the salons at that time. My mom and dad had just opened their third Sola studio. We were originally from the D.C. area, and I was working with two other Sola franchisees up there. I had previous experience with the business, and once the opportunity came up to come down here and work with the family and run that business, it was a no-brainer for me.

We’ve been in Sola’s for the last six years. The first one opened down here in 2017, then we opened another one in late 2018 and a third one in early 2021. The fourth one was last year, and we’re getting ready to open the fifth one this coming up this month.

1851: What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Rauner: I was a commercial banker and loan officer. The Sola franchisees in Northern Virginia were actually a client — my dad and I worked together in banking and that’s how we got introduced to it.

They introduced us to the concept, and you can see the inner workings when you’re banking a client like that — it looked like a viable business opportunity. My mom and dad were the franchisees on the first three locations; I’m the franchisee on the fourth location that we have. I run the day-to-day operations, but they’re still involved. And my wife does our marketing as well.

1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?

Rauner: When I worked in banking, I saw a lot of small business owners, and that entrepreneurship always intrigued me. You might be busier as a business owner, but you certainly have more autonomy.

1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?

Rauner: Sola just celebrated 25 years, and they were one of the first — the salon suite business model was still a new concept. We had already had that introduced to us from the franchisees in the business, and their words certainly meant something.

But once we met the corporate team at Sola and got a better understanding of the brand, we felt that support was very important for us. We see that the concept is becoming a lot more popular nowadays — you see a lot of mom-and-pop replicas. They all seem to copy what Sola does.

The way they wanted their franchisees to conduct the business was very much in line with our morals and how we like to do business ourselves. We knew that we were teaming up with the best.

1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth?

Rauner: We’ve opened three salons in the last three years, but we’re not ruling out further expansion. My goal is to open the premier salon suite entity in this area, and we want to continue to maintain that.

1851: Is there anything else about your story you want us to know?

Rauner: In this area, you have a lot of newcomers and snowbirds, but our clientele are people living here full-time. I’d like to emphasize that fact — we’re not just in and out of the area. I live here, and my parents have had a place in this same area for almost 20 years now, so we really have ties to the community. Anyone can go in and build a nice-looking salon, but our management style is really what sets us apart.

1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming franchise owners?

Rauner: The most important thing in our business is signing a good lease. There are a lot of different aspects to that — there’s the monthly rate, which is what everyone thinks about. But things like your free rent period, parking, etc., are very important. That is something that really sets you up for success.

In 2004, Sola Salons was established with the opening of its first location in Denver, Colorado. Now with more than 740+ locations open in the U.S.

and Canada, Sola is proud to offer 22,000+ independent beauty professionals the freedom and benefits of salon ownership without the risk and overhead of opening a traditional salon. Its innovative salon model empowers hairdressers, estheticians, nail techs, massage therapists and other like-minded professionals to take control of their lives and their careers. Sola provides beauty professionals with beautiful, fully-equipped salon studios alongside the support and tools they need to launch their salon business in no time.