Sola Salons Franchise: Own a Piece of the Booming Salon Suites Industry

For many aspiring entrepreneurs, the dream of business ownership is fueled by a desire for independence and control over their future. Driven entrepreneurs looking to break into the salon suites industry can find just this with Sola Salons, the 730-plus-unit franchise.

With seasoned franchise professionals like Vice President of Franchise Development John Pantera and Chief Development Officer Scott Thompson at the helm, Sola Salons has seen great success and continues toward a bright future. While the brand is “all about responsible growth,” ensuring it has the infrastructure in place to support franchisees before welcoming them to the system, it is prepared for ongoing expansion.

As the system prepares for another year of expansion, Pantera and Thompson joined 1851 Franchise Publisher Nick Powills on a recent “Franchisor Hot Seat” webinar to discuss the opportunity and what’s to come for the brand. While the franchise system — which provides business owners the guide they need to grow — is a valuable aspect of the investment, choosing to become a franchisee with Sola Salons is about much more.

"We're not selling snake oil. We're not trying funny math on our FDD [Franchise Disclosure Document],” Pantera said. “We've got a proven track record."

With a team of leaders just as passionate and dedicated as the franchisees, Sola Salons offers a true partnership, laying the foundation for years of continued mutual success, entrepreneurial satisfaction and community impact.

A transcript of Powills’ interview with Thompson and Pantera has been provided below. It has been edited for brevity, clarity and style.

Franchise growth strategy

Nick Powills: We're talking Sola Salons on the “Franchisor Hot Seat.” You've both been in the franchise industry for quite some time. I would like for each of you to talk about your journey of doing your due diligence to come join Radiance, which is the holding company that owns Sola.

Scott Thompson: When I started pursuing Radiance, I was focused on making a career change back into development. When I got my MBA, I went to be a president of a brand and realized that I enjoy the growth side of the business versus the day-to-day operational side.

Why I'm here is there is a great opportunity in the health and wellness industry; it continues to expand. Sola is a leader. I love working with brands that are at the top of their game. The unit model works for the franchisee, the franchisor is profitable and royalty sufficient.

Powills: Before I go to John, Scott, give us a lay of the land. What is the current brand size? What's the growth strategy right now?

Thompson: We have 738 Solas to date. We're all about responsible growth. We will probably open anywhere from 30 to 50 units a year on the Sola side. It's very responsible. We've got a large team; we can handle it. Franchisees are supported through that process. By 2030, our goal is to have 1,000 Solas and about 150 Woodhouses.

Powills: John, when you were doing your due diligence, what did you like about the business opportunity?

John Pantera: When Scott Thompson calls you and says, “Come work for me,” you pay attention. I've known Scott for over 20 years, so the trust was already there. I knew that he wouldn't take on something that isn't worth doing and doing right.

As I started to dive into the brands, what I looked for first and foremost was culture within the franchisor, both among the internal team as well as among the franchisees. Franchisee sentiment is such a big driver because if they're happy and if they want to grow, then you've got a really solid foundation to build on.

On a unit economic level, these models work. We're not selling snake oil. We're not trying funny math on our FDD. We have a proven track record with both these brands. Any time you've got concepts and business models that are sound and solid, I can work with that. I can't be selling business models that are fundamentally flawed.

Powills: There's a big statement that I want to unpack there, John. You said, "When Scott Thompson calls, I listen." That's awesome for you because you've had a relationship with Scott over a career. To an outsider that's looking in, how would you encourage them to go about discovering who the people involved in the business are?

Pantera: Words have power, but of course, you've got to back it up. When I look at Scott's career trajectory, he's got a lot of success with different brands that align with Sola and Woodhouse, where you've got a pretty big upfront investment. It's a real estate play for sure, and that's often harder to grow than a low investment or home-based franchise.

We've got an incredible process to guide our candidates through this journey. A big part of it is introducing them to all of the key people that are going to be supporting them. We recently revamped our Discovery Day process — we now call it Decision Day. That doesn't imply pressure; it implies that we've prepared these candidates so well that by the time they come out to meet people like myself, Scott, our CEO Ben Jones, our brand president Daryl Hurst … they are prepared from a due diligence perspective.

What these candidates find when they meet us is a very warm bunch. These are kind people that happen to be super smart and very good at franchising. I lead with the kindness piece first because that is everything in this business. It's all about relationships — caring for one another. Scott talks all the time about "let's lead with love." We're dealing with humans who are putting their livelihoods at stake.

Powills: What's fascinating about the Sola business is it's a real estate business, an executive business. Is that a complex thing to explain because most franchises don't have a construct like this?

Sola business model

Thompson: With Sola, most of our franchisees want to help people become successful small business owners. They want to help people have financial freedom and time with their children. That's what we're doing with these Solapreneurs, these beauty professionals — we “buy by the pound” and we sell it to them “by the ounce” so they don't have to take the risk of going out and signing a big lease.

Powills: Is there some magic to the investment level? When the investment goes higher and you're looking at portfolio builders, it automatically changes the quality of the candidate. Does that end up being a good protector of who's able to get in?

Thompson: We have a great mutual evaluation process. It's very thorough and detailed. You have to have some level of sophistication to get through that process and get to Decision Day. It doesn't mean you have to be the most experienced business person; it just means you have to understand how capital works.

We don't have SBA loans — the industry as a whole typically is not SBA approved. So these franchisees have to be prepared to use home equity, use 401(k) or use assets they already own to get into the business. Typically, if you're able to get to that level and acquire those assets, you have some smarts to you.

Powills: John, what are the hurdles that candidates go through in the sales process that might be misunderstood?

Pantera: I'd say the big one is finding the right territory and carving up the map. We're a pretty seasoned network with over 700 locations, so sometimes we have to get pretty creative.

We do have preferred lenders in our back pocket, so we can go to the lending piece right out of the gate. We've got an incredible team on site selection, lease negotiation and construction to guide people through that process. We have the infrastructure in place to go at these common hurdles head-on.

Powills: What is the liquidity ask and the net worth ask?

Thompson: It's a half million net worth and about 250 liquid. Our lenders are wonderful — we have one lender that's made over 400 loans already. They understand our business very well and are eager to lend into our business.

Powills: Why is now the time to invest?

Investment opportunity

Pantera: The franchise industry is projected to far outpace the national and global economy. As things continue to speed up, franchising is going even faster.

Whether it's a boom time or a recession, franchising thrives. That has been proven over and over again. A savvy investor knows that if you have a growth mindset and you link in with the right kind of franchisor, you're going to do great.

The number one reason to join a franchise, above the economics, is answering the question, "What level of support do I get?" I've been in franchising for 25 years, and I can tell you that the support we've got in place and the strategy and talent behind it is second to none.

Another key thing to consider when looking at a franchise is to look at the closures. Go into the FDD, find out what the trend is there. We just don't close locations, and if we do, it's for a very specific reason.

Thompson: Last quarter alone, we added 14 new units. We're growing at a pace now that we're definitely going to achieve our target in 2025. A lot of it is existing franchisees getting FOMO because they know Sola is back out in the market recruiting new franchisees.

Powills: Scott, what do you want candidates watching this to know to just get off the fence and make a decision?

Thompson: Our Sola Franchise Advisory Board is made up of incredibly smart, sophisticated, hungry, passionate entrepreneurs who own other businesses outside of Sola. This is a great way for you to diversify, scale and be part of a company of successful franchisees to collaborate with.

Powills: For anybody watching this, if you have not engaged in a conversation, the beauty of filling out a form on a Radiance site — Sola or Woodhouse — is it costs you zero dollars and you get an opportunity to talk with a team that's been there, done that. At the very least, even if you don't buy the business, just to be able to talk with someone in franchising about what they like could be a tremendous value.