Why Sola Salons Is A Great Multi-Unit Franchise Opportunity

Investing in a franchise that offers both scalability and efficient management can be a game-changer for those looking to grow wealth without the demand for hands-on engagement on a day-to-day basis. Sola Salons, a leader in salon suite franchising with over 700 locations, has pioneered a model where franchisees focus primarily on property management and support for beauty professionals, streamlining the path to multi-unit growth. Here’s why Sola Salons has become an attractive option for entrepreneurs seeking to scale their investments.

Unlike traditional franchise businesses that require daily engagement with customers and staff, Sola Salons allows franchisees to focus on higher-level property management and business development tasks with the right team in place.

"If you're the owner and you have a community manager or general manager, you'll spend most of your time managing the financials and marketing and supporting a small team,” said Scott Thompson, chief development officer of Sola’s parent company, Radiance Holdings. “There are some owners who only need one person on-site, and minimizing employee demands makes it easier to grow to and manage multiple locations.”

Each Sola Salons location comprises multiple individual suites that beauty professionals (known as “Sola Pros”) rent out. These professionals operate independently, bringing their own clients and managing their own schedules.

“At the end of the day, your customer is the Sola Pro. They’re there because they want financial freedom, and they manage their small business accordingly,” Thompson said. “The Sola franchisee steps in to maintain common areas or help if a Sola Pro needs a new cabinet, for example, but franchisees are not directly servicing Sola Pros’ clients.”

Sola Salons is designed to support franchisees who want to expand and manage multiple locations.

"It's very scalable for multi-unit operators,” Thompson said. “Once you establish a good team of professionals, like a community manager or area manager, you can focus on filling occupancy.”

This ease of expansion is further supported by Sola’s operational systems, which allow franchisees to focus on broad-scale management rather than day-to-day details at each location. And with multiple locations in one geographic area, franchisees can even float a single manager across multiple locations.

“If you have three or four locations within a certain area, you or your manager could spend four hours per day in different locations throughout the week,” Thompson said. “That would provide enough time on-site to stay involved in the business while maintaining a balance that leaves time to focus on continued growth.”

In addition to a scalable business model, the entire Sola system provides further support to help entrepreneurs grow.

“We have found the Sola franchise owner group to be a phenomenal group of people,” said Kristi Mailloux, a multi-unit owner who runs 60 Sola Salons locations with her husband, Todd Recknagel. “They’re very encouraging to other franchisees in a way that we’ve not found in other systems. They are cheerleaders behind others’ successes, and they’re very open to sharing feedback on what’s working and what’s not.”

Sola Salons meets the increasing demand among beauty professionals who prefer independent work environments. These Sola Pros rent suites directly from franchisees, providing franchisees with consistent rental income without the need for extensive staffing costs.

“We love recurring revenue models, and that was one of the biggest reasons we chose Sola,” Mailloux said “However, we probably have more labor than you’d think today because we want to take great care of our Pros and keep our spaces leased.”

“Many shy away from businesses that provide the opportunity to provide a high level of service, but we think that, when you can keep your customers — in our case, our Sola Pros — happy, you keep your repeat revenue,” Recknagel said. “If you provide outstanding service and good training, your business will thrive. The recurring revenue will come. Your retention will go up and your sales will grow. We very much like that about this model.”

This support aspect allows franchisees to get out of their investments what they choose to put in. For a business owner who identifies as “a people person,” the Sola Salons model presents a great runway to scale while doing fulfilling work.

“The Sola model is similar to real estate investing, but your cash-on-cash return is typically going to be a little bit better than, say, a rental property,” Thompson said. “The hospitality piece is a big component of what we do. Franchisees will plan special events for things like National Wine Day to engage tenants and maintain the appeal of the space, but this just supports loyalty and retention.”

The balance of autonomy and support Sola Pros experience creates an attractive setup, creating even more stability within the predictable monthly rental model.

“We were initially attracted to Sola because they were the largest and one of the first of their kind in the industry,” Recknagel said. “We love being a part of the first or second movers in a space. Sometimes, when you’re down to brand number 30 or 40 in an industry, it can be hard to compete with preestablished brand awareness.

Sola has a very, very good model that has been proven. They’ve already fought the battles of growing a business, and through that process, they’ve built a great name for themselves. We really appreciate that about the brand, and it was another factor that made us more confident in our decision to make a multi-unit investment.”

Sola Salons represents a rare opportunity in franchising by offering a real estate-centered model that supports rapid multi-unit expansion with minimal operational complexities. With high demand from beauty professionals, extensive corporate support and a scalable framework, Sola Salons empowers franchisees to grow their portfolios efficiently. Whether you're an established multi-unit franchisee or a diversified investor, Sola Salons stands out as a unique path to scaling wealth in the franchise world.