Sola Salons: Empowering Beauty Professionals with Private Salon Suites

Sola Salons may sound like just another salon brand to the uninitiated, but that’s not quite the full picture. Sola Salons is a place where beauty professionals — “Solapreneurs” — can chase their dreams, elevate their careers and experience the freedom of salon ownership. The brand provides salon “studio rentals” in which beauty and wellness professionals work independently out of leased spaces. Each location provides everything needed for beauty professionals to run their businesses with complete autonomy.

“Since day one, we have stayed true to our mission of putting the beauty professional first, offering beautiful salon spaces for rent to stylists and salon professionals,” said Lori Merrall, vice president of franchise sales. “From setup to customer 1,000, when you’re a Solapreneur, you never have to go it alone.”

Sola Salons was established in 2004 by co-founders Stratton Smith and Matt Briger, who aimed to cultivate a vibrant community where independent beauty professionals could build fulfilling careers and lives they were passionate about.

“They really invented this category,” said Merrall. “No one was offering this type of service before Sola.”

Private salon suites

Each Sola Salons location features 20 to 40 move-in-ready suites all under one roof where hairdressers, estheticians, nail technicians, massage therapists and other like-minded professionals can each individually operate their own businesses without the risk and hassle of traditional salon ownership. These high-end build outs include features such as oversized sliding glass doors with locks, premium lighting to simulate natural light, individual ventilation in each suite and more.

Over the past 20 years, this innovative model has proved to be massively in demand across the country. Today, Sola Salons has expanded to 728 locations nationwide and over 20,000 beauty professionals — the largest such footprint in the industry.

Sola Salons isn’t just about renting out prime real estate. The brand stands out by offering beauty professionals the freedom to customize their own private suites, set their own service and product pricing, manage their schedules with 24/7 access and create an intimate setting for personalized guest attention. They can also sell the retail products that they love and keep the profits.

“Our beauty professionals can really personalize their salon space with artwork, music, and furniture,” said Merrall. “It also gives them the opportunity to escape salon politics and drama in their own private, secure space. They are fully independent.”

But that doesn’t mean they are alone. Beauty pros are charged a simplified rent that includes Wi-Fi, 24/7 access, on-site laundry, high-end fixtures and cabinets, quick-turn repairs, maintenance support and even a comfortable breakroom to relax in. From there, the Sola Salons franchise owner takes care of all common areas, including entryways, bathrooms, and break rooms, ensuring that beauty professionals can focus entirely on their clients and their craft. On-site leasing managers are there to help them make a seamless transition to salon ownership.

Beauty professionals are set up with their own personal Sola Website Profile free of charge and exclusive access to the SolaGenius booking engine to help fill their books, as well as access to all-in-one support and educational resources on the Sola Pro App. Sola Salons also offers on-demand, in-person and virtual education on topics such as client retention, raising prices, marketing strategies, financial training and more.

Support and resources

“We have over 725 locations across the U.S. and Canada and 20 years of expertise,” said Scott Thompson, chief development officer. “Our team provides an all-inclusive support program that includes continuing education, technology, and career guidance. Sola makes it possible for beauty professionals to be in business for themselves, but never by themselves.”

Plus, the network of over 20,000 beauty Solapreneurs provides a strong sense of community, offering inspiration and support for incoming professionals getting started. The brand also hosts the annual Sola Sessions event, which is the brand’s continuing education program for Sola Pros, as well as an opportunity to host the annual Sola Pro Awards ceremony to celebrate the community.

“Sola checks all the boxes for me and gives me the tools I need to maintain success and passion for the industry I love so much,” said Sola Pro Jazmin Stratton. “I absolutely love the space I have created, the Sola community and the freedom I have to be me at all times.”

For those looking to join the $100 billion U.S. beauty industry and start their entrepreneurial journey as an independent beauty professional, joining the Sola Salons family is hard to beat.

“Sola showed me my worth, gave me direction and transformed me into the beauty professional I’ve always wanted to be,” said Sola Pro Kim Pags.

Looking ahead, Sola Salons shows no signs of slowing down — the brand hopes to reach the 1,000-unit mark within the next few years and enter even more communities across the country.

“At the end of the day, Sola Salons’ mission is to provide a platform where professionals can thrive independently while enjoying the benefits of a collaborative and supportive environment,” said Merrall. “At Sola, your success is our success, and we're committed to helping you build the career and life you love.”