Sola Salon Studios
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.2M – $1.9M including a $60K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $442K/year (median $420K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 51/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 14 loans (below the industry average).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Sola Salon Studios unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
6%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Sola Salon Studios units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.4M
on $7.1M purchase
Total debt
$5.7M
SBA $3.5M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees lease a salon studio space (typically within a larger Sola Salon Studios facility) to independent beauty professionals (stylists, estheticians, nail technicians). Day-to-day operations include managing studio utilities, maintenance, client flow, independent contractor scheduling and compliance, and ensuring brand standards. Revenue derives from lease payments, service fees, and product sales from contracted beauty service providers.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 11 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Sola presents moderate-to-caution risk: substantial upfront capital requirement, undisclosed profitability data, sluggish growth, and operator-dependent compliance responsibilities warrant thorough validation before commitment.
Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo Item 19 (net income) disclosure limits ability to validate $442K avg revenue translates to acceptable profit margins after $500/mo minimum royalty + operating costs
- 02MINORSlow unit growth of 4.6% YoY in mature salon/spa sector suggests market saturation or franchisee satisfaction issues
- 03MINORHigh initial investment ($1.18M–$1.94M) with 10-year term creates significant capital lock-up and break-even pressure
- 04MINORRoyalty structure ($500/mo minimum) may be problematic for underperforming locations, creating cash flow strain even at low revenue periods
- 05MINORIndependent contractor model (studio rental model) shifts employment/compliance liability to franchisee, creating legal and operational complexity
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
38 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Sola Salon Studios · FDD (2025) PDF