How long have you been open in this location, and what was here before?

A salon in its first eighteen months is still finding out whether the neighbourhood supports it. One that has been in the same room for a decade has survived at least one downturn, and the story of what the space was before often explains the lease, the plumbing and the walk-in traffic.

How did you choose this location, and would you choose it again?

Owners are unusually candid about this because the decision is behind them. Parking, foot traffic, the tenant next door and the rent per square foot come up quickly, and hearing what they would change tells a prospective stylist what the traffic is really like.

Is the team employees, booth renters, or a mix?

This single answer determines nearly everything else: who sets prices, who owns clients, who buys product, who schedules and who handles taxes. Mixed houses exist and can work, but ask how the two groups are kept from resenting each other.

How does pay work here in practice?

Ask for the whole structure rather than the headline number: commission tier, hourly guarantee, whether product cost comes off the top, how retail commission is calculated, and when tiers reset. The gap between a stated 50 percent and what actually lands in a bank account is where most disputes start.

If it is booth rent, what does the rent cover and what does it not?

Rent that includes towels, laundry, backbar, a receptionist, booking software and marketing is a very different number from rent that covers a chair and a mirror. Get the exclusions written down, since they are the items that quietly become your expenses in month three.

Professional & Academic

Questions to Ask a Salon Owner

Questions for a stylist weighing a chair, a commission seat or a partnership, and for anyone researching what running a salon actually involves: pay structure, client ownership, product costs, contracts, staffing and the parts of ownership nobody mentions.

20 questions, each with the reason to ask it · includes a conversation guide

Open any question to see why it works.

1
How long have you been open in this location, and what was here before?
A salon in its first eighteen months is still finding out whether the neighbourhood supports it. One that has been in the same room for a decade has survived at least one downturn, and the story of what the space was before often explains the lease, the plumbing and the walk-in traffic.
2
How did you choose this location, and would you choose it again?
Owners are unusually candid about this because the decision is behind them. Parking, foot traffic, the tenant next door and the rent per square foot come up quickly, and hearing what they would change tells a prospective stylist what the traffic is really like.
3
Is the team employees, booth renters, or a mix?
This single answer determines nearly everything else: who sets prices, who owns clients, who buys product, who schedules and who handles taxes. Mixed houses exist and can work, but ask how the two groups are kept from resenting each other.
4
How does pay work here in practice?
Ask for the whole structure rather than the headline number: commission tier, hourly guarantee, whether product cost comes off the top, how retail commission is calculated, and when tiers reset. The gap between a stated 50 percent and what actually lands in a bank account is where most disputes start.
5
If it is booth rent, what does the rent cover and what does it not?
Rent that includes towels, laundry, backbar, a receptionist, booking software and marketing is a very different number from rent that covers a chair and a mirror. Get the exclusions written down, since they are the items that quietly become your expenses in month three.
6
Who owns the client list?
The most important question in the conversation and the one most likely to be answered vaguely. Ask specifically who controls the booking system, whether a stylist can export their own client contacts, and what happens to that access if they leave. Get it in writing before you start rather than after.
7
Where do new clients come from right now?
Ask for the proportions rather than the channels. Walk-ins, referrals, booking platforms and social media produce different kinds of clients with different loyalty, and a salon that depends heavily on discount platforms has a rebooking problem it may not have named.
8
What does your slowest month look like, and how do you get through it?
Every salon has one, usually just after the holidays. The answer tells a stylist whether they will have income all year, and tells a would-be owner whether the business has reserves or just optimism.
9
How much of your revenue is service and how much is retail?
Retail carries a different margin and is often what separates a salon that is busy from a salon that is profitable. If retail is negligible, ask whether that is a positioning choice or a training gap, and whether stylists are expected to sell.
10
Who buys color and backbar, and how is product cost controlled?
Color is one of the largest controllable costs in the building and the source of most quiet friction. Ask whether product is charged back to stylists, whether there is a mixing standard, and what happens when someone consistently over-mixes.
11
Who sets the schedule, and how are no-shows and late cancellations handled?
A policy that exists but is never enforced is the same as no policy, so ask what happened the last time someone no-showed. Also ask who is expected to be in the building on a quiet Tuesday, because that expectation is what people leave over.
12
How do you handle a client who is unhappy with a service?
Ask who pays for the correction: the salon, the stylist, or a split. This is the practical question behind a philosophical-sounding one, and salons differ enormously. Also ask how many corrections it takes before the owner steps in.
13
What training do you provide, and is it paid time?
Education is the main non-cash benefit in this industry and the terms vary widely. Ask whether classes happen on a day off, whether attendance is required, who pays for the ticket and travel, and whether there is a clawback if you leave within a year.
14
What has turnover been like, and why do stylists usually leave?
Ask for the count over the last two years and where those people went. Stylists leaving to open their own places tells you one thing, and stylists leaving for the salon three streets away tells you another.
15
What is in the contract about non-compete, non-solicitation and notice?
Read this before falling in love with the room. Enforceability varies a great deal by jurisdiction and the terms matter regardless, since even a clause that would not survive a challenge can cost money and months to argue about. Take this one to a lawyer rather than settling it over coffee.
16
What licensing, inspections and insurance apply to this business?
Cosmetology licensing, establishment permits, health inspections and liability coverage all sit on someone, and the split differs between employees and renters. A renter is often surprised to learn they need their own policy.
17
What did the build-out cost, and what would you spend differently?
Anyone considering opening a salon should ask this before anything else. Plumbing for shampoo bowls, electrical, ventilation and flooring routinely run over, and owners are usually blunt about the line item they underestimated.
18
How do you handle it when a stylist leaves and takes clients with them?
The answer reveals the owner's temperament more than their policy. Some plan for it and stay friendly, some litigate, some pretend it will not happen. If you are considering joining, you are hearing how you will be treated on your way out.
19
What does a good week look like financially, in numbers you are willing to share?
Owners will often share a range even when they will not share exact figures, and a range is enough. Ask for average ticket, rebooking rate and chairs filled, since those three numbers describe the health of the business better than revenue alone.
20
What part of owning this did you not expect?
Nearly always the answer is something other than hair: payroll, personalities, plumbing, or how little time is left to stand behind a chair. It is the most honest moment in the conversation and the most useful one for anyone thinking about doing it themselves.

Sizing up a salon before you commit

Practical guidance for the conversation itself.

What to do before the conversation

Sit in the salon as a customer first

Book a service, or at least a consultation, and spend an hour in the room. You will learn how the phone is answered, whether stylists talk to each other, how clean the backbar is at four in the afternoon, and whether anyone is standing around with nothing to do. None of that comes out in an interview.

Go at the busiest hour and the deadest one

Saturday at eleven tells you the ceiling. Tuesday at two tells you the floor, and the floor is what determines whether you can pay rent. If the owner only invites you at the busy time, arrange the other visit yourself.

Bring your own numbers

Know your current average ticket, how many clients rebook, and roughly how many would follow you. Those figures turn an abstract commission conversation into arithmetic, and an owner who reacts well to a stylist who knows their numbers is usually a better one to work for.

Separate the room from the deal

Beautiful salons with punishing contracts are common, and so are plain rooms with generous terms. Write down what you need on pay, schedule, client ownership and product cost before you walk in, so the lighting does not do the negotiating for you.

Getting the terms straight

Ask for the contract in advance rather than on the day. Anyone unwilling to send it early is telling you something about the terms.
Get the pay structure written as a worked example on a real ticket price, including product deductions and retail, rather than as a percentage.
Confirm in writing who can access and export client contact details, and what happens to that access if either side ends the arrangement.
If you are renting, confirm the notice period on both sides and whether rent is due during weeks you are ill or away.
Check whether classification as an employee or an independent renter matches how the day is actually run, since who controls your hours, prices and schedule is what determines that, not the label on the paperwork.
Take any non-compete, non-solicitation or long-term rental commitment to a lawyer in your own jurisdiction before signing.

Warning signs

Refusal to put pay structure or client ownership in writing, or an insistence that everything here is handled informally.
Several chairs empty on a Saturday, or a booking system the owner will not show you.
Turnover the owner cannot account for, or a pattern of former stylists who are all described as ungrateful.
Pressure to decide quickly, particularly paired with a deposit or an upfront rent payment.
Product costs described as small with no number attached.
An owner who talks only about the space and never about how much anyone earns in it.

The questions

How long have you been open in this location, and what was here before?

How did you choose this location, and would you choose it again?

Is the team employees, booth renters, or a mix?

How does pay work here in practice?

If it is booth rent, what does the rent cover and what does it not?

Who owns the client list?

Where do new clients come from right now?

What does your slowest month look like, and how do you get through it?

How much of your revenue is service and how much is retail?

Who buys color and backbar, and how is product cost controlled?

Who sets the schedule, and how are no-shows and late cancellations handled?

How do you handle a client who is unhappy with a service?

What training do you provide, and is it paid time?

What has turnover been like, and why do stylists usually leave?

What is in the contract about non-compete, non-solicitation and notice?

What licensing, inspections and insurance apply to this business?

What did the build-out cost, and what would you spend differently?

How do you handle it when a stylist leaves and takes clients with them?

What does a good week look like financially, in numbers you are willing to share?

What part of owning this did you not expect?