Aspenhollow Business Capital, based in Olympia, WA, arranges salon business loans through funding partners: salon equipment financing for chairs, stations and pedicure spas, term loans for remodels, and working capital. Thurston County, WA had 94 beauty salons and 54 nail salons with employees in 2023, plus 445 beauty salon businesses with no employees in 2024.
| Beauty salons | 94 (CBP 2023, NAICS 812112) |
|---|---|
| Nail salons | 54 (CBP 2023, NAICS 812113) |
| Beauty salons, share under 5 employees | 73.4% |
| Beauty salons with no employees | 445 (NES 2024) |
| Nail salons with no employees | 37 (NES 2024) |
How salons make and spend money
A salon is paid per service on the days it is open. Costs are a mix of steady and lumpy: rent and product every month, payroll or commission splits every pay period, and occasionally a remodel or a new set of chairs and stations. Some salons employ stylists; others rent booths or suites to independent operators, which changes the income from service revenue to rent. Partners will ask which model you run.
Salon equipment financing
Salon equipment financing covers styling chairs and stations, shampoo bowls and backbars, dryers, color bars, pedicure spas and ventilation for nail work. Hair salon business loans for a full re-equip can be arranged as equipment financing, because the equipment backs the agreement. See equipment financing.
Nail salon business loans
Nail salon business loans can fund pedicure spas, manicure tables and ventilation. Nail salons differ from hair salons in one useful way for this question: in Thurston County, WA, fewer of them are tiny. 44.4% of nail salons had fewer than five employees in 2023, against 73.4% of beauty salons (County Business Patterns 2023).
Remodels and new locations
A remodel, a second location or a move to a bigger space is a project with a budget, suited to a term loan. Plumbing for shampoo bowls and pedicure spas, and ventilation for nail work, add cost. Partners want the lease, contractor bids and recent card receipts.
Steps for a salon owner asking for funding
- Separate equipment, remodel and working cash needs.
- Gather card processing and bank statements.
- Have the lease ready, with the remaining term.
- Know whether stylists are employees or booth renters, and what each contributes.
- Send the request with quotes attached.
A merchant cash advance can be offered to a salon because of card sales; an advance is not a loan, so compare it first using the merchant cash advance page. Salon funding questions goes deeper.
Illustrative example: four new stations
A hypothetical example, for illustration only. A six-chair salon replaces four stations and chairs and adds two shampoo bowls, quoted at $19,000 installed. The plumbing for the bowls is another $6,500. The owner finances the equipment and pays the plumbing from savings, keeping working capital options open for payroll while the salon is partly closed during the install.
Salons in Thurston County, WA
Beauty salons (NAICS 812112) counted 94 employer establishments in Thurston County, WA in 2023, with 339 paid employees and $13.7 million in payroll; 73.4% had fewer than five employees. Nail salons (NAICS 812113) counted 54, with 288 paid employees and $10.6 million in payroll. 23 beauty salons and 5 nail salons had a ZIP 98501 address (County Business Patterns 2023; ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023).
The separate Nonemployer Statistics program counted 445 beauty salon businesses and 37 nail salon businesses with no paid employees in 2024, along with 72 barber shops. Employer and nonemployer counts are separate programs and are not compared.
Booth rent or commission: answer this first
- Are stylists employees, commission earners or booth renters?
- How long is left on the lease?
- Which equipment is owned, and which is financed?
- Do you already have an advance on card receipts?
The business model question comes first, because it changes how a partner reads every other number. A salon that rents most chairs may have steady rent income; a commission salon has service revenue and a payroll.
What partners commonly review
- Card processing and bank statements
- Quotes for chairs and stations, or the remodel bid
- The lease
- Booth rental agreements, if you rent chairs
- Owner credit; existing advances
Partners do not publish thresholds.
Related pages
County context is on the Olympia, WA page; all industries are grouped on the hub.
By Aspenhollow Business Capital · Updated