Beauty Salon Feasibility Study in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metro Area

Tampa's salon median stands out

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater has one distinctive metric for beauty salons: the median loan of $227,000, which is 2.27x the class's national median. A location quotient of 1.15x is modest. The area is 18 of 546 for beauty salon loans, and salons are eighth (8 of 39) among the area's classes. SBA approved 111 loans between FY2017 and FY2026, worth $37.7 million, with the middle half from $103,500 to $433,000.

Franchising, programs and counties

Franchised salons account for 27.0% of loans. SBA 7(a) has 97 loans and SBA 504 has 14. Hillsborough County supplies 62, Pinellas 33, Pasco 11 and Hernando 5. Yearly counts are small and uneven: 5 loans and $755,500 in FY2018, 15 in FY2019 with $7.7 million, 17 in FY2024 and 9 in FY2026.

Holders

BayFirst National Bank holds 14 loans worth $4.0 million, The Huntington National Bank 9 worth $1.8 million and Stearns Bank National Association 8 worth $1.3 million. Florida Business Development Corporation is the one 504 holder named, with 8 loans and $3.4 million. SBA shows the holder of record now, which may differ from the original lender; the list is not a view of anyone's salon lending.

Cancellation and withheld rates

Cancellations among FY2017 to FY2024 approvals were no lower than 8.0%. The Tampa cell has no undisbursed-inclusive cancellation figure and no charge-off rate because the loan counts are too low; neither is zero or estimated, and the metro stands without a loss rate of its own.

Testing a Tampa Bay salon

A median more than twice the national figure means a study should say what is being financed, whether a larger salon, a suite-rental model or an acquisition. Seat count matters, and so does whether stylists arrive with their own clientele or rely on walk-ins; income after a departure should be shown. For a franchise, fees and design standards belong in the cost side. Rent per square foot and tenant improvement cost should be tested against revenue per chair with a slow first year in the base case. The appraiser will have little collateral beyond equipment, so earnings carry the case. Hillsborough and Pinellas, with neighbors, fall inside the July 2023 area list.