SBA 7(a) Beauty Salon Feasibility Study in Rhode Island

Counties and no named lender

Rhode Island has so few counties that a county table tells a short story: Providence has 19 of the 32 salon loans, Kent 10 and Washington 3. The $50,000 median stands at 0.57x the nationwide level, and ordinary loans run $37,375 to $132,500. For a salon, that is a chair, a basin and a lease deposit, which shows how modest the typical project is in this small state. SBA approved $4.0 million across FY2017 to FY2026, which places the state at 42 among states even though salons are 8 of 39 among Rhode Island's classes. Franchise affiliation is 15.6% of loans. No lender is listed in this cell, so the page does not say who holds the loans.

Peaks and troughs

FY2017 had 6 loans and $612,400. FY2018 had 3, and then FY2019 through FY2023 had 2 each, with dollars as low as $35,000 in FY2020 and as high as $916,000 in FY2022, which is a sign that a single loan can set the annual total. FY2025 was the busiest year, with 7 loans and $669,900, and FY2026 shows 3 loans and $120,000.

What the page withholds

Neither the cancellation percentage nor the loss percentage is printed for Rhode Island salons, since the cohort behind them is too small. The page offers no zero in their place. The distinctive measure here is the median relative to the national one, along with the franchise share, which is the highest among the small-state salon pages.

A Rhode Island salon study

A study should be written for a small, dense market. It should count the salons and barber shops within a short walk or drive, the clientele the owner already brings, and the rent for the space, which is often the largest fixed cost. Chair count, stylist compensation and service pricing build revenue, and retail sales add a smaller line. The owner's training and licence status matter. If the salon is a franchise, show royalties and required purchases. With loans this small, equipment and fit-out can be priced precisely, and the file should show a first year in which fewer clients than planned still leave enough cash to pay the lender. A Rhode Island file should also address parking and street access, since many salons in a compact state rely on walk-in clients who will not tolerate a hard arrival.