SBA 7(a) Beauty Salon Feasibility Study in Washington

Washington salons: small loans at the national mark

Washington beauty salons borrowed 193 loans through SBA 7(a) for $35.8 million across FY2017 to FY2026. The median of $87,600 is 1.01x the national figure for salons, and the central half runs only from $27,800 to $250,000, so the class is small-ticket by nature. Salons rank 9 of 39 among Washington classes, while the state itself is 14 for the program, a modest standing. Franchise loans are 11.9%.

Floors

The cancellation floor is 11.2%, matching its ceiling, so the share was fully visible when the data were drawn. Of the 74 loans funded in FY2017 to FY2021, 5.4% have been charged off, with 1.4% inside the first five years. These are minimums, and the cohort is small.

Lenders and counties

U.S. Bank, National Association holds 30 loans and $4.1 million, while Columbia Bank holds 28 but only $1.4 million, a sign of very small awards. KeyBank National Association has 20 loans and $3.5 million, Banner Bank 10 and $837,900, and Enterprise Bank & Trust 8 and $4.7 million. The table follows SBA's field for the current holder. King County has 72 loans, Pierce 33, Snohomish 26, Thurston 13 and Clark 12, so the Puget Sound core carries the book.

Recent pace

Annual approvals held between 14 and 19 through FY2023, then rose to 26 in FY2024 and 25 in each of FY2025 and FY2026, with $4.8 million in the latest year, so the newest loans are the least seasoned. Washington salons have not suffered the cancellation problems visible in some other cells, but the small cohort means any single failure moves the charge-off percentage noticeably, and a lender should read the figure with that in mind.

What a Washington salon plan has to show

The plan has to show chairs or suites matched to stylists who will actually occupy them, the rent per chair against the area's lease rates, the clientele within reach, and the build-out cost against a loan that is usually under a few hundred thousand dollars. Coverage should survive the departure of a senior stylist. With fixtures offering thin collateral, the lender will weigh the owner's credit and the lease term, and the study should present both plainly.