How to Sell a Hair Salon or Barbershop in Florida

Short answer: To sell a hair salon or barbershop in Florida, show buyers that clients and stylists will stay after you leave, organize financials that match your booking software, confirm your lease can be assigned, and plan for the buyer’s own DBPR salon or barbershop license, because the shop license does not transfer to a new owner. Then market the business confidentially to screened buyers, negotiate a purchase agreement, complete due diligence, and close. Most main street sales take six to twelve months from listing to closing. I’m Ryan C. Winter, Business Broker with Truforte Business Group, based in St. Augustine and working with owners across Florida.

Salons and barbershops are personal businesses. Clients often follow a stylist or barber, not the sign on the door, so most of what a buyer pays for depends on whether the chairs stay full after you hand over the keys.

Booth Rental or Commission: Two Different Businesses to a Buyer

The first thing a buyer asks is how your chairs make money, because the answer changes what they are buying.

Booth Rental Shops

In a booth rental shop, independent stylists or barbers pay you rent for a chair or suite and keep their own service revenue. Your income is the rent. Buyers look at how long renters have stayed, whether the agreements are in writing, and how often chairs sit empty. The transfer is simpler, but the buyer is really buying an occupancy business, and renter turnover is the main risk.

Commission and Employee Salons

When stylists are employees or work on commission and the salon collects the service revenue, the business can earn more, and buyers can pay more for it, but only if the team stays. If two top stylists leave in the first few months, their clients usually leave with them. Buyers will study revenue by stylist, how long each person has been with you, and whether the salon or the stylist controls the client list and booking history.

Many shops mix the two. Either way, make sure the paperwork matches how people actually work, and have your CPA and attorney confirm worker classification before a buyer’s accountant asks.

What Buyers Look For in a Florida Salon or Barbershop

• Clients tied to the business. Online booking, a client database the salon owns, memberships or prepaid packages, and a name people search for all help clients stay with the shop rather than with one person.
• A stable team. Tenure, licenses in good standing, and staff who are not about to open their own place.
• Limited owner dependence. If you are the busiest stylist in the building, buyers will ask what happens to that book of business when you stop working the chair. It helps to reduce owner dependency by moving some clients to other stylists.
• Retail sales. Steady product sales show client trust. Retail inventory is usually counted and paid for separately at closing.
• Clean records. Booking software reports that tie to bank deposits and tax returns. Cash that never reaches the books cannot be counted by a buyer or a lender.
• Repeat traffic. Neighborhood shops and tourist-area shops both sell, but buyers value predictable repeat visits more than one-time walk-ins.

Florida Licensing When a Salon or Barbershop Changes Hands

Florida licenses both the people and the shop through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Cosmetology falls under Chapter 477, Florida Statutes, and the Board of Cosmetology. Barbering falls under Chapter 476 and the Barbers’ Board.

The Shop License Stays With the Seller

Florida law says a cosmetology salon license may not be transferred from the original licensee to another (s. 477.025), and the barbershop statute says the same about barbershop licenses (s. 476.184). In practice, the buyer applies for its own salon or barbershop license through DBPR. Build that into the timeline so the shop is never open without a license in the new owner’s name. The DBPR Board of Cosmetology page lists the current salon forms.

Individual Licenses Belong to Each Stylist and Barber

Florida law requires cosmetology services to be performed by licensed cosmetologists in licensed salons, with limited exceptions (s. 477.0263), and barbers hold their own licenses under Chapter 476. Those licenses belong to the individuals. Buyers will check that everyone in the shop holds a current license, booth renters included.

Moving a licensed shop to a new address also requires DBPR approval. Confirm current requirements with DBPR and your attorney.

Tax Clearance and Local Receipts

The buyer also needs local business tax receipts. Under s. 213.758, Florida Statutes, a buyer can become liable for a seller’s unpaid state taxes unless the seller provides a certificate of compliance from the Florida Department of Revenue, so buyers usually ask for it. Your CPA can confirm the details.

The Lease and the Build-Out

Salon build-outs are expensive: shampoo bowls and plumbing, ventilation for chemical services, and electrical for dryers and stations. Those improvements are worth little to anyone outside the industry, so the lease carries much of a salon’s value. A buyer and any lender will want enough remaining term and renewal options to justify the price.

Check your lease for the assignment clause and any personal guarantee. Most landlords require approval and a financial review of the buyer. My guide to lease assignment in a Florida business sale covers how that process usually works.

Preparing Your Salon or Barbershop for Sale

1. Pull booking software reports (revenue by stylist or chair, retail, retention, new clients) and match them to deposits and tax returns.
2. Put rental agreements, employment agreements, and commission plans in writing.
3. Confirm every license in the shop is current on DBPR’s license lookup.
4. List equipment and its condition, and repair what is broken.
5. Review the lease with your attorney.
6. Decide what role you could play after closing, from staying behind the chair for a period to a short introduction to clients and staff.

Who Buys Salons and Barbershops

• Working stylists and barbers who want to own the shop they work in, sometimes someone already on your team.
• Owners of other salons or barbershops adding a location.
• Investors and career changers who plan to hire a manager and look hardest at the team.

Many buyers use SBA 7(a) loans, which commonly finance business acquisitions. The lender has its own requirements.

How the Sale Works, Step by Step

1. Confidential valuation based on your financials and how your chairs earn.
2. Preparation of records, agreements, and the lease.
3. Confidential marketing with a blind listing and a signed non-disclosure agreement before any buyer learns your name.
4. Buyer meetings, usually after hours.
5. Purchase agreement with contingencies. I usually go straight to a purchase agreement rather than a letter of intent.
6. Due diligence on financials, licenses, agreements, and the lease.
7. Approvals: the buyer’s DBPR shop license and the landlord’s consent to assign the lease.
8. Closing and transition, including introducing the buyer to your team and regular clients.

My guide on how to sell a business in Florida covers each stage in more detail.

Related guides: selling a gym or fitness studio, selling a daycare or child care center, and selling a tutoring or learning center in Florida.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does My Salon License Transfer to the Buyer?

No. Florida law says a cosmetology salon license may not be transferred from the original licensee to another, and the barbershop statute says the same. The buyer applies for its own license through DBPR, and the timing should line up with closing so the shop never operates without one. Confirm the current process with DBPR and your attorney.

Do I Have to Tell My Stylists I Am Selling?

Not at the start. Most salon sales stay confidential until a buyer is committed. The buyer will want to meet key stylists before closing, so plan that conversation carefully, with a clear message about what changes and what stays the same.

What if I Am the Busiest Stylist in the Shop?

Then a large share of revenue leaves when you do, and buyers will account for that. You can reduce the risk by moving some clients to other stylists before a sale, or by agreeing to keep working behind the chair for a transition period after closing.

How Long Does It Take to Sell a Salon or Barbershop?

Most main street sales take six to twelve months from listing to closing. Plan early for the buyer’s new shop license and the landlord’s approval of the lease assignment, since both need to be in place at closing.

To find out what your salon or barbershop could sell for, request a free, confidential business valuation or call me at (904) 789-1276.

• Category: Selling a Business, St. Augustine