Buying a salon or barbershop in Orlando and Central Florida

• A large, loyal client base with high rebooking rates, and client records kept in the salon's own booking system rather than on stylists' phones.
• Stylists who have been there for years and aren't likely to leave with their clients. In this business, clients follow the person who does their hair.
• New clients arriving steadily from walk-ins, online booking and referrals, not only from stylists' own followings.
• A good lease in a visible spot with parking, and years left to run.
• Retail sales that add margin without a pile of unsold stock.
• Revenue spread across many providers, so one stylist leaving doesn't sink it.
• For spas, memberships or packages that bring clients back on a schedule.
• A manager who runs the floor without the owner.

• Client counts and rebooking rates, and who owns the client records and booking data.
• Each provider's arrangement: employee, commission or booth renter. Treating employees as renters creates tax risk, so ask your accountant.
• Revenue by provider, and how much the top few produce.
• Agreements that keep departing stylists from soliciting clients, where they exist, and realistic plans to keep key people.
• The lease: rent, term, renewal options and landlord consent to a sale.
• Equipment, furniture and the condition of the buildout.
• Gift cards and prepaid packages: services you'll owe but won't be paid for.
• DBPR and Department of Health inspection history.
• Retail inventory: how much is on the shelves, how old it is, and any minimum orders required by product companies.

• How many active clients do you have, and how often do they come back?
• Are your providers employees, commission staff or booth renters?
• Which providers bring in the most revenue, and how long have they been with you?
• Do you work behind the chair yourself, and how many clients are yours personally?
• How much of your revenue is retail?
• What's left on the lease, and has the landlord agreed to a transfer?
• How much do you have out in unused gift cards and prepaid packages?

This region covers Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Sumter and Marion counties: Orlando, Winter Park, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Sanford, Clermont, Leesburg, Ocala and the large retirement communities of Sumter and Lake counties. Tourism is what the area is best known for, built on the theme parks, the hotels, the vacation rental homes around Kissimmee and the Orange County Convention Center. It's far from the only business. The University of Central Florida and the military simulation and training offices near it support a technology base, and health care is a major employer.

Marion County is horse country, with thoroughbred farms around Ocala, and it has added warehouses and distribution centers along Interstate 75. Retirees in Sumter and Lake create steady demand for medical practices, home care, home maintenance and auto services. The building trades, restaurants, and companies that serve hotels and rental homes do well across the region.

Central Florida is inland, so storm surge isn't the worry it is on the coasts. Hurricanes still bring wind damage and flooding, though: Hurricane Ian flooded neighborhoods in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties in 2022. Ask whether the business or its customers were affected.

Tourism keeps demand steadier through the year than in markets that depend on winter residents, with busy stretches around school holidays. Hotels, parks and restaurants compete hard for workers, which pushes up wages for any company that hires hourly staff. New homes have spread fast in Osceola, south Lake and southeast Orange counties and around Ocala, so check whether a company's customers are in growing areas or older ones. Traffic on Interstate 4 limits how much ground a service company can cover in a day.