Buying a salon or barbershop in Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay has 156 established salons and barbershops by our count: companies in business at least 15 years that still file with the state every year and aren't part of a larger group. Of those, 51% have been in business 20 years or more. Most will never be listed for sale, and many of their owners have never been asked.
What it takes to own one
Salons and barbershops in Tampa Bay come in every size. Here's what owning one could look like at three levels, from a solid company to one of the leaders, with a small business loan covering most of the price.
- Earns about
- $38,000 a year
- Price about
- $91,000
- Your cash
- $13,000
- Could pay you
- up to $22,000 a year
- Earns about
- $113,000 a year
- Price about
- $270,000
- Your cash
- $38,000
- Could pay you
- up to $64,000 a year
- Earns about
- $286,000 a year
- Price about
- $687,000
- Your cash
- $96,000
- Could pay you
- up to $162,000 a year
Earnings are owner earnings: profit plus what the owner pays themselves, before loan payments and taxes. They and the prices are our estimates from public records, not the owners' figures, and we value companies like these at about 2.4 times a year's owner earnings. Your cash covers the down payment and closing costs, and what the business could pay you is what's left after the loan payments and the cushion lenders require. The more cash you bring, the further up you can go.
Age, size and location
Revenue is our estimate from public records, grouped into wide ranges.
| In business | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under 20 years | 76 |
| 20 to 29 years | 66 |
| 30 to 39 years | 10 |
| 40 years or more | 4 |
| Estimated yearly revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under $1M | 59 |
| $1M to $2M | 6 |
| $2M to $4M | 4 |
| Over $8M | 1 |
| County | Companies |
|---|---|
| Hillsborough | 56 |
| Pinellas | 50 |
| Pasco | 19 |
| Polk | 17 |
| Citrus | 10 |
| Other counties | 4 |
| Town | Companies |
|---|---|
| Tampa | 38 |
| Clearwater | 8 |
| Lakeland | 8 |
| Brandon | 7 |
| St Petersburg | 7 |
| Palm Harbor | 6 |
| Crystal River | 5 |
| New Port Richey | 5 |
What the best salons and barbershops have in common
- 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.
What to check before you buy
- 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.
Questions to ask the owner
- 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?
To learn what these companies do, which licenses they need and how ownership works, read our full guide to buying a salon or barbershop in Florida.
Owning a company in Tampa Bay
The local economy
Tampa Bay, as we draw it, runs from Citrus County south through Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough, and east into Polk: Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Wesley Chapel, Brooksville, Inverness, Lakeland and Winter Haven. Tampa is the business center, with Port Tampa Bay, Tampa International Airport, the University of South Florida and MacDill Air Force Base, home to the headquarters of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command. Financial services, insurance and health care employ many people, and the Gulf beaches of Pinellas bring tourists and seasonal residents.
Polk County sits on Interstate 4 between Tampa and Orlando and has become a center for warehouses and distribution, alongside its older citrus and phosphate industries. To the north, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus are more suburban and rural, with many retirees. Home service companies, the building trades, medical practices and auto businesses all have a deep customer base across the region.
What's different about owning a company here
Hurricane Helene's storm surge in September 2024 and Hurricane Milton two weeks later both hit the region hard. Flood zones and insurance costs now matter in any deal near the water. Ask how the business came through those storms, what it claimed, and whether its building sits in a flood zone.
The labor market is deep by Florida standards, though skilled tradespeople can still be hard to find. New homes have pushed north and east into Pasco and eastern Hillsborough, and along Interstate 4 in Polk, bringing demand for services with them. Coastal Pinellas is more seasonal than inland Tampa or Lakeland. The bay itself shapes a service company's territory: crossing a bridge at rush hour can turn a short distance into a long drive, so look at where the customers actually are.