A salon franchise is staking its claim in the Richmond market as it prepares to open its third location in three years.
Sola Salon Studios owners David Aschheim and Todd Sanders are opening a location next month at the Shoppes at Stonehenge on Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield.
Aschheim and Sanders, close friends since they attended the business school at Washington University in St. Louis, brought the franchise to Richmond in 2009, opening their first location in Short Pump. Then they added a Swift Creek location in Chesterfield.
Sola is not exactly a salon: It’s a home to several individual salons operated by different owners. Each location is subdivided into several smaller enclosed units with their own sinks, chairs and cabinets.
“A lot of stylists in town want to own their own business,” Sanders said. “They go out and start a salon and realize they are doing all this other work and no long serving their clients.”
Most salons rent chairs and workstations to independent stylists. Sola is taking that concept to another level.
Sola leases the space, develops the interior and rents out the individual units.
Each salon operates as its own entity with its own professional license, leasing the unit from Sola Salon for between $225 and $500 a week, depending on the size. Tenants commit to a term of one or two years. About a third of the tenants previously owned their own salon.
Sola covers all of the utilities and maintenance to the facility, as well as assistance with merchant services and insurance.
The first two salons in the area each have 26 units; the third location will have 25. The new location is about a quarter full.
Aschheim relocated to Richmond after his wife got a job here. He and Sanders had learned about the Sola concept from a classmate who was living in Denver, where the parent company was founded in 2003.
After arriving here, Aschheim did a demographic study to see whether the business could work in Richmond.
“Richmond was smack dab in the middle of the test case,” Aschheim said. “That is when the light when on.”
He contacted Sanders, who still lives in Chicago, and together they worked up a business plan.
Now, several years later with three locations under their belt, Aschheim said they are looking to continue their expansion.
“We are always planning two or three stores ahead as far as what part of town we want to be in,” Aschheim said. “Part of it is where we can find the right real estate that gives us what we are looking for.”
Sola’s locations so far have been between 5,000 and 6,000 square feet.
“We always want to temper our growth to maintain our quality,” Aschheim said.
A salon franchise is staking its claim in the Richmond market as it prepares to open its third location in three years.
Sola Salon Studios owners David Aschheim and Todd Sanders are opening a location next month at the Shoppes at Stonehenge on Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield.
Aschheim and Sanders, close friends since they attended the business school at Washington University in St. Louis, brought the franchise to Richmond in 2009, opening their first location in Short Pump. Then they added a Swift Creek location in Chesterfield.
Sola is not exactly a salon: It’s a home to several individual salons operated by different owners. Each location is subdivided into several smaller enclosed units with their own sinks, chairs and cabinets.
“A lot of stylists in town want to own their own business,” Sanders said. “They go out and start a salon and realize they are doing all this other work and no long serving their clients.”
Most salons rent chairs and workstations to independent stylists. Sola is taking that concept to another level.
Sola leases the space, develops the interior and rents out the individual units.
Each salon operates as its own entity with its own professional license, leasing the unit from Sola Salon for between $225 and $500 a week, depending on the size. Tenants commit to a term of one or two years. About a third of the tenants previously owned their own salon.
Sola covers all of the utilities and maintenance to the facility, as well as assistance with merchant services and insurance.
The first two salons in the area each have 26 units; the third location will have 25. The new location is about a quarter full.
Aschheim relocated to Richmond after his wife got a job here. He and Sanders had learned about the Sola concept from a classmate who was living in Denver, where the parent company was founded in 2003.
After arriving here, Aschheim did a demographic study to see whether the business could work in Richmond.
“Richmond was smack dab in the middle of the test case,” Aschheim said. “That is when the light when on.”
He contacted Sanders, who still lives in Chicago, and together they worked up a business plan.
Now, several years later with three locations under their belt, Aschheim said they are looking to continue their expansion.
“We are always planning two or three stores ahead as far as what part of town we want to be in,” Aschheim said. “Part of it is where we can find the right real estate that gives us what we are looking for.”
Sola’s locations so far have been between 5,000 and 6,000 square feet.
“We always want to temper our growth to maintain our quality,” Aschheim said.
Absolutely love having my own studio at Sola Salon Swiftcreek…It has been the best move I have ever made….