Blueleaf Financial helps hair salons, nail studios and barbershops in Harrisburg, PA compare funding for chairs, stations, remodels, retail product and payroll. Dauphin County, PA had 116 beauty salons and 48 nail salons with employees in 2023, most of them very small. Equipment financing and working capital are the first options to compare.
At a glance
- Beauty salons
116 employers (CBP 2023)
- Nail salons
48 employers
- Barber shops
6 employers
- Beauty salons under five staff
65.5%
- No-payroll beauty salons
430 (NES 2024)
- First option to compare
Salon equipment financing
How a Salon Earns and Spends
A salon's revenue comes chair by chair: services, tips that pass through, and retail product. Some salons pay commission staff; others rent chairs or booths to independent stylists, which changes both revenue and risk. Spending clusters around the fit-out, stations, shampoo bowls, dryers, pedicure chairs and ventilation for nail studios, and around product stock for the retail shelf.
Salon Equipment Financing
Salon equipment financing covers styling stations and chairs, shampoo units, dryers, pedicure spas, nail tables with ventilation and barber chairs. A salon equipment loan or lease lets the equipment carry much of the deal; partners review the vendor quote, new or used.
Hypothetical, for arithmetic only: a salon adds two stations at $4,500 each and a shampoo unit at $3,200, $12,200 in total. If each new chair is booked about 20 hours a week at roughly $45 an hour of service revenue to the salon, that is around $7,800 a month across the two chairs before commission.
Hair Salon Business Loans for Remodels and Second Locations
A remodel or second location is a term loan request. Partners look at the existing salon's statements, how the new space will be staffed, whether stylists are employees or booth renters, and the lease. For short gaps, a new stylist ramping up or a slow stretch, working capital can fit.
Preparing a Salon's Funding File
- Keep business and personal accounts separate
- Bring card processing and bank statements
- Have the latest tax return
- Bring vendor quotes for equipment or the contractor's remodel estimate
- Explain the staffing model: commission, booth rent or a mix
A card-heavy salon may be offered a merchant cash advance. It is not a loan; compare its total dollar cost with equipment financing and working capital first.
Chairs, Nail Tables and Barber Stations in Dauphin County, PA
Dauphin County, PA had 116 beauty salons with employees in 2023 (475 employees) and 48 nail salons (188 employees); 65.5% of beauty salons and 68.8% of nail salons had fewer than five employees (CBP 2023). Barber shops with employees numbered 6.
The Nonemployer Statistics, a separate program and year, counted 430 beauty salons, 160 nail salons and 129 barber shops with no payroll in 2024; those counts are not added to or compared with the employer counts.
Small Business Loans for Salons With Booth Renters
When a salon's income is mostly booth rent, partners may look at how many booths are let, for how long, and how steady the rent deposits are. Showing rental agreements and deposit history helps.
Retailers, the Industry List and County Figures
Retail product and shops are on the retailers page. All sectors are on the industry list; county figures on the Harrisburg, PA page.
By Blueleaf Financial ยท Updated