Frequently asked questions

No. Approximately 95% of our franchisees didn't know how to cut hair when they joined our system, and most of them still don't know how to cut hair years after becoming a franchisee. Your mission is to manage and lead your staff, grow sales and open multiple salons.

Great Clips has grown to become the world's largest hair salon franchise brand by providing quality haircuts, at an affordable price, to the entire family in convenient locations. We are a single brand, privately owned, and all Great Clips salons are owned by franchisees—we have zero corporate locations! (That’s good for you—you’ll receive 100% of our resources and support!) Our commitment to training and the use of technology to increase the comfort and convenience of our customer’s experience are also significant differentiators that help Great Clips stand out in the crowd.

Yes, it is possible. But remember—you are the driver of your business' success. If your full time job (or other business) doesn't allow for some flexibility, you may not be in a position to do both. We often see husband and wife teams who will have one partner keep their full time job and the other partner dedicate more time to the business. The most important thing is to have the ability to be involved and engaged in the business—and if your existing situation won't allow for time and flexibility, then you may want to re-evaluate your strategy.

You're welcome to do so, if it makes sense financially for you. There is often a timing gap between signing the franchise agreement and getting your salon open (you’re busy- you’ll be searching for real estate, building your salon out, hiring staff etc., but you won’t be making money on your business when your location isn’t even open yet), so you’ll need to make sure you have funds to support your lifestyle while you’re in that phase of the business. That said, once you understand the business as you grow, you will likely open salons at a faster pace if you're able to devote full-time attention to the business.

Once you have submitted your application Great Clips will reach out to you via email, text, or phone call to let you know if we can take next steps and/or confirm your information.

10 years.

Good business sense with a growth mindset, strong leadership skills, willingness to follow a system, and flexibility in your day-to-day—these are just some of the traits you need to have to succeed as a Great Clips franchisee. Find out if you have the traits it takes to join our top-performing franchisees here.

No, Great Clips has found that franchisees who are involved and engaged in the business are more likely to succeed. Each salon functions day to day under a manager’s supervision; an owner’s daily presence is not required, allowing you to keep your professional career—if you choose—while you focus on managing the business, but know that your regular involvement is crucial to your success.

Yes, Great Clips requires that you live in the media market where you plan to develop your business. We know that your ability to visit your salons regularly is important in supporting your staff and can positively impact your salon performance. Prospective franchisees need to live in the market prior to starting our mutual evaluation process- we know that best laid plans often change, so, if you are intending to relocate to an area- let us know after you’ve moved and we will get our process started then. Please note, Great Clips also requires prospective franchisees to have a green card/ permanent residency status*, or citizenship within the country where they intend to develop prior to entering our evaluation process as well.

* For Canadians with permanent residency status: you will need to have the appropriate visas to be able and willing to travel to the US within 6 months of signing a franchise agreement for certain in-person training events as well as other conferences/conventions as needed.

Financial requirements may vary depending on the cost of living in the market. The minimum net worth requirement is $500,000 with liquid assets of at least $100,000, while other markets require $1,000,000 net worth with liquid assets of at least $250,000. See our Investment page for more information.

• The total initial investment for a Great Clips salon varies depending on a number of factors, like where you are located. Higher cost of living markets or dense urban areas will likely drive up costs, as they do with any retail business. Also, the larger your space, the more expensive it will be. For a more detailed look at these costs and others, check out our initial investment charts for both the US and Canada.

Great Clips does not provide financing; however, we do have relationships with third-party vendors that can assist you with accessing funding to open your salon. We will help get you connected to them during our process so that you can research what options might best suit your growth strategy.

Since there are so many variables that go into answering this question, it can create a broad range of answers. So, we prefer that our franchise owners answer it based on their real-life experiences. For example, one of the major variables when calculating "time to cash flow positive" is debt service. Some franchisees open salons with no debt, while on the other end of the spectrum, other franchisees may take out loans for 70% to 75% of the total investment required. Again, we encourage you to speak with our existing and/or former franchisees to learn more about the length of time it took them to reach the point where their salon was cash flow positive.

The best place to get that information is directly from our franchisees! Thankfully, we also ask our franchisees to share salon profitability information with us every year, and we take that data, compile it and provide an average operating cash flow statement in our Franchise Disclosure Document’s (FDD) Financial Performance Representation (Item 19). Once you’ve been qualified to start our mutual evaluation process, we will send you a copy of our FDD right away so you can start digging into the most recent data available. We also encourage you to bring this up in your conversations with franchisees while you research the business model. Again, the franchisees are the best source of information and, as long as you’re asking your questions respectfully, they can choose to be very generous with their insights.  

The franchise fee is $20,000, plus for each agreement you purchase, you will also make a $5000 contribution to our Market Development Advertising Fund (MDAF) for a total of $25,000.

6% of gross sales.

Yes, Great Clips is a member of the International Franchise Association (IFA) and participates in the IFA’s VetFran Program. Great Clips provides a $5,000 rebate to veterans of the United States and Canadian armed forces who have been honorably discharged from the military and who otherwise meet the requirements of the VetFran Program. This rebate is awarded at the time qualified veterans open their first salon and is only available for the first salon.

Yes. You can find our open markets here-- available territories

Please note all interested parties must reside in the country they intend to develop in.

Yes, Great Clips has a dedicated real estate department to provide support when it comes to finding your locations.

The average size of a Great Clips salon is 900 to 1,200 square feet.

Depending on the density of the market, a salon typically has a protected radius of 3/4 of a mile.

Yes, Great Clips has a dedicated facilities & purchasing department to help you every step of the way.

Yes. Our average franchisees owns 5-6 salons after 5 years.

Each salon needs to have a Salon Manager, one Assistant Manager, and anywhere from 8-10 stylists.

Great Clips is committed to training every franchisee and their management teams and stylists.

Great Clips University - Great Clips University is an online training resource for stylists, managers, general managers and franchisees that features more than 300 courses and is available 24/7. GCU includes topics ranging from hair cutting techniques to best business practices. All training programs at Great Clips are offered in a blended format, meaning learning begins online and is cemented with a live virtual experience.

In addition to GCU, Great Clips has the following sessions available for franchisees and staff: stylist training with Great Clips Academy, manager training with LEADS, general manager training with GM to Leader and Leading to Great, and new franchisee training with blended-learning programs Quick Connect and Building Your Legacy.