Frequently asked questions

There are a few strong players in the value hair salon franchise space, and we'd encourage you to look at all of them seriously before making a decision. Here are some of the key differences that people ask about:

System size and stability. Great Clips is the largest hair salon franchise in the world with over 4,500 locations across the US & Canada. That scale means more purchasing power, more brand recognition, and one of the longest track records of franchisee success in the category.

Single brand, no corporate locations. Every Great Clips salon is franchisee-owned, and we only have one brand. Since there are zero corporate locations that means our entire infrastructure (real estate, operations, marketing, training) exists solely to support Great Clips franchisee’s success. There's no conflict of interest between competing brands or corporate salon performance and yours.

The customer. Sport Clips has made a strategic choice to focus exclusively on men and boys. Great Clips serves the whole family. In a value haircut model built on volume, that's a meaningful difference in your potential customer base. Supercuts offers color services in addition to cuts, and Great Clips intentionally doesn't. We made a deliberate choice to keep the model simple. Running a business is not easy, but it helps when the model is simple, and that simplicity is what makes it scalable.

How you get started. Great Clips is designed for franchisees who want to build a portfolio of salons over time. But we're comfortable with (and often prefer) that you start with one and grow from there. The model supports it. Some competitors require you to purchase multiple agreements upfront before you've opened a single location.

What we'd tell you to look at. Compare the data. Look at Franchise Disclosure Documents. And talk to franchisees from each brand. Ask them specifically about franchisee satisfaction, how responsive corporate support is when things get hard, what they wish they'd known before signing, and whether they'd do it again.

The number one challenge you'll hear from franchisees? Staffing. Finding and retaining the right people takes time and genuine effort. The cosmetology industry can have higher turnover than some fields — but franchisees who invest in their people and genuinely care about them? They not only end up with teams who stick around, they tend to run higher-performing salons too.

The second challenge franchisees will tell you about is real estate (location! location! location!), and it's one where the right partner makes all the difference. Finding a location that fits the business model, serves your customers conveniently, and makes sense financially requires a combination of patience and decisiveness. Good sites can be competitive and move fast, so knowing when to act is part of the skill. The good news: Great Clips has a dedicated real estate team that has been doing exactly this for over 40 years, across thousands of locations in markets of every size and cost profile. Every market is unique, and understanding the capital requirements and performance expectations for yours is something we work through together as you research this opportunity.

The franchisees who navigate both of these challenges successfully share one trait above everything else: they stay engaged. Not in the salon every day, but invested in their people, their locations, and their market. That involvement is what separates the businesses that thrive from the ones that struggle.

Great Clips is designed to be resilient in uncertain economic conditions, and the track record backs that up.

Here's what we know: people need haircuts regardless of what the economy is doing. Great Clips was built on a value model- affordable, convenient, no appointment necessary- which is precisely the kind of business that holds up when consumers are watching their spending. With more than 4,500 locations across the US and Canada, we've operated through recessions, a global pandemic, and every kind of economic uncertainty in between. The system is still here, still growing, and still serving millions of customers every week.

What makes this moment particularly interesting is that some of the same forces creating uncertainty in other industries can sometimes work in our favor. Consumers trading down from premium salons to value options. A service that cannot currently be automated, outsourced, or delivered by an algorithm.

We're not going to tell you there are no challenges- any entrepreneur will tell you that there is never going to be a “perfect time” to do anything, but if you're looking for a business that is built to weather uncertainty rather than depend on perfect economic conditions, this is worth a serious look.

It's a fair comparison to make, and the answer comes down to one word: infrastructure.

Starting an independent business means building everything from scratch. Your brand. Your marketing. Your technology. Your systems and processes. Your supplier relationships. Your customer base. Every tool, every decision, every mistake is yours alone, made in real time while simultaneously trying to keep the lights on.

Great Clips franchisees start with 40+ years of that work already done. A brand that millions of customers already trust and seek out by name. A technology platform that manages online check-in, wait times, and customer flow. A marketing engine (including national advertising) that drives customers through your door from day one. A real estate team that has negotiated thousands of leases and knows what a good site looks like. A training system that gets your team productive faster. And a network of 700+ franchisees who have already solved most of the problems you're going to face.

Independent business owners are entrepreneurs in the purest sense and we have enormous respect for that path. But they're doing it alone. Great Clips franchisees are in business for themselves, but not by themselves. That distinction is what most of our franchisees point to when you ask them why they chose this path.

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.