The salon suite model has had tremendous growth in the past ten years. In 2010, Jason Olsen, founder and CEO of IMAGE Studios, launched his salon suite business model. During the 2009 recession, Olsen discovered the strength and resiliency of the beauty industry, which encouraged him to venture into the suite sector.
In 2016, he launched the franchise arm of the business and today there are IMAGE Studios® salons open all across the United States. Eventually, he plans to introduce the IMAGE business model to an international audience.
Recently, MODERN SALON spoke with Olsen to see if that strength and resiliency still holds (*spoiler: it does) and how IMAGE Studio continues to support their community.
Under Jason Olsen’s leadership, IMAGE Studios has earned recognition on the Inc. 5000, Mountain West Fastest 100, Utah 50 Fastest Growing, and Inc.’s Best Workplaces 2022 lists.
MODERN SALON: The suite model has had tremendous growth in the last ten years. Is this trend shifting? Is the talk about leaving suites just chatter, or is something bigger happening?
JASON OLSEN: I’ve heard some of that chatter too. We often ask ourselves, “Where’s the saturation point for suites?” It’s definitely not a model for everyone in beauty—probably not even half of the industry.
What sets us apart at Image is that we serve the broader beauty community, not just hairstylists and barbers. Our tenant base is about 55% hair, and the other 45% includes med spas, tattoo artists, estheticians, waxers, and more.
We’re all feeling the effects of economic pressure. Consumer spending has slowed due to inflation and tariffs. Many beauty professionals are reporting client cancellations for the first time in a long while. So yes, there’s more hesitation to move into suites right now.
Still, there are around 100,000 beauty pros in suites nationwide, but hundreds of thousands booth rent. I see suites as booth rent 2.0. So I do think there’s a lot of growth potential ahead.
An IMAGE Studios in Austin, TX
MS: How do you support newer professionals entering the suite model?
JO: That’s the tricky part. When we started, the average time in the industry before someone joined us was 10.3 years. Now, it’s 4.5.
Younger professionals need more support. We created an entrepreneurial curriculum through our Image Pro training program, delivered by Matthew across the country. But the biggest hurdle is getting people to engage with business education.
Beauty pros love education—but it’s typically skill-focused. When we bring up accounting or retirement savings, we lose them. So we try to make business training more appealing. For example, we teach how saving $16 a day can grow to $1.3 million in 20 years through compound interest—and that usually blows people’s minds.
And as we bring in younger beauty professionals, we need to make business education more appealing—just like a trending class from an Instagram star. Once we solve that, we’ll be able to support people straight out of school and set them up for lasting success.
MS: You came from the automotive world–how did you find your way to the beauty industry?
JO: Yes, I was a car dealer during the Great Recession—one of the worst industries to be in. I got major PTSD and didn’t want to go through that again.
I’d heard about the “three Bs” of recession resilience: booze, beauty, and boobs. I chose beauty. It’s innovative and creative. Services like threading, lash extensions, and Botox barely existed at scale 15 years ago. Now they’re everywhere. And each new service creates new professionals looking for space—and we’re built for that.
MS: You mentioned the design of your suites is modular–why has that been important?
JO: Design is our biggest differentiator. Most salon suites are built like permanent hair salons—with built-in cabinets and a shampoo bowl. That’s intimidating for non-hair pros.
Our studios are minimalist and modular. Everything—from cabinetry to sinks—is movable. If someone doesn’t need a shampoo bowl, we replace it with a hand sink. This makes it easier for people to envision the space for their own profession.
Because of this flexibility, our communities are more diverse—and that diversity leads to networking, referrals, and a real sense of community. Beauty is a social business, and going independent can be isolating. We work hard to counter that.
MS: We hear from artists that the reason they want to become independent is to realize their vision—to have creative freedom and flexibility. That’s the dream, right?
JO: Exactly. It’s about building your brand and running your business your way.
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