Haynes Chidsey Builds on 20-Year Journey with Sola Salons with New Orlando Location Set to Open in April

Haynes Chidsey’s franchising journey with Sola Salons began before the brand had even launched. As a former colleague of the company’s founders, Chidsey was involved from the earliest stages, ultimately becoming one of Sola’s first franchisees. His decision to join the brand wasn’t driven by a desire to enter franchising, but rather by his longstanding trust in the founders and belief in their vision.

With a background in finance and operations, Chidsey found that the Sola model aligned well with his skill set. He appreciated the business’s simplicity, especially in contrast to more complex franchise systems like food or hospitality. That simplicity allowed him and his team to focus on delivering a high-quality experience to their customers without the distractions that often come with more logistically demanding operations.

Over the years, Chidsey and his business partner, Peter Pak, have expanded their footprint to four states—North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. While growth remains a priority, they place equal importance on developing their team. Recruiting, training and retaining the right people has been a central part of their strategy, ensuring that customer service remains a core focus as the business scales.

Their newest Sola Salons location is set to open April 21, 2025, in the SoDo (“South of Downtown”) neighborhood of Orlando, Florida. The salon will bring Sola’s signature salon suite model to the heart of SoDo, offering beauty professionals a space to operate independently within a supportive and well-designed environment. 

1851 Franchise recently spoke with Chidsey about his long history with Sola Salons and his plans for the future. Here’s what he had to say.

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What do you want us to know?

Haynes Chidsey: We’ve been a part of the Sola system since the beginning. Sola just celebrated its 20-year anniversary, and we’re proud to have been part of that journey. It fits well with our background in finance and operations, especially given the importance of getting the lease right and providing a spirit of service to our customers.

1851: What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Chidsey: For us, it wasn’t so much about franchising as it was about knowing the principals who founded Sola. We sort of backed into franchising. But we’ve enjoyed the experience, and I think we had a good handle on franchising from prior business experience — both myself and my business partner, Peter Pak.

1851: How did you and Peter get started with Sola?

Chidsey: We were former colleagues with the two founders of Sola Salons. Our relationship with them, our confidence in them, our trust in them — their credibility — was the most important factor in deciding to become part of Sola. We didn’t have any prior experience as franchisees, but we’ve learned more along the way. 

1851: Were you the first franchisees with Sola Salons?

Chidsey: There’s a little bit of good-spirited debate about that. I think we were the first franchisee, but if we weren’t the first, we were the second.

1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?

Chidsey: We’ve had a long view of franchising. I think it’s important that the franchisor and franchisee each understand their roles. A clear understanding of those roles leads to a much more successful outcome.

1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?

Chidsey: Outside of the personal attributes of the founders, we really liked the business model. It’s relatively simple and allows the franchisee to focus on what’s most important: serving the customer. Compared to more complex systems like food or hotels, which have more operational and logistical challenges, Sola allows us to do what we really enjoy without all those distractions.

1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth?

Chidsey: We’re definitely planning to grow. We’ll have a couple more stores opening shortly after this one in Orlando. We operate in four states — North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida — and we’re looking to grow in all four.

More than just growth, though, our most important goal is to develop our team. We invest a lot of time, effort and money in recruiting, retaining and training our team to provide the best possible customer experience. That’s just as important to us as expanding to more locations.

1851: Is there anything else about your story you want us to know?

Chidsey: We think our brand has a very bright future. The opportunity we provide for beauty professionals is outstanding, and the industry is catching on to what Sola has to offer. We expect a lot of growth and success ahead.

1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming franchise owners?

Chidsey: Whether you’re doing it full-time or as an investment, it’s important to really understand the business and what you’re getting into. You have to commit to it — the customer deserves that, especially in our business. That commitment is really the key to success at Sola.

ABOUT SOLA SALONS:

In 2004, Sola Salons was established with the opening of its first location in Denver, Colorado. Now with more than 735 locations open in the U.S. and Canada, Sola is proud to offer 20,000+ independent beauty professionals the freedom and benefits of salon ownership without the risk and overhead of opening a traditional salon. Its innovative salon model empowers hairdressers, estheticians, nail techs, massage therapists and other like-minded professionals to take control of their lives and their careers. Sola provides beauty professionals with beautiful, fully-equipped salon studios alongside the support and tools they need to launch their salon business in no time. For more information about Sola Salons, please visit https://www.solasalonstudios.com/.