IMAGE Studios is best known for its thoughtfully designed salon suites that allow beauty, health, and wellness professionals to operate independently. In 2026, the brand is expanding that focus with the launch of IMAGE Pro Academy, a new education and support platform created to help professionals strengthen their business skills and grow with confidence.
IMAGE Pro Academy represents the next evolution of IMAGE Studios’ long-standing approach to business and marketing education. Built directly from feedback gathered from professionals across the system, the program reflects a deeper investment in education, accessibility and long-term success.
According to Director of Education Matthew Landis, IMAGE Pro Academy is about far more than adding a few new courses. It’s about reshaping how IMAGE Studios supports professionals throughout their entire journey.
“IMAGE Pro Academy is the next evolution of our business and marketing education for our Pros,” Landis said. “We do a lot of surveys, we listen to their pain points and challenges, and we restructured this program to meet those needs.”
The result is a centralized learning ecosystem that brings together live courses, master classes, on-demand education, and downloadable tools. Rather than requiring professionals to search across multiple platforms, everything will live within a single learning management system designed for ease of use and flexibility.
A key differentiator of IMAGE Pro Academy is its focus on business fundamentals rather than skills-based training. IMAGE Studios intentionally avoids teaching technical services like hair cutting or esthetics, choosing instead to focus on the universal challenges faced by solo entrepreneurs.
“We have never focused on any specific skill set,” Landis said. “It's geared towards business owners, solo entrepreneurs, and creative people who just happen to be artisans and service providers.”
That approach ensures the content applies equally to professionals in hair, skin care, tattoos, brows, wellness and other beauty services. Even within a single category like hair, Landis noted, professionals specialize in vastly different services, making a one-size-fits-all technical approach ineffective.
Feedback from IMAGE Studios professionals showed that busy schedules and limited awareness often kept people from participating. To address that, IMAGE Pro Academy adds more classes and offers several ways to take part, making it easier for professionals to fit learning into their schedules.
Professionals will have access to an on-demand, self-guided learning library featuring short, focused video modules — typically around three minutes long — paired with worksheets, case studies and practical exercises.
“People want shorter, more concise content,” Landis said. “We’re busy, we have so many distractions, so in our self-guided learning modules, it's my goal to keep the content down.”
This multi-format structure allows professionals to learn in ways that suit their individual styles, whether they prefer listening, reading, analyzing or hands-on activities.
Beyond numbers and strategy, IMAGE Pro Academy also addresses some of the most emotionally challenging parts of running a beauty business, from raising prices to letting go of clients who are no longer the right fit.
“There is a lot of emotion that goes into it because what we do is a very intimate experience,” Landis said. “We have very close relationships with our clients, and so sometimes the money part of it can feel complicated.”
To support professionals through these moments, IMAGE Studios offers free, confidential 30-minute coaching sessions with Landis, who is a certified coach with decades of industry experience.
Another strength of IMAGE Pro Academy is the set of business tools available to professionals. These resources help take the guesswork out of pricing, finances and operational decisions.
Among the most widely used tools is IMAGE Studios’ Raising Prices Calculator, which helps professionals take emotion out of pricing decisions and approach them strategically.
Additional tools include pro formas, break-even worksheets, budget templates, compound interest calculators and waste-tracking worksheets, all designed to help professionals run healthier, more sustainable businesses.
IMAGE Pro Academy is also a strategic advantage for franchise owners.
“The more engaged a pro is, the more likely they are to renew their lease, refer a friend and make more money,” Landis said.
The brand has also seen a clear correlation between owner engagement with education programs and higher opening occupancy rates. Professionals who take even one class are more likely to continue participating, creating stronger, more connected studio communities.
Importantly, access to IMAGE Pro Academy begins early. Professionals can start taking courses as soon as they reserve a suite, even before a location opens, helping them prepare for day one and stay engaged during the build-out phase.
“We want people to be successful on day one,” Landis said. “We don’t want them to wait until they have the key.”
As IMAGE Studios continues to expand nationwide, IMAGE Pro Academy is growing right alongside it. The platform will also feature master classes led by respected industry voices, bringing fresh perspectives from across the beauty and wellness space.
With the launch of IMAGE Pro Academy, the franchise reinforces its position as more than a salon suite provider. It’s building a complete ecosystem of education, tools and support, empowering beauty, health, and wellness entrepreneurs to grow stronger businesses and helping franchise owners build more successful studios in every market they serve.
To find out more information on the costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/image-studios.
Image Studios
SPONSORED
The new training program is designed to help studio owners sharpen business skills, grow with confidence and build stronger, more sustainable businesses.
IMAGE Studios is best known for its thoughtfully designed salon suites that allow beauty, health, and wellness professionals to operate independently. In 2026, the brand is expanding that focus with the launch of IMAGE Pro Academy, a new education and support platform created to help professionals strengthen their business skills and grow with confidence.
IMAGE Pro Academy represents the next evolution of IMAGE Studios’ long-standing approach to business and marketing education. Built directly from feedback gathered from professionals across the system, the program reflects a deeper investment in education, accessibility and long-term success.
According to Director of Education Matthew Landis, IMAGE Pro Academy is about far more than adding a few new courses. It’s about reshaping how IMAGE Studios supports professionals throughout their entire journey.
“IMAGE Pro Academy is the next evolution of our business and marketing education for our Pros,” Landis said. “We do a lot of surveys, we listen to their pain points and challenges, and we restructured this program to meet those needs.”
The result is a centralized learning ecosystem that brings together live courses, master classes, on-demand education, and downloadable tools. Rather than requiring professionals to search across multiple platforms, everything will live within a single learning management system designed for ease of use and flexibility.
A key differentiator of IMAGE Pro Academy is its focus on business fundamentals rather than skills-based training. IMAGE Studios intentionally avoids teaching technical services like hair cutting or esthetics, choosing instead to focus on the universal challenges faced by solo entrepreneurs.
“We have never focused on any specific skill set,” Landis said. “It's geared towards business owners, solo entrepreneurs, and creative people who just happen to be artisans and service providers.”
That approach ensures the content applies equally to professionals in hair, skin care, tattoos, brows, wellness and other beauty services. Even within a single category like hair, Landis noted, professionals specialize in vastly different services, making a one-size-fits-all technical approach ineffective.
Feedback from IMAGE Studios professionals showed that busy schedules and limited awareness often kept people from participating. To address that, IMAGE Pro Academy adds more classes and offers several ways to take part, making it easier for professionals to fit learning into their schedules.
Professionals will have access to an on-demand, self-guided learning library featuring short, focused video modules — typically around three minutes long — paired with worksheets, case studies and practical exercises.
“People want shorter, more concise content,” Landis said. “We’re busy, we have so many distractions, so in our self-guided learning modules, it's my goal to keep the content down.”
This multi-format structure allows professionals to learn in ways that suit their individual styles, whether they prefer listening, reading, analyzing or hands-on activities.
Beyond numbers and strategy, IMAGE Pro Academy also addresses some of the most emotionally challenging parts of running a beauty business, from raising prices to letting go of clients who are no longer the right fit.
“There is a lot of emotion that goes into it because what we do is a very intimate experience,” Landis said. “We have very close relationships with our clients, and so sometimes the money part of it can feel complicated.”
To support professionals through these moments, IMAGE Studios offers free, confidential 30-minute coaching sessions with Landis, who is a certified coach with decades of industry experience.
Another strength of IMAGE Pro Academy is the set of business tools available to professionals. These resources help take the guesswork out of pricing, finances and operational decisions.
Among the most widely used tools is IMAGE Studios’ Raising Prices Calculator, which helps professionals take emotion out of pricing decisions and approach them strategically.
Additional tools include pro formas, break-even worksheets, budget templates, compound interest calculators and waste-tracking worksheets, all designed to help professionals run healthier, more sustainable businesses.
IMAGE Pro Academy is also a strategic advantage for franchise owners.
“The more engaged a pro is, the more likely they are to renew their lease, refer a friend and make more money,” Landis said.
The brand has also seen a clear correlation between owner engagement with education programs and higher opening occupancy rates. Professionals who take even one class are more likely to continue participating, creating stronger, more connected studio communities.
Importantly, access to IMAGE Pro Academy begins early. Professionals can start taking courses as soon as they reserve a suite, even before a location opens, helping them prepare for day one and stay engaged during the build-out phase.
“We want people to be successful on day one,” Landis said. “We don’t want them to wait until they have the key.”
As IMAGE Studios continues to expand nationwide, IMAGE Pro Academy is growing right alongside it. The platform will also feature master classes led by respected industry voices, bringing fresh perspectives from across the beauty and wellness space.
With the launch of IMAGE Pro Academy, the franchise reinforces its position as more than a salon suite provider. It’s building a complete ecosystem of education, tools and support, empowering beauty, health, and wellness entrepreneurs to grow stronger businesses and helping franchise owners build more successful studios in every market they serve.
To find out more information on the costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/image-studios.
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