The Business of Beauty

Local entrepreneur finds a niche in helping others launch their own ventures

BLAIR KUTROW sits in the immaculate, modern break room inside SOLA SALON STUDIOS, her business that opened this March at Hanover Center.

Sola Salon Studios’ large property houses twenty-three mini salons. Walking into the building, the long hallway gives the impression of walking down a main street shopping district. Signs that are reminiscent of street signs hang outside of each studio, and the large, storefront-style windows that look into the salons add to the effect. 

For Kutrow, who has had a winding career that included executive positions at XM Radio, Vanguard Cellular, and Sprint-Nextel, the salon industry is a new venture, but her desire to help entrepreneurs launch their own businesses has been a lifelong passion.  

The Sola Salon Studios franchise has locations nationwide and is new to the area. Sola Salon Studios provides a space in which established hair stylists, estheticians, nail artists, massage therapists, and other salon professionals operate in small, independent salons all under one roof. 

Although Kutrow does not have a background in the salon profession, she has had an interesting career and previous experience opening a new business.

She worked in the wireless industry in the 1990s – back when cellphones were brand new technology and were kept in large, bulky bags.  

“We couldn’t imagine back then that the industry would get to the point where it is today,” she says.   

She found that being part of an emerging industry was exciting and enjoyed working in the field for many years before leaving to seek out a new challenge.

Kutrow was born in the Wilmington area and grew up visiting the beaches of southeastern North Carolina. She knew that she eventually wanted to return to the area and did not want to wait until long after she was retired to do so.  

With this in mind, she and her sister, Laurel Thornton, decided to move to Wilmington to open Coastal Kids Therapy, a pediatric occupational therapy practice that helps children with all types of developmental challenges.  

The facility opened in January 2012, and Kutrow manages the business and marketing, while her sister is the co-owner and director of therapy.  

“It has been a wonderful journey getting this practice started with my sister,” Kutrow says. “It has been so rewarding helping her realize her dream of running a practice based on the philosophy of working with families to help every child reach their potential.”

She keeps busy with her work managing Coastal Kids Therapy, but she began to research new business ideas.  

“I wanted something else to do on my own,” she says.   

She had heard about the Sola Salons Studios franchise through a former coworker at Nextel, and the franchise’s business model appealed to her – especially in that it allowed her to help other women attain their goal of salon ownership.  

Sola Salons Studios creates a space where beauty professionals can operate their own mini salons inside one building that is managed by the franchise owner.  

“I’m essentially the landlord,” Kutrow says. “My job is to provide an environment where the stylists can do business and where their customers will be happy.”  

She manages the day-to-day operations of the building and does all of the overall brand marketing, but the individual salons are left up to the owners.  

To operate a business within Sola Salon Studios, all a potential salon owner needs to do is obtain a salon license and business license.  

The space, sinks, electricity, water, and cabinetry are all in place and ready for them to use. The salon owners are free to make their own hours, decorate their salons any way they choose, and they get to keep 100 percent of the money they make from the business, including any profits from selling retail product.   

Each salon is set up a little differently, and the owners’ individual flair is apparent in each small space. For the majority of Kutrow’s tenants, this is their first time owning their own business, and she takes pleasure in seeing their enthusiasm.

“They are so excited that it’s their own thing,” Kutrow says. 

Working with her tenants has been rewarding for her, and it has made her finally realize that her passion is assisting people in starting their own businesses – a tradition she began with her sister and Coastal Kids Therapy. 

“For years, people would say, ‘Do what you are passionate about,’ and I just couldn’t figure out what that was,” Kutrow says. “Now I realize that my calling is helping other people realize their dreams, and I get a lot of satisfaction out of that.”

To view more of photographer Katherine Clark's work, visit http://www.katherineclarkphotography.com.