How to Start a Sharkey's Cuts for Kids Franchise in 7 Steps: Checklist

The 2026 FDD does not publish a mandatory minimum net worth, liquid-capital threshold, credit score, degree, salon experience requirement, or prior-business-ownership requirement. Sharkey’s application instead collects the ownership group’s financial position, proposed funding, employment and education history, criminal-history disclosures, business and franchise experience, references, preferred market, and expected start schedule. Meeting any screening profile does not guarantee approval.

The official application page asks applicants to select an available-capital range and expected investment timing. Those fields are current lead-qualification questions, not contractual minimums stated in the FDD. The official franchise FAQ says hair-care experience is unnecessary and management or business experience is preferred, but the final approval standard remains within the franchisor’s discretion.

The initial program generally lasts about three days when delivered in person at Westport headquarters or another designated location, or two to three days when delivered virtually. The separate manager program is virtual and lasts approximately two to four hours; employee learning is assigned through the Learning Portal zero to three weeks before opening. Sharkey’s determines satisfactory completion, and the FDD does not disclose a fixed test score or an automatic retake right.

Process sources: 2026 FDD, Items 5, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 15; Exhibit B; Franchise Agreement Sections 6–10 and 15. For disclosure-use guidance, see the FTC’s Consumer’s Guide to Buying a Franchise and its FDD review guidance.

The FDD does not guarantee a site, lease, financing, permit, contractor schedule, employee roster, or opening date. Sharkey’s assistance is distinct from the franchisee’s obligation to obtain third-party approvals and complete the work. Local requirements should be verified with the relevant authorities and qualified advisers rather than inferred from a national checklist.

The recommended Salon size is 950–1,400 usable square feet and cannot be less than 950 square feet. The FDD calls for at least seven off-street parking spaces, subject to review of on-street alternatives. The protected area is established only after site approval and is generally based on at least 10,000 children within a five-mile radius; it never exceeds a five-mile radius and is not fully exclusive.

Site approval, territory protection, lease approval, and buildout approval are separate decisions. The Franchise Agreement says Sharkey’s must approve the location before the franchisee executes an LOI, while Item 11 says construction specifications are delivered within 30 days after an LOI for an approved site. The lease may need the prescribed landlord protections, assignment rights, and franchisor consent language.

Required insurance must be in force before opening and name the franchisor as an additional insured. The franchisee must also use approved or designated products, fixtures, signs, equipment, computer systems, and suppliers. A proposed alternative supplier is not approved merely because Sharkey’s does not respond; Item 8 says the target decision period is 14 days after complete information, and silence means the source remains unapproved.

The general FDD describes two-, three-, and six-year development periods, while the Multi-Unit Addendum requires each second and later Salon to open within 12 months after the preceding Salon opens. Those provisions may align in a continuous schedule, but the exact development calendar should be written into the final documents for every territory.

There is also a payment-timing inconsistency to resolve: Item 17 describes a portion due at agreement execution and another portion when the lease is signed for later locations, while the disclosed Multi-Unit Addendum states the specified initial franchise fee is payable upon execution and non-refundable. The signed package must identify the controlling amount, trigger, and unit-by-unit consequences. Sources: 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 17; Multi-Unit Addendum Sections 1–4.

Item 20 reports 95 signed agreements for outlets that had not opened as of December 31, 2025. That figure does not prove why any individual unit remained unopened, but it makes opening-stage diligence especially relevant. Use the current and former franchisee contacts in Item 20 to ask about actual site-search time, landlord negotiations, permitting, contractor availability, training scheduling, franchisor response time, and the causes of missed opening targets.

For the brand’s current marketing description, see Why Sharkey’s. For state franchise registration and regulator contacts, use the state franchise regulator directory. State addenda can modify generally stated contract provisions.