Five franchise brands run a home remodeling. Here they are beside the independent version of the same business, with each brand’s fees as it publishes them and worked out in dollars. A brand can bring customers an independent has to earn one by one. The question is whether it brings in more than it costs.
Typical for a home remodeling: $750k to $2M in sales, and the owner keeps 10% to 22% after paying for its own marketing. Change either to your own numbers.
Work each brand out at
How the two sides are counted
Sales. A brand’s name brings customers an independent wins one at a time, so each brand is worked out at the sales it reports where we have them, and at yours where we don’t.
Marketing. On your own you pay for all of it, about 3.5% of sales here. The ad fund does part of that job, so it is counted once, not twice.
Survival. New franchised businesses were about 5 to 6 points more likely to make it through their first two years in Census data, and about half of all new businesses close within five years. It is not in the dollars; each brand’s details give the sources.
Your own home remodeling and each brand, side by side
The independent version
Your own home remodeling
Built and run under your own name
Cost to open
$75k to $253k
Annual sales
$1.2Mtypical
Franchise fee
None
Royalty + ad fund
Noneall marketing is yours
$195,200
The owner keeps in a year, after about $43k of marketing
Taking new owners
Bath Tune-Up
Bathroom updates and remodeling
Total investment
$107k to $184k
Avg. annual sales
Ask the brand
Franchise fee
$20k
Royalty + ad fund
5% to 6% + 1% of sales
$122k to $134k
The owner keeps in a year at $1.2M in sales (your sales), after $73k to $85k to the brand
$61k to $73k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Kitchen Tune-Up
Kitchen updates and cabinet refacing
Total investment
$122k to $199k
Avg. annual sales
$362k to $522k
Franchise fee
$80k
Royalty + ad fund
4% to 7% + 1% of sales
$40k to $53k
The owner keeps in a year at $442k in sales (what it reports), after $22k to $35k to the brand
$142k to $155k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Five Star Bath Solutions
Bathroom remodeling
Total investment
$162k to $334k
Avg. annual sales
$1.7M
Franchise fee
$60k
Royalty + ad fund
5% to 6% of sales
$170k to $187k
The owner keeps in a year at $1.7M in sales (what it reports), after $85k to $102k to the brand
$9k to $26k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Re-Bath
Bathroom remodeling
Total investment
$276k to $607k
Avg. annual sales
Ask the brand
Franchise fee
$50k
Royalty + ad fund
5% to 6% of sales
$122k to $134k
The owner keeps in a year at $1.2M in sales (your sales), after $61k to $73k to the brand
$61k to $73k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen
Kitchen and bath remodeling
Total investment
$330k to $655k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$48k
Royalty + ad fund
3% to 7% + 2% of sales
$110k to $159k
The owner keeps in a year at $1.2M in sales (your sales), after $61k to $110k to the brand
$37k to $85k less a year than on your own
Free account
See all 5 home remodeling brands side by side
Every brand’s investment and fees, and what the owner keeps against running your own
The yearly sales the first 3 report, and a plus to add brands to your comparison and benchmark them in your account
Members see the sales every franchisor reports, for every brand
Free, no card. A new account accepts the Terms and the Privacy Policy. smbnest is a self-assessment tool and never takes a cut of your deal or a fee from a franchisor.
Before you sign: what to read in the disclosure document
Every franchisor must give you its Franchise Disclosure Document at least 14 days before you sign or pay. These are the parts that answer the questions above.
Items 5 to 7, the fees and the investment. The franchise fee, every other fee (technology, training, transfer, renewal), and the full opening budget, including working capital.
Item 19, what owners earn. Whether the brand states owner sales or earnings at all, and for which units. Put its figures in the boxes above in place of the typical ones.
Item 20, units opened, closed and sold. How many owners left in each of the last three years, and a list of current and former owners you can call.
Item 12, the territory. Whether you get a protected area, and what the brand can open or sell inside it.
Item 21, the franchisor’s own finances. Whether the company behind the brand is in good health.
smbnest is a self-assessment tool, not individualized advice. Fees are as each brand publishes them on its franchising page and in its disclosure document, reviewed in the month shown, and change; the figures in dollars are worked out at the sales you enter and are not a forecast. We never take a cut of your deal or a fee from a franchisor. Before you sign, speak with a franchise attorney and a qualified financial adviser, and call owners from the disclosure document.
Your guidesmbnest
The guide is an automated assistant. Answers come from this business’s model, its sources and your plan; they are general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Talk to a person