Bella Ballerina Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $116K – $196K
- Disclosed sales
- $216K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Bella Ballerina is a children's dance franchise offering ballet and creative movement classes for young kids. Franchisees run the studios, managing instructors, class scheduling, and enrollment.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Bella Ballerina franchise requires a total initial investment of $116K – $196K, including a $42K franchise fee. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $216K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $116K – $196K
- 20th pct Health & Fitn…
- Avg gross sales
- $216K
- Incl. company outlets3rd pct Health & Fitn…
- Royalty
- Flat fee
- Units
- 14
- 41st pct Health & Fitn…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Health & Fitness · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Health & Fitness median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $116K – $196K including a $42K franchise fee.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $216K/year (median $222K) (includes company-owned outlets).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 50/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +3 franchised outlets in the latest year (3 opened, 0 closed); 2 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- OWNERS67% of franchisees own multiple units, a high repeat-buyer signal suggests strong unit economics.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Bella Ballerina Franchising, Inc.
- CEO title
- Founder and President
- Natalie Perkins
- CEO experience
- 9 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- VA
- HQ
- 1053 Edwards Ferry Road, Leesburg, Virginia 20176
- Auditor
- Reese CPA LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $308K
- vs $250K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Natalie Perkins
- Headquarters
- VA
- Founded
- 2016
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 4
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 60% below the typical health & fitness franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $42K | $42K | |
| Construction and Leasehold Improvements | $20K | $60K | |
| Lease Deposits - Three Months | $4K | $14K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment | $14K | $20K | |
| Signage | $8K | $12K | |
| Computer, Software, and Point of Sale System | $500 | $1K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing Expense | $3K | $3K | |
| Initial Inventory | $9K | $10K | |
| Utility Deposits | $500 | $1K | |
| Insurance Deposits - Three Months | $2K | $3K | |
| Travel for Initial Training | $500 | $2K | |
| Professional Fees | $3K | $8K | |
| Business Licenses and Permits | $250 | $750 | |
| Printing, Stationery, and Office Supplies | $250 | $500 | |
| Additional Funds - Three Months | $10K | $20K | |
| Total initial investment | $116K | $196K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $116K – $196K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $42K – $42K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- $0/month months 1-2; $495/month months 3-6; $740/month mo…
- Ad fund
- Up to $250/month; currently $0 months 1-17, $150/month mo…
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | Fixed monthly royalty escalating over time: $0 (months 1-2), $495 (months 3-6), $740 (months 7-12), $989 (month 13+) |
| Technology fee | $50 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $9K – $10K |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 55% below the health & fitness norm.
Includes company-owned outlets
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Bella Ballerina until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for royalty rate, ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$171K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Bella Ballerina unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for royalty rate, ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for royalty rate, ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
Includes company-owned outlets
- Avg gross sales
- $216K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $222K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 9 outlets
- vs category median 11
- Range (low → high)
- $104K→$481KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 50 of the 2024 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 173 Health & Fitness brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $216K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.4x. Includes company-owned outlets.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 175.0% CAGR over 3 years across 14 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
67% of franchisees own multiple units — high repeat-buyer rate signals strong unit economics and operator satisfaction.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Health & Fitness medians
How Bella Ballerina Compares
Category median of published Health & Fitness brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 14
- Opened
- 3
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 79%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 66.7%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +175.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +175.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 2
- 0.14 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 7.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 4 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
4
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Bella Ballerina presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to missing profitability disclosure, prior regulatory violations, high investment relative to unclear net returns, and rapid expansion that may strain franchise support infrastructure.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
Virginia SCC investigation (Case No. SEC-2018-00023) for offering franchise without registration; settled August 2018 with $4,000 penalty and $2,500 investigation costs, offered rescission to Virginia licensee who declined.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Reese CPA LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Revenue comprised of royalty fees $130,042, franchise fees $101,366, and product sales $76,936 for FY2023 (year ended Dec 31, 2023).
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 50 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — unable to assess actual profitability despite $269,865 average revenue
- 02MINOR2018 Virginia regulatory settlement for registration/disclosure violations suggests compliance weaknesses
- 03MEDHigh initial investment ($115,500–$196,250) relative to undisclosed net income creates ROI uncertainty
- 04MINORScaling royalty structure ($0–$989/month) lacks transparency on when fees trigger and how they impact unit economics
- 05MINORRapid YoY growth (37.5%) with only 14 units raises sustainability and support quality concerns
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Territory population | 250,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Loudoun, Virginia |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | VA |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Virginia SCC investigation (Case No. SEC-2018-00023) for offering franchise without registration; settled August 2018 with $4,000 penalty and $2,500 investigation costs, offered rescission to Virginia licensee who declined.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 19 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 175 hrs
- Training location
- Leesburg, Virginia
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Sawyer
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Sawyer
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
12 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Bella Ballerina franchise?
The total investment to open a Bella Ballerina franchise ranges from $116K – $196K, with an initial franchise fee of $42K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Bella Ballerina franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Bella Ballerina FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $216K. The median is $222K. Important context: Includes company-owned outlets. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Bella Ballerina?
Bella Ballerina is franchised by Bella Ballerina Franchising, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Bella Ballerina FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Bella Ballerina FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Bella Ballerina's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Bella Ballerina (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Bella Ballerina franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Bella Ballerina has 14 total units in the United States, including 11 franchised units and 3 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Bella Ballerina a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Bella Ballerina as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 50 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.