Blue Nose Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Blue Nose Aerial Imaging is a drone services franchise providing aerial photography, mapping, and inspection for real estate, construction, and other industries. Franchisees run local operations, flying jobs and managing clients and imagery delivery.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Blue Nose franchise requires a total initial investment of $16K – $56K, including a $9K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $16K – $56K
- 5th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 2nd pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 50
- 36th pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Business Services avg · 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 $16K – $56K including a $9K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 21 references audited financial statements for FYE Dec 31 2025/2024/2023 attached as Exhibit E, but the Exhibit E pages (PDF pages 65-81) contain no extractable text in this OCR file (scanned/image statements). No balance sheet, income statement, or auditor figures recoverable from the text.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 63/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 145.0% CAGR over 3 years with 50 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Blue Nose Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- Founder and Managing Member
- Tanner Harris
- Incorporated in
- CO
- HQ
- 2548 Akron Street, Denver, Colorado 80238
- Auditor
- Naper CPA Group
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $291K
- vs $245K prior year
Affiliated brands
- Blue Nose
- that does
- is not offering
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Tanner Harris
- Headquarters
- CO
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 20
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 87% below the typical business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown7 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $9K | $9K | |
| Drone Equipment | $6K | $42K | |
| Licenses, Permits, and Certifications | $75 | $200 | |
| Computer System | $500 | $1K | |
| Optional Accountant and Attorney Fees | $0 | $2K | |
| Insurance | $65 | $100 | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $0 | $3K | |
| Total initial investment | $16K | $56K |
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
- $16K – $56K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $0 – $3K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $9K – $9K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $295 |
| Transfer fee | $0 |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Blue Nose did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Blue Nose unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
343%
Above the 30–60% band. Verify revenue is per-unit average
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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 21 references audited financial statements for FYE Dec 31 2025/2024/2023 attached as Exhibit E, but the Exhibit E pages (PDF pages 65-81) contain no extractable text in this OCR file (scanned/image statements). No balance sheet, income statement, or auditor figures recoverable from the text.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — below the Business Services average of 11.9%.
Disclosure
Franchisor chose not to disclose financial performance representations. You will need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Operator retention
System expanding at 145.0% CAGR over 3 years across 50 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Business Services averages
How Blue Nose Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 50
- Opened
- 20
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 7
- Terminated
- 2
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 51.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 98%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +145.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +145.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 49
- Closed (3yr)
- 21
- Terminated (3yr)
- 3
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 23 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
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
Blue Nose presents moderate-to-elevated risk due to lack of financial transparency, active franchisee litigation, small system size, and unclear cost drivers—unsuitable for passive investors requiring clear ROI benchmarks.
Litigation (Item 3)
Blue Nose Franchising, LLC v. Matthew Letterman, AAA Case No. 01-25-0005-5246. Commenced November 2025 against a former franchisee for failing to pay required fees and costs. Final Hearing scheduled May 2026.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Naper CPA Group
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo Item 19 financial disclosure (average revenue and net income not disclosed) — impossible to validate ROI claims
- 02HIGHActive litigation against franchisee for non-payment of fees suggests collection and/or profitability issues within the system
- 03MINOR50-unit system is relatively small; 25.6% YoY growth is healthy but base is thin, limiting data reliability and support infrastructure
- 04MINORWide investment range ($15,590–$56,250) with no clarification on what drives cost variance raises transparency concerns
- 05MINOR4% royalty appears low, potentially indicating franchisor underfunding support, training, and marketing resources
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 250,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 100 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 180 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Denver, Colorado |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | CO |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Blue Nose Franchising, LLC v. Matthew Letterman, AAA Case No. 01-25-0005-5246. Commenced November 2025 against a former franchisee for failing to pay required fees and costs. Final Hearing scheduled May 2026.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 13 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Virtual (online)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
59 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Blue Nose · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Blue Nose franchise?
The total investment to open a Blue Nose franchise ranges from $16K – $56K, with an initial franchise fee of $9K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Blue Nose franchise owners earn?
Blue Nose does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Blue Nose 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 Blue Nose FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Blue Nose's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Blue Nose (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 Blue Nose franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Blue Nose has 50 total units in the United States, including 49 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 20 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Blue Nose a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Blue Nose as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 63 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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
Are you the franchisor?
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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.