C12 Group Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $37K – $67K
- Disclosed sales
- $618K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
C12 Group is a Christian business coaching franchise running monthly peer-advisory boards for CEOs and business owners. Franchisees facilitate the boards and one-on-one coaching, recruiting members and building recurring membership revenue.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A C12 Group franchise requires a total initial investment of $37K – $67K, including a $13K – $38K franchise fee and an ongoing 30.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $618K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), 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 scored7 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $37K – $67K
- 9th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $618K
- 8th pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- 30.0%
- 52nd pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 65
- 41st pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Business Services 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 $37K – $67K including a $13K franchise fee, 30.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $618K/year (median $381K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 91/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (1 opened, 1 closed) (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- The C12 Group, LLC
- Predecessor
- C12 (Florida sole proprietorship owned by Lester (Buck) Jacobs, founded 1992; later Florida LLC, then North Carolina LLC)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President, Chief Executive Officer & Board Director
- Michael W. (Mike) Sharrow
- Incorporated in
- TX
- HQ
- 1723 N. Loop 1604 E, #202, San Antonio, TX 78232
- Auditor
- Schriver, Carmona & Company, PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $6.4M
- vs $5.1M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Michael W. (Mike) Sharrow
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 1992
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 34
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 61% below the typical business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $13K | $13K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $500 | $3K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $24K | $52K |
| Total initial investment | $37K | $67K |
Source: C12 Group 2024 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $37K – $67K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $500 – $3K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $13K – $38K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 30.0%
- Tiered by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- -n/d
- Total fee load
- 17.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 30.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $12K |
| Training fee | $12K |
| Transfer fee | $6K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 17.0% of rev |
At 17.0% total fee load, roughly $105K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 10% below the business services norm.
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 C12 Group 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 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
$53K
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 C12 Group 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 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 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
- Avg gross sales
- $618K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $381K
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
- 60 franchisees
- vs category median 37
- Range (low → high)
- $4K→$3.2MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 36 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 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 296 Business Services brands
Revenue is 11.9x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
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 $618K/year in gross sales. Median is $381K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 11.9x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 17.0% — above the Business Services median of 9.0%.
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 6.6% CAGR over 3 years across 65 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
Only 1% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 medians
How C12 Group Compares
Category median of published Business Services 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
- 65
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.5%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +6.6%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +6.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 1
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 4
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 34 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.
34
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
1 current owner across 1 state.
- TX 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
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
High-royalty, slow-growth franchise with undisclosed profitability, regulatory history, and short contract terms presents elevated risk for franchisee capital recovery.
Why this reads harsher than the A grade: the grade weighs financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency across the whole filing, while this summary lists individual flags without that weighting. The flags are worth checking with current owners; neither is investment advice.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
Administrative proceeding before Maryland Securities Commissioner (Case No. 2011-0530); C12 entered consent order in 2012 regarding unregistered franchise sale and escrow violation in Maryland.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Schriver, Carmona & Company, PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Total Revenues for fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 (most recent audited year included): Franchise Fees $5,362,125; Dues - C12 Atlanta $429,500; International License Fees $115,917; New Member Registration Fees $396,775; Merchandise and Promotion $134,973. Audited financial statements (Exhibit B) cover FY2022 and FY2021; Item 21 references FY2023, 2022, 2021 but the included statements are the consolidated FY2022/2021 audit.
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 91 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORHigh royalty rate (17-30% of gross billings) significantly erodes profitability and creates breakeven risk
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — inability to validate profit claims or ROI timeline
- 03HIGHSEC/Maryland litigation (2012) for unregistered franchise sales and escrow violations indicates regulatory compliance history
- 04MINORMinimal system growth (3.1% YoY) suggests market saturation, franchisee recruitment challenges, or brand weakness
- 05MINORShort 1.5-year term creates renewal uncertainty and limits franchisee investment recovery window
- 06MEDOnly 67 units system-wide indicates limited scale, fewer peer networks, and higher operational overhead per franchisee
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 17.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 1 year |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 1 year |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Franchisor can compete | No |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Texas |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | TX |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Administrative proceeding before Maryland Securities Commissioner (Case No. 2011-0530); C12 entered consent order in 2012 regarding unregistered franchise sale and escrow violation in Maryland.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 35 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 100 hrs
- Training location
- San Antonio, TX and web-based in franchisee's city
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- C12 App and CRM
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: C12 App and CRM
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 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 C12 Group franchise?
The total investment to open a C12 Group franchise ranges from $37K – $67K, with an initial franchise fee of $13K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do C12 Group franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the C12 Group FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $618K. The median is $381K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns C12 Group?
C12 Group is franchised by The C12 Group, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the C12 Group 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 C12 Group FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is C12 Group's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for C12 Group (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 C12 Group franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, C12 Group has 65 total units in the United States, including 65 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is C12 Group a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates C12 Group as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 91 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.