FranchiseVerdict
C12 Group logo
FV-00435·MODERATEExcellent95

C12 Group

Formerly known as C12 Business Forums

Business Services - OtherFranchising since 2007Website
Investment
$37K – $67K
18th pct Other
Avg revenue
$691K
45th pct Other
Royalty
17.0%
55th pct Other
Units
67
55th pct Other
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $37K – $67K including a $25K franchise fee, 17.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $691K/year (median $472K).
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 60/100.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
The C12 Group, LLC
Incorporated in
Texas
HQ
777 E. Sontera Blvd., Suite 305, San Antonio, TX 78258
Auditor
ADKF, P.C.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$7.3M
vs $8.3M prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one C12 Group unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $691,407
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $37K–$67K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $500–$3K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

39%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$21K
EBITDA margin
3.0%
Total invested
$53K
Payback
31 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

C12 Group operates peer-advisory and peer-coaching networks where franchisees typically facilitate monthly peer meetings (C12 Boards) for business owners, providing facilitation, coaching, and accountability support. Franchisees generate revenue through board membership fees and are expected to recruit and maintain multiple boards within their protected territory.

CEO
Michael W. (Mike) Sharrow
Founded
1992
FDD year
2025
States available
34

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$37K – $67K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$500 – $3K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
17.0%
Sliding scale based on Gross Billings · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
n/d
Total fee load
17.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$691K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$472K
Item 19 type
Historical Total Revenue
Sample size
65 units
vs category median 39
Range (low → high)
$19K$3.4M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Revenue rank45th
vs Business Services - Other peers
Investment cost rank18th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank55th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank55th
vs Business Services - Other peers
Risk score rank41th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
67
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
1.0%
Net growth (yr3)
+3.1%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+3.1%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
67+2
Franchised units
2024
65
Franchised units
2025
65
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 13 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 13 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

60
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE60 / 100

High-royalty, slow-growth franchise with undisclosed profitability, regulatory history, and short contract terms presents elevated risk for franchisee capital recovery.

Score breakdown · what drove the 60 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORHigh royalty rate (17-30% of gross billings) significantly erodes profitability and creates breakeven risk
  2. 02MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — inability to validate profit claims or ROI timeline
  3. 03HIGHSEC/Maryland litigation (2012) for unregistered franchise sales and escrow violations indicates regulatory compliance history
  4. 04MINORMinimal system growth (3.1% YoY) suggests market saturation, franchisee recruitment challenges, or brand weakness
  5. 05MINORShort 1.5-year term creates renewal uncertainty and limits franchisee investment recovery window
  6. 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

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Geography (cities, zip codes, counties, states, or radius)
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
1 year
Renewal term
1 year
Franchisor can compete
No
Hire a manager?
Not allowed
Litigation count
1
Right of first refusal
No
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Texas

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
64 hrs
On-the-job training
238 hrs
POS system
C12 App and CRM
Operating tech stack

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

15 numbers

Locked
(203) 566-••••
STATE
CT
(512) 463-••••
STATE
TX
(410) 576-••••
STATE
MD

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

C12 Group · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above