Bottom line
- Total investment $10K – $19K including a $9K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $20K/year (median $15K). Estimated payback in 0.8 years.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 64/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 Card My Yard unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
18%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Franchisees operate a seasonal yard decoration service, primarily installing holiday-themed large greeting cards and lawn displays in residential neighborhoods. Day-to-day activities include customer acquisition, scheduling installations, managing inventory of display materials, and performing installation labor. The business model is highly weather and season-dependent, concentrating revenue in fall/winter months.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 14 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 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
Card My Yard presents a caution-to-high-risk profile: the 25% royalty structure is predatory relative to thin margins, unit growth is stagnant, and no financial disclosures mask true earnings potential.
Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating
- 01MINORPredatory royalty structure: 25% of gross sales is extremely high and leaves minimal margin given avg net income of $18,160 on $19,721 revenue
- 02MINORAnemic unit growth of 2.1% YoY suggests market saturation, franchisee struggles, or weak system support in a 545-unit system
- 03MINORAvg net income of $18,160 annually is below poverty line; after 25% royalty (~$4,930/year) franchisee nets ~$13,230—inadequate ROI on $10,350-$18,550 investment
- 04MINORNo Item 19 financial performance disclosure indicates franchisor unwilling to substantiate earnings claims or hide poor performance data
- 05HIGHGoing Concern = False is positive but contradicted by stagnant growth; suggests financial instability or system contraction risk
- 06MED5-year term is short; limited payback window given low profitability and high royalty burden
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
100 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Card My Yard · FDD (2025) PDF