Bottom line
- Total investment $219K – $475K including a $30K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $513K/year (median $479K). Estimated payback in 2.5 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 33/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 90 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 1810% CAGR over 3 years with 125 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
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 Color Me Mine unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
23%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Color Me Mine units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.0M
on $5.1M purchase
Total debt
$4.1M
SBA $2.6M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Color Me Mine franchisees operate paint-your-own-pottery studios where customers select unfired ceramic pieces and hand-paint them on-site; pieces are then fired in a kiln and ready for pickup within days. Franchisees manage retail operations, manage inventory of ceramics and glazes, oversee kiln operations, and host group events (birthday parties, corporate team-building, date nights) to drive recurring revenue.
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 · 5 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Solid unit economics offset by corporate going concern warning and slow growth trajectory; verify whether 10.7% YoY growth is sustainable and clarify the nature of the going concern disclosure.
Score breakdown · what drove the 33 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is False — suggests potential financial instability at corporate level despite positive unit economics
- 02MINORModest unit growth of 10.7% YoY is slower than healthy franchise systems (typically 15%+ for expanding brands)
- 03MINORHigh initial investment range ($219K-$475K) against average net income of $139,707 yields 1.6-3.4 year payback period with execution risk
- 04MINOR5% royalty on $513K average revenue = $25,650 annual corporate fees reduces franchisee margin meaningfully
- 05MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representations limits ability to validate claimed average revenue/income figures independently
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
Color Me Mine · FDD (2026) PDF