FranchiseVerdict
COLORS ON PARADE logo
FV-00599·MODERATEExcellent86

Colors On Parade

OtherFranchising since 1991Website
Investment
$21K – $98K
6th pct Other
Avg revenue
$144K
5th pct Other
Royalty
20.0%
63rd pct Other
Units
223
88th pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $21K – $98K including a $8K franchise fee, 20.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $144K/year (median $119K).
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 62/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
  • No protected territory and the franchisor reserves the right to compete in your area. Clarify territorial boundaries before signing.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
TOTAL CAR FRANCHISING CORPORATION
Incorporated in
South Carolina
HQ
125 Daytona Street, Conway, SC 29526
Auditor
Smith Sapp Professional Association
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$3.4M
vs $3.5M 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 COLORS ON PARADE unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $143,509
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: $21K–$98K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $2K–$15K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

6%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$4K
EBITDA margin
3.0%
Total invested
$68K
Payback
189 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

Colors on Parade franchisees operate a mobile face painting and character entertainment service, traveling to events like birthday parties, festivals, corporate events, and community gatherings. Day-to-day operations involve scheduling appointments, traveling to client locations, applying face paint/makeup, and managing customer relationships. The business model is service-based and highly dependent on personal performance, marketing, and local market saturation.

CEO
Jeffrey Cox
Founded
1991
FDD year
2023
States available
25

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$21K – $98K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$2K – $15K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$8K
Royalty
20.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
0.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
20.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$144K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$119K
Item 19 type
Average and Median Gross Sales
Sample size
203 units
vs category median 20 · large
Range (low → high)
$0$733K
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Revenue rank5th
vs Other peers
Investment cost rank6th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank63th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank88th
vs Other peers
Risk score rank49th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
223
Opened
26
Last reporting year
Closed
22
Turnover rate
9.9%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
5.0%
Net growth (yr3)
+1.8%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+2.8%
Compounded over last 3 years
2021
223+4
Franchised units
2022
219
Franchised units
2023
217
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 10 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 · 10 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.

Total loans
2
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

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

Risk & Legal

62
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE62 / 100

Colors on Parade presents HIGH CAUTION to HIGH RISK due to franchisor going concern issues, undisclosed net income, extremely high royalty rates on modest average revenue, stagnant growth, and unprotected territories.

Score breakdown · what drove the 62 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates franchisor financial distress or viability concerns
  2. 02MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — impossible to validate actual profitability claims
  3. 03MINORExtremely high royalty burden (20-30% of gross) combined with $143.5K avg revenue leaves minimal profit margin (~$28.7K-$57.4K gross after royalties alone)
  4. 04MINORMinimal system growth (1.8% YoY) with only 223 units — stagnant franchise system
  5. 05MINORNo territory protection — franchisees face cannibalization risk and direct competition from other franchisees
  6. 06MINORHigh royalty-to-revenue ratio suggests unit economics may not support franchisee profitability
  7. 07MINOR20-year term is unusually long and locks franchisees into relationship with struggling franchisor

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Geographic area based on population
Protected territory
No
Initial term
20 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
South Carolina

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
152 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
QuickBooks Pro
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

84 numbers

Locked
(858) 679-••••
Poway
CA
(479) 250-••••
PO Box
AR
(256) 640-••••
Joppa
AL

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

COLORS ON PARADE · FDD (2023) PDF

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