Creative Colors International
Bottom line
- Total investment $101K – $123K including a $60K franchise fee, 7.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $368K/year (median $128K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 52/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 13 loans (below the industry average).
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 Creative Colors International unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
34%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Creative Colors International units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$257K
on $1.3M purchase
Total debt
$1.0M
SBA $0.6M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Creative Colors International franchisees operate interior painting and color consultation services, typically serving residential and commercial clients. Day-to-day activities include estimating projects, managing painting crews, color consulting, customer relations, and overseeing quality control on job sites. Most franchisees function as owner-operators or small business managers coordinating teams and client acquisitions.
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 · 16 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
Creative Colors presents moderate-to-high risk due to missing financial disclosures (Item 19), undisclosed franchisor going concern issues, stagnant unit growth, and high upfront fees relative to unverified profitability claims.
Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 financial disclosure despite $367k average revenue claim — cannot verify profitability or validate the gap between gross revenue and undisclosed net income
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — suggests franchisor financial instability or operational uncertainty that could affect support and system viability
- 03MINORHigh franchise fee ($59,500) combined with total investment of $101-123k creates significant sunk cost before generating revenue
- 04MINORUnit count stagnation at 73 with unknown growth trajectory — no evidence of system expansion or franchisee success driving recruitment
- 05MINOR7.5% royalty on gross sales (not net) means franchisees pay even during unprofitable months, exacerbating cash flow risk
- 06MINORProtected territory is positive but cannot offset lack of financial transparency and franchisor stability concerns
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
50 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Creative Colors International · FDD (2025) PDF