FranchiseVerdict
Drama Kids logo
FV-00791·STRONGExcellent86

Drama Kids

Education - Children's ProgramsFranchising since 2000Website
Investment
$44K – $55K
10th pct Children's Pr…
Avg revenue
$175K
8th pct Children's Pr…
Royalty
Units
44
72nd pct Children's Pr…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $44K – $55K including a $36K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $175K/year.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 49/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -14.3% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Drama Kids International, Inc.
Incorporated in
Florida
HQ
15271 McGregor Blvd., Suite 16-282, Fort Myers, Florida 33908
Auditor
MULLEN, SONDBERG, WIMBISH & STONE, P.A.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$863K
vs $817K 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 Drama Kids unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $174,740
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: education
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $44K–$55K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $2K–$4K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

53%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$28K
EBITDA margin
16.0%
Total invested
$52K
Payback
23 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.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Drama Kids units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$315K

on $1.6M purchase

Total debt

$1.3M

SBA $0.8M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Drama Kids franchisees operate after-school drama classes and performance programs for children, typically renting studio space and managing small instructor teams. Day-to-day operations involve scheduling classes, managing student enrollment, delivering theatrical instruction, organizing recitals/productions, and handling marketing to local schools and parents.

CEO
Douglas C. Howard
Founded
1999
FDD year
2026
States available
20

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$44K – $55K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$2K – $4K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$36K
Royalty
the greater of 8% of Gross Sales or the Minimum Royalty (…
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$175K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
Item 19 type
Gross Sales
Sample size
40 units
vs category median 16 · large
Range (low → high)
$3K$738K
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
3 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · below
Revenue rank8th
vs Education - Children's Programs peers
Investment cost rank10th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank79th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank72th
vs Education - Children's Programs peers
Risk score rank17th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
44
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
2.3%
Company-owned
2
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
96%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+2.4%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-14.3%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
42+1
Franchised units
2025
41
Franchised units
2026
49
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 20 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 · 20 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

49
Risk · 0-100
STRONG49 / 100

Undisclosed profitability, anemic unit growth, and opaque financial performance create meaningful investment risk despite lack of litigation.

Score breakdown · what drove the 49 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed — cannot verify if $174,740 avg revenue translates to positive net income
  2. 02MINORMinimal unit growth (2.4% YoY) suggests market saturation or franchisee struggles in a children's entertainment sector with high competition
  3. 03MEDHigh initial investment ($43,500–$54,500) relative to disclosed revenue without profitability data creates ROI uncertainty
  4. 04MINORRoyalty structure heavily favors franchisor (8% of gross sales) with escalating minimums ($500/month by year 3 = $6,000 annually), compressing margins on thin revenue
  5. 05MINOR7-year term is longer than industry standard for entertainment franchises, reducing exit flexibility

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/Demographic
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
7 years
Renewal term
7 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
Florida

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
40 hrs
On-the-job training
11 hrs
POS system
Jackrabbit Class
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

42 numbers

Locked
(912) 224-••••
GA
(904) 257-••••
FL
(507) 995-••••
MN

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Drama Kids · FDD (2026) PDF

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