Essential Speech & ABA TherapyFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Essential Speech & ABA Therapy franchise requires a total initial investment of $268K – $699K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $268K – $699K
- 52nd pct Healthcare
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 31st pct Healthcare
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 5th pct Healthcare
- Units
- 13
- 34th pct Healthcare
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Healthcare · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Healthcare avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- Total investment $268K – $699K including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $1.2M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 5/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Speech & ABA Therapy Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- none
- Incorporated in
- TX
- HQ
- 4638 Riverstone Blvd., Missouri City, TX 77459
- Auditor
- Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $126K
- vs $404K prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate clinical practices delivering speech-language pathology and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy services to pediatric and adult clients. Day-to-day operations include client scheduling, direct clinical service delivery (or staff management of clinicians), insurance billing/reimbursement processing, compliance with state licensing boards, and client progress documentation. Revenue is typically generated through insurance claims, private pay, and school district contracts.
- CEO
- Nafisa Obi
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 4
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 21 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Billing Onboarding Services Feenot refundable | $1K | $1K | |
| Travel to Training Expenses | $0 | $6K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $0 | $100K | |
| Professional Photography Fee | $500 | $1K | |
| EMR Service (3 months) | $1K | $4K | |
| Furniture and Fixtures | $20K | $100K | |
| Signage | $2K | $15K | |
| Technology | $15K | $30K | |
| Rent (3 months) | $15K | $55K | |
| Security Deposit | $10K | $25K | |
| Utilities | $5K | $10K | |
| Office Supplies | $1K | $3K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising Expenses | $6K | $6K | |
| Pre-Opening Advertising Expenditure | $5K | $15K | |
| Insurance | $3K | $5K | |
| Permits and Licenses | $3K | $5K | |
| Professional Fees | $2K | $4K | |
| Therapy Materials | $5K | $15K | |
| Contracting and Credentialing Services | $5K | $10K | |
| Total initial investment | $268K | $699K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$223K
20.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
34%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
36 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $268K – $699K
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $120K – $240K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 21.6%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $16 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $2K |
| Inventory (initial) | $6K – $18K |
| Total fee load | 21.6% of rev |
At 21.6% total fee load, roughly $241K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.2M
- Item 19 type
- Average Revenue
- Sample size
- 10 units
- vs category median 12
- Range (low → high)
- $810K→$1.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 201 Healthcare brands
vs Healthcare averages
How Essential Speech & ABA Therapy Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 13
- Opened
- 6
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 77%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +150.0%
- Net unit change last year
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 6
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 18
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
High-growth healthcare franchise with undisclosed profitability, aggressive expansion, and franchisor stability concerns — suitable only for well-capitalized operators with healthcare industry experience.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $49,500
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 5 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo Net Income disclosure in Item 19 — inability to assess actual profitability despite $1.1M average revenue
- 02MINORHigh investment-to-revenue ratio (initial investment of $267.5K-$698.75K against $1.1M avg revenue suggests 24-63% payback period minimum)
- 03MINORExplosive unit growth of 150% YoY with only 13 total units — unsustainable growth trajectory and market saturation risk in small territories
- 04HIGHGoing Concern flagged as False — suggests potential financial instability or disclosure issues at franchisor level
- 05HIGHNo litigation disclosed but high-regulation industry (speech/ABA therapy) with potential liability exposure and state licensing requirements not addressed
- 06MINORFranchise fee of $49,500 is moderate but combined with high royalties (5%) on healthcare revenue creates cash flow pressure
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 42 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 39 hrs
- Training location
- On-site at Restaurant
- Site selection
- joint
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- CentralReach
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: CentralReach
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
12 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Essential Speech & ABA Therapy · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Essential Speech & ABA Therapy franchise?
The total investment to open a Essential Speech & ABA Therapy franchise ranges from $268K – $699K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Essential Speech & ABA Therapy franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Essential Speech & ABA Therapy FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $1.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Essential Speech & ABA Therapy's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Essential Speech & ABA Therapy (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Essential Speech & ABA Therapy franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Essential Speech & ABA Therapy has 13 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 3 company-owned units. 6 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Essential Speech & ABA Therapy a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Essential Speech & ABA Therapy as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 5 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.