Hello Garage Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Hello Garage franchise requires a total initial investment of $165K – $205K, including a $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the latest FDD, average unit revenue was $807K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 17 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified
Overview
- Investment
- $165K – $205K
- 64th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $807K
- 29th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 5th pct Home Services
- Units
- 87
- 51st pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- Total investment $165K – $205K including a $60K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $807K/year (median $722K).
- Verdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 66/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 17 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Hello Garage Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Nancy J. Thrasher 2015 Irrevocable Family Trust
- CEO title
- CEO
- Dan Thrasher
- Incorporated in
- NE
- HQ
- 11850 Valley Ridge Drive, Papillion, NE 68046
- Auditor
- Forvis Mazars, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.6M
- vs $3.1M prior year
Overview
About
Commercial and residential garage renovation products and services, including concrete floor coatings, storage cabinets, slatwall, lighting and other approved products and services.
- CEO
- Dan Thrasher
- Headquarters
- NE
- Founded
- 2019
- States available
- 29
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 18% below the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $60K | $60K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $6K | $10K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $100K | $136K |
| Total initial investment | $165K | $205K |
Source: Hello Garage FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $165K – $205K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $6K – $10K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $300 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 33% below the home services norm.
Source: FDD · Item 19
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
$97K
12.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
50%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
24 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $807K
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
- Median gross sales
- $722K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross revenue / dollars-per-install / jobs completed (historical, franchised + corporate)
- Sample size
- 25 units
- vs category median 32
- Range (low → high)
- $112K→$2.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
Compared against 355 Home Services brands
Revenue is 4.4x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $807K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 4.4x.
Fee burden
5.0% royalty + 2.0% ad fund — lower than the category average.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Home Services averages
How Hello Garage Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 87
- Opened
- N/A
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- N/A
- Turnover rate
- 41.1%
- Company-owned
- 14
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 1%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 19
- Terminated (3yr)
- 11
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 13
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
No multi-year history disclosed and no opening/closing activity in the last reporting year.
Item 12 · 29 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
29
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 17
- Loan volume
- $2.0M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 7
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 7.7%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- NAICS 2389
- Jobs supported
- 96
- 4.7 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 47%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 0% went to startups / new businesses, 100% to established operators
Top lenders financing Hello Garage franchisees
Showing 3 of 7 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 17 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
Franchisor and affiliate brought a collection suit against a former franchisee for amounts owed (Case No. 25-5240, Douglas Co. Dist. Ct., filed June 2025).
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Forvis Mazars, LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 75,000 |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 60 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Governing law | Nebraska |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Franchisor and affiliate brought a collection suit against a former franchisee for amounts owed (Case No. 25-5240, Douglas Co. Dist. Ct., filed June 2025).
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 43 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 30 hrs
- Training location
- Papillion, Nebraska (in-person) and franchisee's office (virtual)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- Franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- GarageView / Hello Garage CRM
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: GarageView / Hello Garage CRM
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Hello Garage franchise?
The total investment to open a Hello Garage franchise ranges from $165K – $205K, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Hello Garage franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Hello Garage FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $807K. The median is $722K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Hello Garage's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Hello Garage has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 17 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Hello Garage franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Hello Garage has 87 total units in the United States.
Is Hello Garage a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Hello Garage as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 66 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Hello Garage, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.