KidzArt Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
KidzArt is a children's art education franchise offering drawing and art classes, camps, and workshops for kids. Franchisees run local programs, managing instructors, scheduling, and enrollment.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A KidzArt franchise requires a total initial investment of $58K – $72K, including a $50K – $55K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $228K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $58K – $72K
- 11th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $228K
- 3rd pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 48th pct Home Services
- Units
- 12
- 21st pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
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
- COSTTotal investment $58K – $72K including a $50K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $228K/year (median $130K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 59/100 (higher is better).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- KidzArt LLC
- CEO title
- President/CEO
- Robert R. Denton
- Incorporated in
- NV
- HQ
- 11820 Norfolk Rd. Lake Cormorant, MS 38641
- Auditor
- Lally Group, PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $451K
- vs $382K prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Independent Franchisee Association
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Robert R. Denton
- Headquarters
- MS
- Founded
- 2002
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 8
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 71% below the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $500 | $3K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $8K | $20K |
| Total initial investment | $58K | $72K |
Source: KidzArt 2026 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
- $58K – $72K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $500 – $3K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $55K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 54.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $45 |
| Transfer fee | $3K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Inventory (initial) | $2K – $2K |
| Total fee load | 54.0% of rev |
At 54.0% total fee load, roughly $123K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 82% below the home services norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · 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
$23K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
34%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
35 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one KidzArt unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
34%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 KidzArt units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$137K
on $683K purchase
Total debt
$547K
SBA $0.3M + senior + seller note
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $228K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $130K
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
- Sample size
- 9 franchisees
- vs category median 32 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $21K→$782K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 321 Home Services brands
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 $228K/year in gross sales. Median is $130K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 3.5x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 54.0% — above the Home Services average of 8.9%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -15.4% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
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 KidzArt Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 12
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 9.1%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 92%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -15.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -15.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Continuity rate
- 84.6%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 9.1%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 9 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 4 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 4
- Loan volume
- $148K
- Median loan
- $37K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (4 loans) — rate not shown below 10
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
- 4
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Contracting system with going concern uncertainty, opaque profitability, and unsustainable unit economics raises serious viability concerns.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Lally Group, PC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 59 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDSystem contracting sharply: 15.4% unit decline YoY (12 units) indicates franchisee attrition and potential model stress
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — franchisor may face existential financial or operational challenges
- 03MEDNet Income not disclosed in Item 19 — impossible to assess actual franchisee profitability; $305k avg revenue is meaningless without expense data
- 04MINORHigh franchise fee ($49,500) relative to system size (12 units) suggests weak recruitment momentum and potential franchisor cash flow dependency
- 05MINOR8% royalty on gross revenue is punitive if net margins are thin — high leverage to royalty burden without profitability transparency
- 06MINORTiny, shrinking franchise system (12 units) lacks scale, peer support network, and vendor leverage; high franchise failure risk
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 54.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · 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 | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 20,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 30 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Desoto County, Mississippi |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | MS |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 38 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Lake Cormorant, Mississippi or another location franchisor designates
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- QuickBooks
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: QuickBooks
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
16 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
KidzArt · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a KidzArt franchise?
The total investment to open a KidzArt franchise ranges from $58K – $72K, 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 KidzArt franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the KidzArt FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $228K. The median is $130K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the KidzArt FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the KidzArt FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is KidzArt's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for KidzArt (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 KidzArt franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, KidzArt has 12 total units in the United States, including 11 franchised units and 1 company-owned units.
Is KidzArt a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates KidzArt as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 59 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 KidzArt, 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.