FranchiseVerdict
Lawn Doctor logo
FV-01461·STRONGExcellent91

Lawn Doctor

Formerly known as LDI Reproprinting Centers

Home Services - Lawn & LandscapingFranchising since 1967Website
Investment
$150K – $177K
58th pct Lawn & Landsc…
Avg revenue
$1.1M
33rd pct Lawn & Landsc…
Royalty
10.0%
46th pct Lawn & Landsc…
Units
653
100th pct Lawn & Landsc…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $150K – $177K including a $127K franchise fee, 10.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $659K).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 41/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 147 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Lawn Doctor, Inc.
Parent company
LD Parent, Inc.
Incorporated in
New Jersey
HQ
142 State Route 34, Holmdel, New Jersey 07733
Auditor
BDO USA, P.C.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$41.0M
vs $45.3M 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 Lawn Doctor unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,130,477
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restoration
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $150K–$177K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $11K–$18K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

25%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$45K
EBITDA margin
4.0%
Total invested
$178K
Payback
47 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.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate lawn care and landscaping services, managing teams of technicians who treat residential and commercial properties for fertilization, weed control, and related yard maintenance. Day-to-day involves scheduling service routes, managing 2-10+ employees, maintaining equipment, customer billing/collections, and competing for customer retention in a seasonally volatile market.

CEO
Scott D. Frith
Founded
1967
FDD year
2025
States available
41

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$150K – $177K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$11K – $18K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$127K
Royalty
10.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
5.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
15.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.1M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$659K
Item 19 type
Net Revenues
Sample size
205 units
vs category median 12 · large
Range (low → high)
$35K$11.4M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
6 / 5
vs category median 6 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank33th
vs Home Services - Lawn & Landscaping peers
Investment cost rank58th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank46th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank100th
vs Home Services - Lawn & Landscaping peers
Risk score rank8th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
653
Opened
24
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
0.2%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+3.7%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+4.6%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
653+23
Franchised units
2024
630
Franchised units
2025
624
Franchised units

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

Item 12 · 41 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.

41

states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
147
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

41
Risk · 0-100
STRONG41 / 100

Lawn Doctor presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to missing profitability disclosure, anemic unit growth, and high upfront costs relative to unvalidated returns in a capital-intensive service business.

Score breakdown · what drove the 41 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosed — unable to validate actual profitability against $150k-$177k investment
  2. 02MINORSlow unit growth of 3.7% YoY in a mature 653-unit system suggests market saturation or retention challenges
  3. 03MEDHigh franchise fee ($127k) represents 85% of total investment with no disclosed net income to justify ROI
  4. 04MEDRoyalty structure (10% of net revenues) on undisclosed profitability creates earnings opacity for franchisees
  5. 05MINORService-based lawn care is labor-intensive and seasonally dependent with high customer acquisition costs

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
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 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
1.5 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
New Jersey

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
100 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
Service Assistant
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

34 numbers

Locked
(631) 384-••••
CT
(845) 339-••••
CT
(937) 681-••••
CT

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Lawn Doctor · FDD (2025) PDF

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