Lush Lawn® Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $167K – $322K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Lush Lawn is a lawn care franchise providing fertilization, weed control, and turf treatment programs. Franchisees run route-based operations, managing technicians, scheduling, and recurring accounts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Lush Lawn® franchise requires a total initial investment of $167K – $322K, including a $38K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Limited operating history: franchising since 2024. A system this young has fewer than three years of Item 20 outlet history and rarely enough SBA loans for a charge-off rate, so its grade rests on less evidence than an established system's. Read its Item 20 tables and talk to its first franchisees before relying on the grade. Other new franchisors
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: partial✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored6 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $167K – $322K
- 69th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 66th pct Home Services
- Units
- 5
- 11th pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services median · 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 $167K – $322K including a $38K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 45/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Lush Lawn Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Aaron Samson
- Incorporated in
- MI
- HQ
- 4345 Meigs Avenue, Suite 200, Waterford, MI 48329
- Auditor
- Bultynck & Co., P.L.L.C.
- Audited financials
Overview
About
- CEO
- Aaron Samson
- Headquarters
- MI
- Founded
- 2011
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 45% above the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $38K | $38K | |
| Professional Services | $0 | $10K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $0 | $10K | |
| Equipment, Fixtures, and Furniture | $22K | $45K | |
| Vehicles | $50K | $100K | |
| Computer System/Other Software and Technology | $12K | $23K | |
| Permits and Business Licenses | $100 | $500 | |
| Signage (Indoor/Outdoor) | $2K | $4K | |
| Miscellaneous Travel and Living Expenses while Trainingnot refundable | $5K | $13K | |
| Initial Inventory and Operating Supplies | $10K | $20K | |
| Branded Promotional Materials, and Uniforms | $1K | $2K | |
| Initial Launch Marketing | $12K | $15K | |
| Initial Lease Payments | $0 | $10K | |
| Insurance | $5K | $10K | |
| Miscellaneous Pre-opening Expenses | $500 | $2K | |
| Additional Funds (three months) | $10K | $20K | |
| Total initial investment | $167K | $322K |
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $167K – $322K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $38K – $38K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 26.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $780 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $4K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $20K |
| Total fee load | 26.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Lush Lawn® is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Lush Lawn® unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
- Item 19 type
- gross sales by location
- Sample size
- 5
- vs category median 32 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $486K→$2.7MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 56 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 319 Home Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 26.0% — above the Home Services median of 8.0%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
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 medians
How Lush Lawn® Compares
Category median of published Home Services brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state 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.
1
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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
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
Lush Lawn presents elevated risk due to micro-scale system (5 units), absent profitability disclosure, corporate going concern issues, and inability to validate ROI claims through comparable franchisee performance data.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Bultynck & Co., P.L.L.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Franchisor (Lush Lawn Franchising, LLC) began operating in 2024; only audited statements as of Dec 31, 2024 provided (less than 3 years in operation). Total revenues were $0 (no franchise fees recognized); net loss of $14,250.60. Auditor report signed from Clinton Township, MI dated March 26, 2025 but CPA firm name not printed in extracted text.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 45 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 5 units in system with unknown growth trajectory indicates minimal scale and potentially stagnant development
- 02MINORNo net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents accurate ROI validation and profitability assessment
- 03MINORHigh initial investment range ($167k-$321.5k) against only 5 comparable units limits benchmarking and peer validation
- 04MINOR8% royalty on reported $2.056M average revenue equals ~$164k annual corporate take, which may be insufficient to support franchise operations with only 5 units
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 26.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 7 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 80,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Michigan (county of franchisor's principal place of business) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | MI |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 36 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 124 hrs
- Training location
- 4345 Meigs Avenue, Suite 200, Waterford, MI 48329 (corporate offices)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 5 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Hubspot and RealGreen
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Hubspot and RealGreen
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Lush Lawn® franchise?
The total investment to open a Lush Lawn® franchise ranges from $167K – $322K, with an initial franchise fee of $38K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Lush Lawn® franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Lush Lawn® FDD discloses outlet figures from $486K to $2.7M but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Lush Lawn®?
Lush Lawn® is franchised by Lush Lawn Franchising, LLC. The FDD names no parent company. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Lush Lawn® 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 Lush Lawn® FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Lush Lawn®'s franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Lush Lawn® (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 Lush Lawn® franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Lush Lawn® has 5 total units in the United States.
Is Lush Lawn® a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Lush Lawn® as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 45 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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?
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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.