PROSE (Area Representative Business) Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $55K – $487K
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 21 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Prose is a personalized hair care franchise whose area representatives sell and service custom, made-to-order hair products. Franchisees work as local distributors, building a customer base and managing consultations and subscriptions.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A PROSE (Area Representative Business) franchise requires a total initial investment of $55K – $487K, including a $45K – $450K franchise fee. This franchisor states the initial franchise fee as a rule rather than as one amount, so the figure shown is a single point from it and not what every franchisee pays. Item 5 states it as: Your initial area representative fee (the “A/R Fee”) is calculated at the rate of $9,000 per the number of Salons to be developed in Territory pursuant to the Development Schedule. It will generally range from $45,000 (5 potential PROSE® Salons) to $450,000 (50 potential PROSE® Salons). This fee is for a master or area-representative grant rather than a single unit, so it is not comparable with the single-unit fees shown for other brands. This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
Evidence: strong✓ 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 scored3 of 3 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $55K – $487K
- 16th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- Not extracted
- Units
- 31
- 28th pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Business 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 $55K – $487K including a $45K franchise fee. This franchisor states the initial franchise fee as a rule rather than as one amount, so the figure shown is a single point from it and not what every franchisee pays. Item 5 states it as: Your initial area representative fee (the “A/R Fee”) is calculated at the rate of $9,000 per the number of Salons to be developed in Territory pursuant to the Development Schedule. It will generally range from $45,000 (5 potential PROSE® Salons) to $450,000 (50 potential PROSE® Salons). This fee is for a master or area-representative grant rather than a single unit, so it is not comparable with the single-unit fees shown for other brands.
- RETURNSThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 38/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- PROSE Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- PROSE Holding Company, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2022 FDD
- CEO title
- Director (former CEO April 2020-July 2022)
- Nate McFarland
- Incorporated in
- AZ
- HQ
- 4250 North Drinkwater Blvd., #300, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
- Auditor
- Henry+Horne
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.1M
- vs $669K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Nate McFarland
- Headquarters
- AZ
- Founded
- 2017
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 24
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 104% above the typical business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 5–7
This franchisor states the initial franchise fee as a rule rather than as one amount, so the figure shown is a single point from it and not what every franchisee pays. Item 5 states it as: Your initial area representative fee (the “A/R Fee”) is calculated at the rate of $9,000 per the number of Salons to be developed in Territory pursuant to the Development Schedule. It will generally range from $45,000 (5 potential PROSE® Salons) to $450,000 (50 potential PROSE® Salons).
This fee is for a master or area-representative grant rather than a single unit, so it is not comparable with the single-unit fees shown for other brands.
Full Item 7 breakdown10 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial A/R Feenot refundable | $45K | $450K | |
| Demographic Analysis/Map of Territorynot refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses During Training (for all attendees)not refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment (including Computer System)not refundable | $0 | $3K | |
| Signage & Business Cardsnot refundable | $100 | $1K | |
| Business Licensesnot refundable | $100 | $2K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $2K | $3K | |
| Vehiclenot refundable | $0 | $3K | |
| Advertisingnot refundable | $3K | $4K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $3K | $15K | |
| Total initial investment | $55K | $487K |
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
- $55K – $487K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $3K – $15K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $45K – $450K
- Master/area fee
- Royalty
- Not a standard franchisee-paid royalty. Area Representati…
- Ad fund
- Not applicable to Area Representative Business itself; Ar…
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Technology fee | $750 |
| Transfer fee | $4K |
| Renewal fee | $4K |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
PROSE (Area Representative Business) makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. 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 PROSE (Area Representative Business) 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, royalty rate, ad fund rate, 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: 2022 FDD
Financial Performance
No financial performance representation
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
vs Business Services medians
How PROSE (Area Representative Business) Compares
Category median of published Business 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 2022 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 31
- 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
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- 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
- 5
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 15 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
17 current owners across 15 states.
- FL 2
- MN 2
- AZ 1
- CA 1
- CO 1
- HI 1
- IL 1
- IN 1
- MO 1
- NC 1
- NJ 1
- PA 1
- +3 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 21
- Loan volume
- $8.3M
- Median loan
- $397K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- Limited · 21 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 21 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 21 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- Limited · 21 loans
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 8
- Defaults
- 0
Vintage analysis
PROSE (Area Representative Business) charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing PROSE (Area Representative Business) franchisees
Showing 3 of 8 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.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for PROSE (Area Representative Business) from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
Top SBA lenders
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luminate Bank | 11 | $4.1M | 0.0% |
| 2 | Old National Bank | 2 | $806K | 0.0% |
| 3 | Pinnacle Bank | 2 | $1.3M | 0.0% |
| 4 | The Huntington National Bank | 2 | $550K | 0.0% |
| 5 | BankFirst Financial Services | 1 | $207K | N/A |
| 6 | Busey Bank | 1 | $547K | 0.0% |
| 7 | Unity Bank | 1 | $400K | N/A |
| 8 | Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | 1 | $350K | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| MNMinnesota | 11 | 0 | 0.0% |
| TNTennessee | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| ILIllinois | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| INIndiana | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| MDMaryland | 1 | 0 | -- |
| MSMississippi | 1 | 0 | -- |
| NDNorth Dakota | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NJNew Jersey | 1 | 0 | -- |
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
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
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Henry+Horne
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 38 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOR31 units, 0% turnover
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Source: FDD 2022 · 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 | No territory protection |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory sizeℹ | Specific geographic territory |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| 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 |
| RoFR response window | 60 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 18 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 13 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Maricopa County, Arizona |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Arizona |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 55 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 66 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- area_representative_with_franchisor_approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
17 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a PROSE (Area Representative Business) franchise?
The total investment to open a PROSE (Area Representative Business) franchise ranges from $55K – $487K, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). This fee is for a master or area-representative grant rather than a single unit, so it is not comparable with the single-unit fees shown for other brands.
What do PROSE (Area Representative Business) franchise owners earn?
PROSE (Area Representative Business) makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns PROSE (Area Representative Business)?
PROSE (Area Representative Business) is franchised by PROSE Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is PROSE Holding Company, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2022 filing.
What is Item 19 in the PROSE (Area Representative Business) 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 PROSE (Area Representative Business) FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is PROSE (Area Representative Business)'s franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for PROSE (Area Representative Business) (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 PROSE (Area Representative Business) franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, PROSE (Area Representative Business) has 31 total units in the United States, including 30 franchised units and 1 company-owned units.
Is PROSE (Area Representative Business) a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates PROSE (Area Representative Business) as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 38 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
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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.