FranchiseVerdict
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FV-02196·MODERATEExcellent81FDD 2022

Runningboards Marketing

Business Services - OtherFranchising since 2019Website
Investment
$87K – $289K
73rd pct Other
Avg revenue
57th pct Other
Royalty
Units
14
27th pct Other
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $87K – $289K including a $40K franchise fee.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 66/100.
  • Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
RBM Franchising Corp.
Incorporated in
New York
HQ
19138 US RT. 11, Watertown, NY 13601
Auditor
Metwally CPA PLLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$72K
vs $431K prior year
⚠ Going-concern note
Disclosed in FDD 2022
Status as of 2022; may have been resolved in a later filing we don't yet have.

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 Runningboards Marketing unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $87K–$289K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $11K–$15K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

60%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$120K
EBITDA margin
16.0%
Total invested
$201K
Payback
20 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

Runningboards Marketing franchisees operate local digital and traditional marketing service businesses, providing services such as social media management, web design, SEO, and advertising to small and mid-sized businesses. Day-to-day operations involve client acquisition, service delivery, team management, and account management. Revenue is typically generated through monthly retainers and project-based fees.

CEO
Richard C. (“Calvin”) McNeely III
Founded
2018
FDD year
2022
States available
10

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$87K – $289K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$11K – $15K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$40K
Royalty
The greater of Six Percent (6%) of Gross Revenues per mon…
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
14
Opened
12
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
7.1%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
93%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
Outlier (see FDD)
Likely small-sample artifact
2020
13+11
Franchised units
2021
2
Franchised units
2022
0
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 16 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 16 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

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

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

66
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE66 / 100

Early-stage marketing services franchise with explosive growth, non-transparent financials, and unproven unit economics—suitable only for investors who can validate claims directly with existing franchisees.

Score breakdown · what drove the 66 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosed in FDD Item 19 — unable to validate ROI claims or profitability benchmarks
  2. 02MINORExplosive unit growth (550% YoY) with only 14 total units suggests extremely early-stage system with unproven scalability and high failure risk
  3. 03MINORWide investment range ($87,400–$288,500) indicates inconsistent startup costs and unclear value proposition across tiers
  4. 04MINORMinimum royalty floor of $500/month regardless of revenue creates cash flow pressure for underperforming locations
  5. 05MINORMinimal franchisee base (14 units) limits peer network, support infrastructure, and statistical reliability of any performance claims

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Population-based
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
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
New York

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
89 hrs
On-the-job training
24 hrs
POS system
RBM Velocity
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

17 numbers

Locked
(317) 232-••••
IN
(503) 378-••••
OR
(401) 462-••••
RI

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Runningboards Marketing · FDD (2022) PDF

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