Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $1.0M – $2.0M
- Disclosed sales
- $1.9M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) is a beauty education franchise operating cosmetology schools that train students for licensure in hair, nails, and esthetics. Franchisees run the schools, managing instructors, enrollment, and compliance.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.0M – $2.0M, including a $49K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.9M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2025 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - a newer filing may exist
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 scored7 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $1.0M – $2.0M
- 81st pct Healthcare
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- Outlet subset26th pct Healthcare
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 14th pct Healthcare
- Units
- 34
- 47th pct Healthcare
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Healthcare · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Healthcare 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 $1.0M – $2.0M including a $49K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.9M/year (median $1.7M) (reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 58/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -2 franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 2 closed) (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Salon Professional Education Company, LLC
- Predecessor
- APS, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Co-CEO/Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer/Manager
- Jodi Brown
- Incorporated in
- ND
- HQ
- 4377 15th Avenue South, Fargo, ND 58103
- Auditor
- Smith + Howard PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.4M
- vs $2.2M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Jodi Brown
- Headquarters
- ND
- Founded
- 2004
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 20
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 375% above the typical healthcare franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $49K | $49K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $75K | $120K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $905K | $1.9M |
| Total initial investment | $1.0M | $2.0M |
Source: Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) 2025 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
- $1.0M – $2.0M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $75K – $120K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $49K – $49K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- Currently there is no required Ad Fund, but this is subje…
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $25K – $30K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 177% above the healthcare norm.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$1.6M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
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, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) 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 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.
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%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.7M
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 sales
- Sample size
- 26 outlets
- vs category median 20
- Range (low → high)
- $709K→$4.0MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 49 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $986K→$3.2M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 162 Healthcare 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 $1.9M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.2x. Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — below the Healthcare median of 8.0%.
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 roughly stable (0.0% 3-year CAGR) with 34 units.
Multi-unit rate
Only 3% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 Healthcare medians
How Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) Compares
Category median of published Healthcare 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
- 34
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 2
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 5.9%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 3.2%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 2
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Ceased ops
- 2.9%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 22 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
62 current owners across 22 states.
- TX 7
- MI 6
- VA 5
- CO 4
- ID 4
- CA 3
- FL 3
- IN 3
- MN 3
- NC 3
- NJ 3
- SD 3
- +10 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.
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
Contracting franchise system with hidden profitability data, litigation history, and substantial capital requirement creates elevated investment risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
(1) SPEC v. Vara School Professionals, Inc. (d/b/a TSPA Plainfield f/k/a TSPA Shorewood) and owners (US Dist. Ct. ND, Case No. 3:21-CV-00222-ARS, Dec 2021) — franchisor-initiated action for breach (unpaid monies, untimely reports); counterclaims dropped in settlement, franchise terminated. (2) Washington consent order (Nov 13, 2013, Order No. S-13-1358-CO01) with WA DFI Securities Division re: 2008 sale of one unregistered franchise; agreed to cease and desist from violating the WA Franchise Investment Protection Act.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Smith + Howard PC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 58 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-5.6% YoY) signals system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents accurate ROI analysis; only gross revenue ($1.875M avg) provided without profitability metrics
- 03HIGHRecent litigation history (2021 breach of contract suit; 2013 Washington consent order for unregistered sale) indicates compliance and relationship management issues
- 04MINORLong 15-year term locks franchisees into relationship with declining system and franchisor with regulatory history
- 05MINOR6% royalty on gross revenues is extractive if net margins are thin, particularly in education sector with competitive pressure
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% 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 | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 15 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 600,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Cass County, North Dakota |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | ND |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
(1) SPEC v. Vara School Professionals, Inc. (d/b/a TSPA Plainfield f/k/a TSPA Shorewood) and owners (US Dist. Ct. ND, Case No. 3:21-CV-00222-ARS, Dec 2021) — franchisor-initiated action for breach (unpaid monies, untimely reports); counterclaims dropped in settlement, franchise terminated. (2) Washington consent order (Nov 13, 2013, Order No. S-13-1358-CO01) with WA DFI Securities Division re: 2008 sale of one unregistered franchise; agreed to cease and desist from violating the WA Franchise Investment Protection Act.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 178 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- On-site, online, or at SPEC's training facility in Fargo, North Dakota
- Ongoing training
- Required
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
62 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 Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) franchise?
The total investment to open a Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) franchise ranges from $1.0M – $2.0M, with an initial franchise fee of $49K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.9M. The median is $1.7M. Important context: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC)?
Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) is franchised by Salon Professional Education Company, LLC. The FDD names no parent company. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) 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 Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC)'s franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) (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 Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) has 34 total units in the United States, including 34 franchised units and 0 company-owned units.
Is Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 58 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.