Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
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 →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.0M – $2.0M
- 81st pct Healthcare
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- Outlet subset24th pct Healthcare
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 11th pct Healthcare
- Units
- 34
- 48th pct Healthcare
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Healthcare · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Healthcare avg · 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).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Salon Professional Education Company, LLC
- Parent company
- None
- 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 268% 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%
- 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 31% above the healthcare norm.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$300K
16.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
18%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
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. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real 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?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
18%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
32.0%
4.00× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.52×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$6.8M
on $16.9M purchase
Total debt
$10.1M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
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→$4.0M
- 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 average of 8.8%.
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 averages
How Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) Compares
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
- 0
- 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
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 2
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 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 · 21 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.
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)
(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 |
| 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
31 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Salon Professional Education Company (SPEC) · FDD (2025) PDF
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.
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), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.