Schooley MitchellFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A SCHOOLEY MITCHELL franchise requires a total initial investment of $75K – $263K, including a $73K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $224K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 37.9% charge-off rate across 68 loans[1]. Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $75K – $263K
- 20th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $224K
- 5th pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 22nd pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 298
- 50th pct Business Serv…
- SBA default
- 37.9%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Business Services avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
37.9% of SBA loans charged off across 68 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Franchised units fell from 258 to 201 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $75K – $263K including a $73K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $224K/year (median $132K).
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 68/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 37.9% across 68 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 29.7% CAGR over 3 years with 298 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- 1073355 Ontario Limited
- Incorporated in
- Ontario
- HQ
- 1030 Erie Street, Stratford, Ontario, N4Z 0A1
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $12.0M
- vs $11.8M prior year
Overview
About
Schooley Mitchell is a telecom and utility cost reduction consulting business where franchisees identify savings opportunities for small-to-mid-size businesses on their phone, internet, and energy contracts. Franchisees conduct consultations, negotiate with providers, and earn commissions on negotiated savings. The model relies on direct sales outreach and relationship management in an assigned geographic market.
- CEO
- Elizabeth McMillan
- Founded
- 1994
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 37
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $73K | $73K | |
| Training Expenses | $500 | $2K | |
| Equipment and fixtures (in home office)not refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Equipment and fixtures (Optional office outside of home)not refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Security deposits, insurance, utilities, licenses, professional fees, inventory, and other prepaid expenses (in home office)not refundable | $0 | $1K | |
| Security deposits, insurance, utilities, licenses, professional fees, inventory, and other prepaid expenses (Optional office outside of home)not refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Rent (Optional office outside of home)not refundable | $0 | $750 | |
| Office supplies (with logo)not refundable | $800 | $800 | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (Development Franchises) | $250K | $250K | |
| Training Expenses (Development Franchises) | $500 | $2K | |
| Equipment and fixtures (in home office) (Development Franchises)not refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Equipment and fixtures (Optional office outside of home) (Development Franchises)not refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Security deposits, insurance, utilities, licenses, professional fees, inventory, and other prepaid expenses (in home office) (Development Franchises)not refundable | $0 | $1K | |
| Security deposits, insurance, utilities, licenses, professional fees, inventory, and other prepaid expenses (Optional office outside of home) (Development Franchises)not refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Rent (Optional office outside of home) (Development Franchises)not refundable | $0 | $750 | |
| Office supplies (with logo) (Development Franchises)not refundable | $1K | $1K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months (Development Franchises)not refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Total initial investment | $328K | $348K |
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.
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
$29K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
17%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.9 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $75K – $263K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $1K – $2K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $73K – $250K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $120 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $224K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $132K
- Item 19 type
- Annual Secured Revenue
- Sample size
- 240 units
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $55K→$3.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $67K→$605K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Compared against 360 Business Services brands
vs Business Services averages
How Schooley Mitchell Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 298
- Opened
- 58
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 21
- Turnover rate
- 7.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +14.2%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +29.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 6
- Closed (3yr)
- 18
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Ceased ops
- 45.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 38 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.
- Total loans
- 68
- Loan volume
- $8.8M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 37.9%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 60.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 31.2%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 13
- Defaults
- 11
Vintage analysis
Schooley Mitchell charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Schooley Mitchell's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 5 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 10 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 9-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
A 37.9% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 3 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Schooley Mitchell presents elevated risk due to absent profitability disclosure, regulatory/litigation history, unprotected territories, and false going concern status — making true investment ROI unverifiable.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $180,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KPMG LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 68 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo average net income disclosed (Item 19) despite $223k average revenue — impossible to assess profitability or ROI on $75-262k investment
- 02HIGHTwo separate litigation cases involving misrepresentation and regulatory violations (Ontario settlement $120k CAD + NY AG penalty $12k) suggest compliance and disclosure issues
- 03MINORNo protected territory combined with 14.2% YoY growth of 298 units creates saturation risk and inter-franchisee competition
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, indicating potential financial instability at corporate level despite unit growth
- 05MEDHigh franchise fee ($73k) relative to disclosed revenue without net income transparency creates pay-back period uncertainty
- 06MINOR8% royalty on gross sales (not net profit) means franchisees pay even in unprofitable months
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Population-based |
| Protected territory | No |
| Territory population | 200,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Delaware |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 44 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Pulse
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Pulse
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
293 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
SCHOOLEY MITCHELL · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a SCHOOLEY MITCHELL franchise?
The total investment to open a SCHOOLEY MITCHELL franchise ranges from $75K – $263K, with an initial franchise fee of $73K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do SCHOOLEY MITCHELL franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the SCHOOLEY MITCHELL FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $224K. The median is $132K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is SCHOOLEY MITCHELL's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, SCHOOLEY MITCHELL has a charge-off rate of 37.9% across 68 loans, meaning 37.9% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many SCHOOLEY MITCHELL franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, SCHOOLEY MITCHELL has 298 total units in the United States, including 258 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 58 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is SCHOOLEY MITCHELL a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates SCHOOLEY MITCHELL as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 68 out of 100, 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.
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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.