FranchiseVerdict
Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids logo
FV-02297·STRONGExcellent91

Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids

Personal Services - Beauty & SalonFranchising since 2013Website
Investment
$189K – $299K
35th pct Beauty & Salon
Avg revenue
$273K
2nd pct Beauty & Salon
Royalty
Units
141
77th pct Beauty & Salon
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $189K – $299K including a $40K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $273K/year.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 44/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 132 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 53.8% CAGR over 3 years with 141 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids International Co., LLC
Incorporated in
Connecticut
HQ
37 Highland Road, Westport, Connecticut 06880
Auditor
REESE CPA LLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$7.1M
vs $5.4M prior year

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 Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $273,280
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: personal services
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $189K–$299K
Working capital
$
Item 7 didn't break this out — defaulted to ~10% of annual revenue

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

22%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$57K
EBITDA margin
21.0%
Total invested
$259K
Payback
54 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.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$765K

on $3.8M purchase

Total debt

$3.1M

SBA $1.9M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Franchisees operate children's haircut salons offering kid-friendly styling, entertainment, and retail products in a fun, themed environment. Day-to-day operations include managing stylists, scheduling appointments, marketing locally, inventory control, and customer service for families seeking haircuts for children ages newborn to young teens.

CEO
Scott Sharkey
Founded
2013
FDD year
2024
States available
29

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$189K – $299K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$0 – $30K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$40K
Royalty
$1,000 to $1,750 per month
Ad fund
3.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
3.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$273K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
Item 19 type
Gross Revenue
Sample size
114 units
vs category median 34 · large
Range (low → high)
$77K$657K
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
3 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · below
Revenue rank2th
vs Personal Services - Beauty & Salon peers
Investment cost rank35th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank77th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank77th
vs Personal Services - Beauty & Salon peers
Risk score rank4th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
141
Opened
26
Last reporting year
Closed
4
Turnover rate
2.8%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
99%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+17.6%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+53.8%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
140+21
Franchised units
2023
119
Franchised units
2024
91
Franchised units

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).

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 · 21 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.

Total loans
132
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

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

Risk & Legal

44
Risk · 0-100
STRONG44 / 100

Moderate-to-caution risk profile: lack of profitability disclosure, litigation history over pre-opening support, and high fee structure outweigh modest growth, requiring deep due diligence on actual franchisee economics.

Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo average net income disclosed (Item 19 missing) — impossible to validate ROI claims or profitability benchmarks
  2. 02HIGHTwo litigation cases including 2022 settlement over breach of pre-opening obligations — suggests franchisor may not deliver promised support
  3. 03MINORHigh initial investment ($189K-$299K) paired with substantial monthly royalties ($1K-$1.75K) creates significant fixed cost burden with unproven return
  4. 04MINOR17.6% YoY unit growth appears healthy but modest in children's services sector; no multi-year trend data provided
  5. 05MINOR2014 Virginia Consent Order for unregistered franchise sales indicates historical compliance issues with franchise regulations

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
2
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
3 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Connecticut

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
30 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs

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

80 numbers

Locked
(623) 289-••••
AZ
(408) 507-••••
CA
(614) 824-••••
OH

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids · FDD (2024) PDF

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