yorCMO Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $14K – $28K
- Disclosed sales
- $100K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
yorCMO is a B2B marketing franchise providing fractional chief marketing officer services to small and midsize businesses. Franchisees run local practices, developing marketing strategy and managing client campaigns and teams.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A yorCMO franchise requires a total initial investment of $14K – $28K, including a $8K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $100K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
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 scored4 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $14K – $28K
- 5th pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $100K
- Incl. company outlets1st pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 21st pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 30
- 28th pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Business Services 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 $14K – $28K including a $8K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $100K/year (includes company-owned outlets).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 60/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +4 franchised outlets in the latest year (6 opened, 2 closed) (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 107.1% CAGR over 3 years with 30 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- yorCMO Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- Co-Founder
- Joseph Frost
- Incorporated in
- Nebraska
- HQ
- 802 S 80th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68114
- Auditor
- Roos & McNabb CPA's PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $580K
- vs $791K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Joseph Frost
- Headquarters
- NE
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 18
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 84% below the typical business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $8K | $8K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $3K | $8K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $3K | $13K |
| Total initial investment | $14K | $28K |
Source: yorCMO 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
- $14K – $28K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $3K – $8K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $8K – $8K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- $750
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $120 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $2K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 85% below the business services norm.
Includes company-owned outlets
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 yorCMO 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
$26K
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 yorCMO 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
Includes company-owned outlets
- Avg gross sales
- $100K
- Per unit, per year
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Actual
- Sample size
- 19 outlets
- vs category median 37
- Range (low → high)
- $0→$290KNot cited — published from our reading of the franchisor's disclosure document; the page it is printed on has not been located.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
Compared against 296 Business Services brands
Revenue is 4.8x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
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 $100K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 4.8x. Includes company-owned outlets.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.0% — below the Business Services median of 9.0%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 0/10 — minimal disclosure beyond the required average. Hard to judge the distribution of outcomes across units.
Operator retention
System expanding at 107.1% CAGR over 3 years across 30 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Business Services medians
How yorCMO Compares
Category median of published Business Services 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
- 30
- Opened
- 6
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 6.7%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +107.1%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +107.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 1
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 18 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
18
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
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
Two litigation matters, both regulatory/founder-related and resolved: a Virginia SCC finding that yorCMO sold 3 franchises while unregistered (2021 settlement, $6,750 penalties + rescission offers) and an old co-founder fraud/contract suit settled 2018 for $7,500. Financials appear healthy with audited statements, Item 19 disclosed, and strong 107.1% net growth on a 30-unit base.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
Co-founder Joe Frost sued in 2008 for breach of contract/fraud re: residential construction, settled 2018 for $7,500. Virginia State Corporation Commission found yorCMO sold 3 franchises while unregistered in Virginia; 2021 settlement order included rescission offers and $6,750 in penalties/costs.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Roos & McNabb CPA's PC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 audited financial statements are in Exhibit D, which is not included in the provided FDD text (document ends at Item 23). No franchisor balance sheet or income statement figures are available. Note: a Washington state addendum discloses franchisor stockholders' equity of $56,585 as of February 15, 2025, but this is a post-fiscal-year addendum figure, not from an audited statement, so it was not used as net_worth.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 60 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORRegulatory: VA SCC unregistered-franchise-sale finding, $6,750 penalties + rescission (2021)
- 02HIGHOld co-founder fraud/breach suit settled 2018 for $7,500
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% 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 | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 3 years |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Douglas County, Nebraska |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Nebraska |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Co-founder Joe Frost sued in 2008 for breach of contract/fraud re: residential construction, settled 2018 for $7,500. Virginia State Corporation Commission found yorCMO sold 3 franchises while unregistered in Virginia; 2021 settlement order included rescission offers and $6,750 in penalties/costs.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 12 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 12 hrs
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- Franchisee, subject to franchisor approval; home-based Administrative Office permitted
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Business Management System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Business Management System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
32 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 yorCMO franchise?
The total investment to open a yorCMO franchise ranges from $14K – $28K, with an initial franchise fee of $8K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do yorCMO franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the yorCMO FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $100K. Important context: Includes company-owned outlets. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns yorCMO?
yorCMO is franchised by yorCMO Franchising, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the yorCMO 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 yorCMO FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is yorCMO's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for yorCMO (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 yorCMO franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, yorCMO has 30 total units in the United States, including 29 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 6 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is yorCMO a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates yorCMO as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 60 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
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.