SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
79 full-time franchisees: median $131,802 annual secured revenue; 161 part-time franchisees: median $4,276. Data excludes company outlets, 21 ceased operations, 52 new franchisees.
What a SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $73,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 8% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 2% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 10% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $75,300 – $85,550 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
8% royalty standard; 2% ad fee; $120/mo software fee; 25-30% production fee on client revenue; $5k renewal; transfer fee 5% or $5k minimum.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 298 |
| Ceased operations | 21 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 0 |
| Closure rate | 7.0% of outlets |
21 ceased operations in FY2025; 0 terminations; high part-time franchisee median revenue ($4,276) suggests profitability challenges.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2025. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® worth it? — how it compares to 436 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 10% of sales | steeper than 74% of other franchises franchises |
| Startup cost | from $75,300 | cheaper than most (median $138,750) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 7.0% of outlets | worse than 80% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 2 | more litigious than 68% of peers |
Benchmarked against every other franchises franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a SCHOOLEY MITCHELL®
The franchisor's framing: 79 full-time franchisees: median $131,802 annual secured revenue; 161 part-time franchisee… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $75,300–$85,550, including a $73,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® franchise owners make?
- 79 full-time franchisees: median $131,802 annual secured revenue; 161 part-time franchisees: median $4,276. Data excludes company outlets, 21 ceased operations, 52 new franchisees. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® franchise fees?
- SCHOOLEY MITCHELL®'s FDD discloses a $73,000 initial franchise fee, a 8% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 10% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. 8% royalty standard; 2% ad fee; $120/mo software fee; 25-30% production fee on client revenue; $5k renewal; transfer fee 5% or $5k minimum.
- What is the SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® franchise profit margin?
- SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: 79 full-time franchisees: median $131,802 annual secured revenue; 161 part-time franchisees: median $4,276. Data excludes company outlets, 21 ceased operations, 52 new franchisees. Recurring fees alone take about 10% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® franchise failure rate?
- 21 ceased operations in FY2025; 0 terminations; high part-time franchisee median revenue ($4,276) suggests profitability challenges.
- How many SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® locations are there?
- SCHOOLEY MITCHELL®'s FDD reports 298 total outlets, with 21 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 0 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® have complaints or lawsuits?
- SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® discloses 2 legal matters in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 10% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 2 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Source: WI DFI Franchise Registration (2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with SCHOOLEY MITCHELL® or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.