descriptionThe Franchise Dossier
FDD Sourced
Independent analysis. Not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Budget Blinds. All figures sourced from public FDD filings.
Franchise dossier · Home services (window coverings)

Owning a Budget Blinds: what actually happens

VERDICT · ASSET — IF YOU SCALE
A light-overhead in-home sales business with good disclosed sales, but one territory is a sales job with minimum fees attached; the asset shows up at three territories and a team.
You'd pocket / yr*
$40K–$170K
1 unit · before your salary
Your time
45–60 hrs/wk
owner-operator
Becomes an asset at
~3 units
real wealth: 3+ territories
Agreement term
10 yrs
then renewal
Year one, honestly

Year one is the owner in a van doing free in-home consultations, measuring windows, ordering made-to-order product through the franchisor's vendor program and often installing it too. There is no storefront, little inventory and few employees, so overhead is light, but revenue is one sale at a time and tied to local housing turnover and remodel activity. Minimum royalty and ad fund payments start whether or not the appointment calendar is full.

Where each sales dollar goes
Supplies / goods ~47%Labor ~16%Rent ~2%Franchisor fees ~7%Other opex ~19%Left before debt & you ~18%

Illustrative split for a typical unit (industry estimate). The green slice is store cash flow before your loan payment and before paying yourself a salary — not profit.

If you want out

There is an active resale market for Budget Blinds territories, and a multi-territory business with sales consultants, installers and a commercial book sells on an earnings multiple. A single territory where the owner is the salesperson is harder to sell: the buyer is mostly purchasing the right to the territory and the phone leads, and has to replace the owner's own selling. Transfers need franchisor approval.

Smart for

Sales-minded owner-operators who want a low-overhead, home-based business and plan to add territories and staff over time.

Dumb for

Anyone expecting a $19,950 entry price, or a business that runs without the owner selling in customers' homes for the first few years.

The disclosure it's built on

The verdict above is our read of the numbers Budget Blinds files with regulators — here they are, cited.

Budget BlindsFDD 2025
Item 5 · Initial franchise fee
$19,950
Item 7 · Initial investment
$100,500 – $211,250
Item 6 · Royalty
Greater of 3.5% or $1,250-$2,500/mo
Item 6 · Ad / brand fund
Greater of 3.5% or monthly minimum
Item 19 · Avg unit revenue
$853,650
Item 20 · US units (~2024)
1,366
SOURCE1851 Franchise 2025 FDD breakdown: $19,950 fee, $30,000-$70,000 territory fee, Item 7 $100,500-$211,250, royalty and ad fund each the greater of 3.5% or a tiered monthly minimum, technology fee $600 a month ($300 per additional territory), Item 19 by territory count, 1,366 territories, high-medium confidence. Franzy and FranchiseOverview confirm the fee and Item 7 range. Sources disagree on the royalty: Franzy shows flat $1,250-$2,500 a month and $1,000-$1,500 a month ad fund with no percentage, FranchiseInvestorData shows 3.5% + 3.5%; the greater-of reading reconciles both, medium confidence. Franzy also shows a different average ($795,600), medium confidence on Item 19. Unit count 1,362-1,366, high confidence. Term 10 years per FranchiseInvestorData only, medium confidence.
The catch

The advertised $19,950 franchise fee is not what a territory costs. A separate territory fee of roughly $30,000 to $70,000, depending on the territory tier, is charged on top. And the royalty and ad fund are each the GREATER of 3.5% of gross or a fixed monthly minimum (royalty minimums of $1,250 to $2,500 a month by tier, ad minimums of $500 to $1,500), so a slow or new territory pays the minimums regardless of sales, plus a $600-a-month technology fee. The Item 19 single-territory median ($556,995) sits about $300,000 below its average.

*How to read these numbers. Disclosed (FDD): $19,950 fee plus territory fee, Item 7 range, greater-of 3.5% royalty and ad fund with monthly minimums, technology fee, Item 19 gross sales by number of territories owned. No profit data is disclosed, so cost-structure %, take-home and hours are ESTIMATES from window-covering dealer benchmarks (medium-low confidence). Royalty structure and term are medium confidence. — "You'd pocket" is estimated owner cash flow for one average unit before a salary for your own full-time work, so it is not take-home pay. Averages are not promises; your unit could earn far less. This is analysis, not advice — read the current FDD in full and talk to current and former franchisees before you commit.

Seriously considering Budget Blinds?

Pressure-test the affordability, then read the full FDD and validate Item 19 (or its absence) with existing franchisees. When we add vetted franchise-consultant and financing partners, they'll be clearly disclosed here and never change our analysis.

Run a rough affordability check →