FRANCHISE OF THE WEEK

SixFour3

Fast Facts

Background

• HQ: Ashburn, VA
• Founded in 2015, franchising since 2023
• SixFour3 is a recreation business that specializes in softball facilities.

Location Trends

Franchise Fees

• Royalty: 6%
• Brand Fund: 2.5% 
• Franchise Fee: $42,500

Financial Overview

• The below table discloses information on 2 affiliate-owned SixFour3 outlets located in Ashburn, Virginia and Manassas, Virginia for 2022.

The Wolf’s Take 🍟

There’s more context needed on the financials than what the above bar chart discloses – while those numbers are 100% accurate, it’s taking the average of 2 locations disclosed in the FDD.

Their first location however, which opened in 2015, is putting up some phenomenal numbers that show the full potential of this softball business.

This location generated just over $1 million in revenue in 2022, and an EBITDA of $250k!

The revenue has a mix of generators including camps, instructor led lessons, and even $40k of retail sales. But the primary source i.e. upwards of ~79% of revenue is from membership fees, AKA that sweet recurring revenue!

Explain the Softball Biz, Wolf 🥎

Glad you asked! SixFour3 aims to provide state-of-the-art softball facilities, with a mission of becoming the premier name in girls fastpitch softball training. 

At a location, softball players can receive training on pitching, hitting, fielding, to even softball specific fitness programs.

As you can imagine, a key factor in the business are the softball instructors. It’s the biggest expense on their P&L, and it determines the quality of service members receive. 

Make no mistake though, SixFour3 strikes me as a brand that is serious about their industry. They announced a partnership last year with softball star and former All-American, Odicci Alexander. That bodes well for becoming a magnet for softball talent that may work and become trainers someday. 

Is this Too Niche?

This isn’t a franchise that will have thousands of locations across the country. But, in the right market, this can clearly become a good business.

As a former Division I soccer player, I’m familiar with competitive youth sports, and the amount of money parents are willing to pay on behalf of children. 

Whether it’s a parent trying to live their dream through their child, or a parent investing in their child with the hopes of earning a scholarship in college – there is without a doubt more markets in more affluent areas for a concept like this.

Softball Passion

While 4-wall economics matter, I’d imagine the franchisor is looking for franchisees that have some level of interest in the sport of softball, and for developing state-of-the-art facilities for softball athletes.

It’s very different from a QSR or boutique fitness, where you can plug & play it with a variety of operators. My sense is this does not work if the passion isn’t there from day 1 being infused into the business. 

For those that are passionate about sports and athletic development, SixFour3 could be a rare opportunity!

Resources

• SixFour3 Franchise Website
• SixFour3 Celebrates Milestone with First-Ever Franchise Signing in Nashville, TN

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SMB TWEET OF THE WEEK

How to do Business Right – Chris Hoffman

I loved this story from Chris, who took for his father’s HVAC company and has grown it to $100M in annual revenue. It shows that you can do the right thing and still get what you want accomplished!