🍟 9/8/2022 – The Economics Of Golf Simulator Businesses

SPONSORED BY FRANCHISE SIDEKICK

There’s over 4,000 franchises in the United States, and knowing which one is right for you can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. 

That’s why I’m such a big fan of Franchise Sidekick. Their team is simply the real deal at matching individuals with the right franchise, having awarded 5,000+ franchises in the last 5 years.

Coincidentally, I’ve already covered a bunch of their franchises in this newsletter:

  • Fence installation: Average gross revenue of $2.9M
  • Garage renovation: Average gross revenue of $1.2M
  • Restoration services: Corporate territory doing $837K in EBITDA!

It also doesn’t hurt that the brands they represent have a documented history of providing impressive returns on investment.

The cherry on top is their service is FREE to use! 

If you’re truly interested in buying a franchise, use Franchise Sidekick. 

Schedule A Free 10-Minute Call

FRANCHISES OF THE WEEK

1) X-Golf

Fast Facts

Background

  • Founded in 2005, franchising since 2015
  • Based in California; 43+ locations open at the start of 2022
  • Indoor golf entertainment centers

Fees + Investment

  • Royalty: 7%
  • Brand Fund: 1%
  • Franchise Fee: $30,000
  • Initial Investment: $609,700 – $1,386,000

Financial Performance

The Wolf’s Take 🍟

Alrighty golf enthusiasts, there’s your inside look at what simulator businesses can look like!

For those who haven’t heard of golf simulators, X-Golf is a place where you can practice and play golf via a virtual reality screen. You hit the ball, and it has technology to measure the speed, trajectory, and a host of other statistics. 

I’ve been to one in Manhattan once before (spoiler – I suck!), and can see why this is a ton of fun for golf enthusiasts and even casual fans just looking to do something fun with friends.

There’s food and drinks (alcoholic) you can order, making this a 24/7 365 way to play golf in a no pressure environment. 

The thing to note here is that the investment is high, and while the margins look good ($137K in EBITDA off $659K in revenue is solid), it’s not that much EBITDA relative to how much it costs to build one of these.

Judging from those numbers, you’re looking at a 9-10 year payback period. To give the benefit of the doubt though, those numbers are from 2021, so covid could have still impacted foot-traffic, especially in the first half of the year! 

But if X-Golf can figure out how to drive more top-line revenue, the follow through on EBITDA should be there!

Resources

2) Crisp & Green

Fast Facts

Background

  • Founded in 2016, franchising since 2021
  • Based in Minnesota; 15+ locations open at the start of 2022
  • A wellness-driven restaurant featuring a selection of salads, grain bowls, soups and smoothies – all made in-house from scratch with premium ingredients

Fees + Investment

  • Royalty: 7%
  • Brand Fund: 2%
  • Franchise Fee: $64,500
  • Initial Investment: $676,050 – $1,269,150

Financial Performance

The Wolf’s Take 🍟

Though they’re in the very early stages of franchising, Crisp & Green is showing a very impressive average unit volume thus far.

The corporate stores are definitely outperforming the franchised ones at this date, so I’d be curious to know why that is – and it could very well be that they’ve simply been open for longer, thus have had more time to build a customer base in their community. 

The other primary question I’d ask is how they differentiate from other “salad houses” like SweetGreen.

But overall, they’ve shown that they can generate close to $400k in EBITDA from their business, which is impressive for ANY restaurant.

If you’re interested in healthy fast-casual franchises, Crisp & Green has a lot of white space on the board!

Resources

FROM THE POD

Henry Kim + Stephen Vereb – 5 Massage Envy’s

This was a fun conversation with two beast operators! 

In addition to Massage Envy, they also own 2 Amazing Lash Studios, and they even founded a school to train massage therapists (which helps them recruit top talent).

I especially found it interesting how they shared their strategy for acquiring financing via the SBA for their first location (90% financed!), and then regional community banks after that.

This is a must-listen for any current or future brick & mortar operator!

Listen Here

Disclaimer: This Content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained on this site constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any franchises, securities, or other financial instruments in this or in any other jurisdiction in which such solicitation or offer would be unlawful under the franchise and/or securities laws of such jurisdiction.

All Content in this email is information of a general nature and does not address the detailed circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Nothing in the email constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information in the email constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto. You alone assume the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other Content in this email before making any decisions based on such information or other Content.