A Recession-Resistant Blinds Franchise?!

There's an emerging low-cost franchise that's crushing it

• Home-based

• Minimal employees

• Recession-resistant

• $105k+ investment for 1 unit

• $295k average earnings (Top 1/3 in 2022)

Let's dive into BLOOMIN' BLINDS:

Business Model

How is a blinds franchise recession-resistant?

Repairs

Bloomin is the only national brand that does repairs.

The co-founder told me repairs got them through the 08-09 recession. New product sales were down, but repairs were up significantly (which are highly profitable at 90-95% gross margin).

Repairs provide a competitive advantage for customer acquisition.

Most consumers like to test a company with a low-cost service before trusting them with a major purchase.

In the auto repair business, low-price oil changes provide that gateway. We get tested with a $20-30 oil change. If the customer has a good experience, there’s a good chance we’ll get the brakes, suspension & other big repair jobs in the future.

For Bloomin, they get their foot in the door with repairs. In most cases, they can fix the issue on-site. For blinds that can’t be fixed, they lead to new product sales.

Bloomin does all the online marketing for franchisees. All leads get answered in their Dallas-based call center with trained agents who know all about the "string thingy.”

Products:

• All the typical ones

• Residential & Commercial

• Exterior shades for your deck/patio

• Motorized blinds controlled by your phone

Franchisees carry ZERO inventory. Everything is ordered on-demand from the manufacturer.

How Much Can You Make?

More than you may think.

In 2022, the top third of franchisees did $1.13M in sales with "adjusted earnings" of $295k.

Bloomin has a very transparent Item 19 in the FDD, providing multiple P&Ls for different categories of franchisees. Here is the P&L for the top third:

They also provide a table listing the sales of every location open for 12 months in 2022 . The top 5 locations:

1. $1.95M opened in 2016

2. $1.74M opened in 2020

3. $1.40M opened in 2019

4. $1.36M opened in 2017

5. $1.23M opened in 2021

I talked to a franchisee who launched in March 2020. He said: "I had to wear a diaper for the first few months." 😂

• 2020: $500k sales (10 months)

• 2021: $1.10M sales

• 2022: $1.74M sales (#2 from above)

• 2023: pacing for over $2.0M

He doesn't need those diapers anymore!

Start-Up Costs

You can get started with 1 territory for $105k to $182k.

This includes a $49k franchise fee, working capital, the van, grand opening marketing, & more. You can buy additional territories at a discounted rate.

You can start this business very lean with one or zero employees operating out of your garage.

The franchisor will coach you on how to scale it from there. You will hire techs to help with installs & repairs. Eventually, another sales rep. That franchisee doing $2M only has 3 employees plus himself & wife.

Company History

Bloomin' is run by three brothers in Dallas.

Their mom started in the blinds business when they were in high school. These guys have been in the blinds business their entire adult lives.

I recently interviewed Kelsey (far left) for my podcast (launching soon)

Want To Learn More?

Respond to this email with your name, email, phone & target zip code.

We'll check if your market is open and provide you with tools, checklists & franchise attorney/CPA referrals.

All for free.

Our team will help create 50 entrepreneurs this year. You could be next.

Cheers!

Brian Beers