Young Rembrandts franchise unit economics
Young Rembrandts franchisees teach drawing to preschool and elementary school children, usually in schools and community centers. All 46 franchise territories reported, which is rare, and they averaged $143,084 against a median of $124,927. Behind that sits a franchisor balance sheet with shareholder equity of $8,216, down from $47,551 a year earlier, and six state-required risk factors including going concern and financial condition.
- Primary source
- Young Rembrandts Franchise, Inc., 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Items 5 and 6 for fees; Item 7 for cost to open; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure; Item 20 for the location count
- Population
- 46 of 46 locations
- Our calculations
- Marked on the page with an asterisk. Method
- Last reviewed
- 26 September 2026
Disclosure-based. Not a forecast, not an offer to sell a franchise, and not advice.
All 46 franchise territories reported, and they averaged $143,084 against a median of $124,927, a tight system. The harder reading is behind the brand: six state-required risk warnings have this franchise, among them going concern and financial condition, and the franchisor’s own audited balance sheet shows shareholder equity of $8,216, down from $47,551, with current liabilities exceeding current assets by $39,802.
- The brand behind the franchise holds $8,216 of equity and $39,802 of negative working capital.$194,969 of current assets against $234,771 of current liabilities *, and retained earnings have fallen from $253,477 to $7,216 across two years, a drop of 97.2%.
- It distributed $68,982 in a year it earned $29,647.2.33 times its net earnings *, following $142,364 of distributions in a year it lost $64,562, which is where the equity went.
- Two of the six risk warnings conflict with the brand’s own tables.The going concern warning says the auditor’s report expresses substantial doubt. The audit opinion as the brand reported it is unmodified. The turnover warning cites nearly 50% of outlets leaving in three years. The outlet tables record 2 departures from 48 *.
- Every territory reported, and the middle of the system is unusually tight.46 of 46, with a median at 87.3% of the mean *, against a top quintile of $270,676 and a fifth of $52,831, which is 5.12 times.
- The mature minimum royalty takes the lowest-selling territory to 24.51%.$500 a month against $24,479 of revenue *, and it governs below $60,000, which captures the whole bottom quintile.
How much does a Young Rembrandts franchise make?
The average Young Rembrandts unit reported $143,084 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $124,927. The brand’s disclosure document discloses revenue and not profit, so what an owner keeps depends on the cost structure set out below. Fees come off the top first, at about 11% of sales across royalty, brand fund and the rest of the stack. Revenue is not income. Rent, wages, cost of goods and the franchise fees all come out before an owner is paid. The figures for the highest-selling and lowest-selling businesses are below.
The five groups, ranked by sales
Every territory, in five groups.
| quintile | Territories | Mean | Median | Range | Reaching the mean | Share of system revenue * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 9 | $270,676 | $270,425 | $229,595 to $323,308 | 5, 55.6% | 37.0% |
| 2nd | 10 | $188,561 | $186,061 | $166,326 to $219,689 | 4, 40.0% | 28.6% |
| 3rd | 9 | $122,177 | $121,666 | $96,906 to $161,227 | 4, 44.4% | 16.7% |
| 4th | 8 | $79,098 | $79,549 | $67,730 to $89,396 | 4, 50.0% | 9.6% |
| 5th | 10 | $52,831 | $58,287 | $24,479 to $64,503 | 7, 70.0% | 8.0% |
| All 46 | 46 | $143,084 | $124,927 | $24,479 to $323,308 | 21, 45.6% | 100% |
| Affiliate-owned territory | 1 | $228,821 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Every column apart from the right-hand one is as the brand reported it; that column is marked *.
The median sits at 87.3% of the mean. $124,927 against $143,084 *, one of the narrowest gaps in this library, which is what a system of 46 similarly sized territories looks like.
The bottom quintile is the one group whose median beats its mean. $58,287 against $52,831, with 70% of it at or above the mean *, so a single territory at $24,479 is dragging that group down.
The top fifth of the system earns 37.0% of its revenue. 9 territories producing $2,436,084 of $6,582,381 *, while the bottom fifth, with 10 territories, produces 8.0%.
The brand’s own territory would sit at the top of the second quintile. $228,821, which is $774 below the top quintile’s minimum and 59.9% above the system average *, an useful benchmark, since it is the one territory run by the people who wrote the system.
Top performers
What separates the top Young Rembrandts performers
Young Rembrandts splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $270,676 a year. The worst averaged $52,831. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $124,927. The average was $143,084. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 5.1× gap between bands is not an operating gap. Catchment, daytime population and what sits next door set the ceiling before the first customer arrives.
- Territory, and how much of it is real.This model sells from a territory rather than a building. Two owners with the same brand and different ground are running different businesses, and density decides how much driving sits between jobs.
- What you spend to open.Opening costs $51,650 to $60,100, a 1.2× range inside one brand. The high end usually buys more capacity, so the cheapest build is not always the cheapest route to the top band.
Live operating levers
- Enrolment, the operating driver.This model bills on enrolment. The licence fixes how many places exist, so what is left is how many are filled, what each is priced at, and how long a family stays. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- The gift card book.Gift cards are sold before the service is delivered. The top performers are not selling more of them by accident, they are running a deliberate seasonal push into the holidays and out of it again. The accounting follows: a gift card is deferred revenue until it is redeemed, so cash and earned revenue arrive in different periods.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites.Fees run about 11.0% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
Context you underwrite around
- The reporting screen.46 of 46 locations are behind these figures. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded, so the numbers describe locations that cleared that screen, not the system as a whole.
- What the disclosure leaves out.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations, no attainment figure. Anything below the sales line has to come from the franchisor or from owners you call.
Six risk warnings
Six risk factors, and the numbers behind two of them.
| Line | 2025 | 2024 | Change * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $95,051 | $140,371 | −32.3% |
| Current assets | $194,969 | $241,455 | −19.3% |
| Current liabilities | $234,771 | $237,758 | −1.3% |
| Cash to run the business day to day * | −$39,802 | +$3,697 | n/a |
| Shareholder equity | $8,216 | $47,551 | −82.7% |
| Revenue | $915,507 | $933,447 | −1.92% |
| Earnings from operations | $47,256 | −$44,835 | n/a |
| Net earnings | $29,647 | −$64,562 | n/a |
| Distributions | $68,982 | $142,364 | −51.5% |
| Retained earnings, year end | $7,216 | $46,551 | −84.5% |
Every figure is as the brand reported it in the audited statements. The working capital line and the change column are marked *.
The six state-required risk warnings are these. Out-of-state dispute resolution in Illinois; going concern; mandatory minimum payments regardless of sales. A sales performance requirement whose loss can cost territorial rights. A turnover rate put at nearly 50% of franchised outlets over three years; and financial condition. Any owner should read those six first.
The going concern factor and the audit opinion say different things. The factor states that the auditor’s report expresses substantial doubt about the brand’s ability to remain in business. The opinion as the brand reported it is a clean one with zero going concern paragraph. The only such language in the report is the standard description of management’s and the auditor’s responsibilities.
The turnover factor and the outlet tables say different things too. The factor cites nearly 50% of franchised outlets terminated, unrenewed or ceased over three years. The tables record 1 departure in 2023 and 1 in 2025 against 41 outlets at the start and 7 opened, which is 4.2% *.
The financial condition factor is the one the numbers support. $8,216 of equity, negative working capital of $39,802, cash down 32.3% and two straight years of distributions above earnings *. That is a small company, and an owner buying support from it should ask directly how these three factors sit together.
A falling rate with a minimum
A rate that falls, and a minimum that catches the bottom.
| Business | Sales | Royalty on the ladder * | After the minimum * | Effective rate * | With the marketing fee * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest territory | $323,308 | $27,365 | $27,365 | 8.46% | 9.46% |
| 1st quintile | $270,676 | $23,154 | $23,154 | 8.55% | 9.55% |
| 2nd quintile | $188,561 | $16,585 | $16,585 | 8.80% | 9.80% |
| System average | $143,084 | $12,947 | $12,947 | 9.05% | 10.05% |
| System median | $124,927 | $11,494 | $11,494 | 9.20% | 10.20% |
| 4th quintile | $79,098 | $7,828 | $7,828 | 9.90% | 10.90% |
| 5th quintile | $52,831 | $5,283 | $6,000 | 11.36% | 12.36% |
| Lowest territory | $24,479 | $2,448 | $6,000 | 24.51% | 26.23% |
Revenue figures and rates are as the brand reported it; the four right-hand columns are marked *.
| Line | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee, Gold | $44,500 | $44,500 |
| Everything else | $7,150 | $15,600 |
| Total | $51,650 | $60,100 |
| The fee as a share of the total * | 86.2% | 74.0% |
| As weeks of average revenue * | 18.8 weeks | 21.8 weeks |
The line items and printed totals are as the brand reported it; the “everything else” row and the two bottom rows are marked *.
The franchise fee is almost the whole investment. $44,500 of a $51,650 low total, which is 86.2% *, so an owner is buying a curriculum, a brand and a territory. The working capital allowance is $1,000 to $3,500.
The effective royalty moves 1.44 points across four fifths of the system, then jumps 14.61. 8.46% at the highest-selling territory and 9.90% at the fourth quintile. 24.51% at the lowest-selling once the $500 monthly minimum takes over *.
Entry costs about five months of an average territory’s revenue. $51,650 to $60,100 against $143,084 *, 18.8 to 21.8 weeks, which is light in dollars and heavy against what a territory at this scale actually bills.
The network of locations
A small system that stopped opening.
| Year | At start | Opened | Terminations | Non-renewals | Reacquired | Ceased, other | At end | Transfers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 41 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 45 | 1 |
| 2024 | 45 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 2 |
| 2025 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 3 |
Every figure is as the brand reported it; the counts add exactly to their printed year-end totals.
The system opened zero territories in 2025 and projects 15 for the next year. Against 5 and 2 in the two years before *, and with zero agreements already signed, that projection sits well above anything the last three years produced.
Two territories left in three years, from a base of 48. 41 at the start plus 7 opened *, 4.2%, which is among the lowest departure rates in this library and sits alongside a printed risk factor citing nearly 50%.
Transfers tripled while openings stopped. 1, then 2, then 3 *, so what movement there is in this system is existing territories changing hands.
Five owners hold two territories each. 46 territories across 41 franchisees *, and each territory sits under its own agreement, with its own fee minimum.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
What does a Young Rembrandts territory bill?
All 46 territories reported for 2025. The average was $143,084 and the median $124,927, across a range of $24,479 to $323,308. By quintile the means run $270,676, $188,561, $122,177, $79,098 and $52,831.
What does the brand take?
A royalty of 10% on the first $75,000 of gross revenues each year and 8% above that, measured from 1 September to 31 August. A national marketing fee currently at 1% of gross revenues. A Gold franchise has a minimum monthly royalty rising to $500 from year five, and the marketing fee has a $35 monthly minimum.
What does that work out at?
On our reading, 9.05% of revenue at the system average and 8.46% at the highest-selling territory, because the rate falls above $75,000. Below $60,000 the $500 monthly minimum takes over, which lifts the bottom quintile to 11.36% and the lowest-selling territory to 24.51%. Adding the marketing fee puts one percentage point on each of those.
What does it cost to open?
$51,650 to $60,100 for a Gold franchise, of which the $44,500 franchise fee is 86.2% of the low end. A Silver franchise has a $39,500 fee, and an existing owner pays $39,500 for an additional franchise. Veterans and educators qualify for a 10% discount.
What are the six risk warnings?
Out-of-state dispute resolution in Illinois, going concern, mandatory minimum payments regardless of sales, a sales performance requirement that can cost territorial rights, a turnover rate put at nearly 50% over three years, and financial condition. Each one is there because a state regulator required it.
How strong is the franchisor financially?
Small, and thinner than it was. The audited statements show shareholder equity of $8,216 against $47,551 a year earlier, current liabilities exceeding current assets by $39,802, cash down 32.3% to $95,051, and revenue of $915,507. It earned $29,647 in 2025 after losing $64,562 in 2024, and distributed $68,982 and $142,364 in those two years.
Do the risk factors match the brand’s own numbers?
Two of them read differently from the brand’s own figures. The going concern warning describes an auditor’s report expressing substantial doubt, while the opinion as the brand reported it is unmodified. The turnover warning cites nearly 50% of outlets leaving over three years, while the outlet tables record two departures. The financial condition warning is supported by the balance sheet. An owner should put all three to the brand directly.
- No profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- No cost lines. Wages, rent and cost of goods are not broken out, so margin cannot be rebuilt from the document.
- No attainment figure. The filing does not say how many locations reached the average it publishes.
Questions worth putting to Young Rembrandts
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- What do locations at the median spend on wages and rent as a share of sales? The filing reports sales only.
- What separates the highest-selling locations from the lowest: trade area, years open, size, or the owner?
- How long does a new location take to reach the average you publish, and what does the build-up look like month by month?
- At what level of sales do the minimum charges stop applying and the percentage take over?
- How many Young Rembrandts locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Finance Diagnostic runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. Checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →Which side of $75,000 are you on?
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast. Reporting, built around your effective royalty rate against the 10% and 8% steps, revenue against the $60,000 minimum threshold. Where your territory sits among the five quintiles.
Request the reviewthe franchise library, all 243 brands · how franchise unit economics work · running the books across several locations · what Averan does for franchise owners
Young Rembrandts reads against the rest of the music and art group: Bach to Rock · School of Rock · We Rock The Spectrum. The music and art guide compares all of them on the same figures.
Questions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- Money arrives before the service does. How should that be booked?Deferred revenue, and why the bank balance and the profit line disagree.
- At what level of sales does a minimum fee stop costing me more than the percentage?How royalty, ad fund and minimums actually work on a monthly statement.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?A 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- What should I be looking at every week?The handful of numbers that move before the P&L does.
- Do I need a bookkeeper, a controller, or a CFO?What each one owns, and the point at which the next one pays for itself.