FRANCHISE·WATCH·DESK

Verified — real FDD extraction

Not found in the SBA Franchise Directory under this name — though SBA loans to its franchisees exist; verify eligibility with your lender

Amazing Lash Studio

Beauty & Personal Care · independent · est. —

Amazing Lash Studio is a beauty concept specializing in eyelash extensions and related lash services on a membership model. A franchisee operates a suite-style storefront studio staffed by licensed lash stylists serving a recurring member base.

Amazing Lash Studio net unit count grew +41.9% from 20172019 per its FDD Item 20.

New to franchising? Start here

A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.

Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:

  • Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
  • Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
  • Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).

The verdict

Proven & strong

Distress

2
STABLE

Enough units and history to judge, and the record is good: growing or stable units with clean exits by the standards of its disclosed record. The standout in the record: the system is growing.

Exit rate · latest year

2.9%

vs 5.4% across 21 beauty & personal care systems

Cost to open

$239K–$509K

Item 7 total investment range

SBA loan defaults

13.0%

vs 14.8% avg across rated brands

Market density · Texas

Thin market

-25% thinner than the national average

Behind the verdict

the record, factor by factor · Item 20

hi-1.0.0
Net unit growth35%

3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1

Strong
Exit quality25%

terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3

Strong
Transfer / churn15%

transfers vs. base · Table 3

Fair
Promise-keeping10%

actual vs. projected openings · Table 5

Strong
Transparency15%

Item 19 disclosure + completeness

Strong

Systemwide units

2017–2019

+41.9%
172201721220182442019

Survival record

FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year

In fiscal 2019, 6 of 205 franchised outlets left the system — a 2.9% annualized exit rate, vs 5.4% across 21 beauty & personal care systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.

Show the outlet tables
Status (FTC)201720182019
Outlets at start115172212
Opened574339
Transfers12918
Terminations036
Non-renewals000
Reacquired by franchisor070
Ceased — other reasons000
Outlets at end172212244
Net change+57+40+32

The lender's view

SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present

Banks have made 200 SBA-backed loans to Amazing Lash Studio franchisees since 2014. Of the 123 that have resolved, 13.0% were charged off (defaulted) rather than paid in full, versus 14.8% across 570 rated brands.

Charge-off rate

13.0%

16 of 123 resolved defaulted

Loss given default

58.3%

avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $

Expected loss

7.6%

default rate × loss severity

Avg. loan · FY2020+

$436,664

what recent franchisees borrowed

Median time to default

92 mo

approval → charge-off, defaulted loans

Lenders · FY21+ vs FY16–20

19 vs 24

distinct banks still lending

Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)

4'1521206'18130'21

SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO AMAZING LASH STUDIO BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL

The owner's side of the deal

FDD × federal loan record

Manageable debt load

A typical Amazing Lash Studio buyer since 2020 borrowed $437K through SBA — about $63K a year in debt service. Against the brand's own disclosed median unit revenue of $702K, that is 8.9% of every dollar the store takes in — before rent, payroll, food, or royalty.

Who finances it

Simmons Bank

51.0% of this brand's loans

That lender charges off 11.2% of its loans to other franchise brands, vs 14.8% nationally.

Who buys it

75.5%

first-time franchise owners

The rest already owned at least one other franchise. Across the corpus, brands bought mostly by repeat operators charge off at roughly 10% versus 17% for brands sold mostly to newcomers.

Does experience help here?

13.2pp

multi-unit vs single-unit owners

Owners of multiple units default at 0.0%; single-unit owners at 13.2%.

Computed from 200 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to Amazing Lash Studio franchisees joined to the brand's own FDD. Debt service assumes level amortization at the average disclosed term and rate. A lender's rate excludes its loans to this brand, so it reads the lender, not the brand.

What it costs — and what it drags

FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty

Buying in means a $40K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $239K–$509K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.

To open (Item 7)

$239K–$509K

all-in investment range

Franchise fee (Item 5)

$40K

upfront, one-time

Royalty (Item 6)

6%

of sales, ongoing

If a unit does this in annual sales…$1M/yr

Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.

Royalty you'd pay / yr

$60K

6% of sales, before profit

Over a 10-yr term

$600K

royalties alone, excl. ad fund

This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.

Build a real pro-forma for Amazing Lash Studio with an independent CPA

Labor record

US Dept. of Labor enforcement · franchisee-level · FY2005–present

Federal investigators have concluded 2 wage cases against operators of this system, recovering $535 in back wages for 5 workers. These cases name franchisee-owned locations, not the franchisor itself.

Concluded cases

2

Back wages owed

$535

Employees affected

5

Since 2020

0

Read this carefully. The employers in these cases are individual Amazing Lash Studio franchisees — separately owned businesses operating under the brand name — not Amazing Lash Studio itself. The franchisor is not the respondent and in most cases is not a party. What the record shows is how this system's operators run their payrolls, which is worth knowing before you become one of them. Counts rise with system size and with age: a 20-year-old, 10,000-unit system will out-count a young one regardless of conduct. Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division concluded compliance actions, FY2005–present, most recent finding 2019.

Modeled risk

FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record

Lower risk

Modeled from the public record, this brand looks safer than 91% of systems we score.

Risk percentile

9 / 100

Measured

Modeled SBA charge-off

7.1%

Observed SBA charge-off

13.0%

Top drivers: Share financed by high-loss lenders (lowers) · Single-lender dependence (lowers) · Item 3 litigation (log) (lowers) · Net unit growth (lowers). 50+ resolved loans and complete disclosure data — the score is checkable against the brand's observed rate. A linear scorecard built from this brand's own disclosure figures plus the federal loan record behind its franchisees; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.

Distress signals

news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits

FULL REPORT →

11 questions to ask a Amazing Lash Studio franchisee

Built from this brand's own disclosures · take it to your validation calls

The franchisor will give you a list of owners to call. Most buyers ask whether they like it. These are the questions built from what Amazing Lash Studio has actually disclosed — each one carries the number it came from, so you can tell whether the answer squares with the record.

  1. 01

    Amazing Lash Studio’s own Item 20 shows 6 of 205 franchised outlets left the system in fiscal 2019 — about 2.9%. Do you know any of those owners, and do you know why they left?

    A franchisor will call these “transitions.” An owner three doors down usually knows whether they sold at a profit or handed the keys back.

    FDD Item 20 · FY2019

  2. 02

    18 units transferred to new owners in fiscal 2019. When you look at those, were they people cashing out a good business — or getting out of a bad one?

    Transfers count as neutral in every ranking. They are the single easiest place to hide distress.

    FDD Item 20 · FY2019

  3. 03

    Of 123 SBA loans to Amazing Lash Studio franchisees that have finished, 13.0% were charged off — the borrower didn't repay. Did you finance with an SBA loan, and how close did your first two years come to trouble?

    This is the lender's view of failure, from public federal records, and it is independent of anything the franchisor discloses.

    SBA 7(a)/504 loan record, FY1991–present

  4. 04

    Item 7 says the low end to open is $239K, but the average recent SBA loan to a Amazing Lash Studio franchisee was $437K. What did you actually spend to open, all in?

    Lenders size loans to real project costs. A large gap between the disclosed floor and what banks actually fund is the most common way buyers get underfunded.

    FDD Item 7 vs SBA approvals FY2020+

  5. 05

    You pay 6.0% royalty on gross sales, plus the ad fund, before any of your own costs. On your actual revenue last year, what did you take home as the owner — not revenue, take-home?

    Royalty is charged on sales, not profit. This is the number the brochure never shows and the one your life actually runs on.

    FDD Item 6

  6. 06

    Amazing Lash Studio makes an earnings claim in Item 19. Does your unit look like that number — and do you know which units they included to build it?

    Item 19 is legal to build from a flattering subset. Ask whether they excluded new units, closed units, or company stores.

    FDD Item 19 · 2020

  7. 07

    How many months did it take to cover your own costs, and how much cash did you burn getting there?

    Ramp-to-breakeven working capital is the most underestimated line in any franchise purchase, and the most common reason otherwise-good units fail.

    Not disclosed in any FDD — ask an owner

  8. 08

    Item 3 discloses 8 legal matters. Do you know what those were about, and were any brought by franchisees?

    Franchisee-brought suits over territory, fees or support tell you how the franchisor behaves when there's a disagreement.

    FDD Item 3 · 2020

  9. 09

    What does the franchisor charge for that you didn't expect — required tech fees, mandatory remodels, approved-supplier pricing?

    Required spending appears across Items 6, 8 and 11 rather than in one place, so buyers routinely miss the total.

    FDD Items 6, 8, 11

  10. 10

    If your agreement came up for renewal tomorrow at current terms, would you sign again?

    The single most predictive question you can ask. A hesitation is the answer.

    Ask every owner you speak to

  11. 11

    Who else should I call — including someone who left?

    The franchisor's list is curated by definition. Former franchisees are where the unflattering truth lives, and current owners usually know how to reach them.

    Ask every owner you speak to

Want this as a checklist you can take to the calls?

I'll email you the printable version, and tell you if Amazing Lash Studio’s numbers move — a new filing, a rising exit rate, a distress signal. Unsubscribe in one click.

Before you sign anythingfree · 30 min · no commission

A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Amazing Lash Studio's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.

Don Drummond, CPA — Virginia #43775 · what I charge

Book a free 30-minute call →
Own or owned a Amazing Lash Studio?no appointment · read by a person

This page is what buyers see before they call you for validation. If the record above is wrong — or right in a way the numbers can't show — say so. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.

Amazing Lash Studio franchise questions, answered from the filings

What percentage of Amazing Lash Studio franchises closed last year?

In Amazing Lash Studio's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2019), 6 of 205 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 2.9% — compared with 5.4% across 21 beauty & personal care systems tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.

How much does a Amazing Lash Studio franchise cost?

Per Amazing Lash Studio's 2020 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $40K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $239K–$509K (Item 7).

What royalty does Amazing Lash Studio charge?

Amazing Lash Studio charges an ongoing royalty of 6.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2020 FDD.

Does Amazing Lash Studio disclose earnings (Item 19)?

Yes — Amazing Lash Studio makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2020 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $702K. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.

How often do SBA loans for Amazing Lash Studio franchises default?

Across 200 SBA-backed loans to Amazing Lash Studio franchisees since 2014, 16 of the 123 that have resolved were charged off — a 13.0% default rate, versus about 14.8% across all rated franchise brands. This is the lender's-eye view of franchisee failure, drawn from public SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA data and independent of the franchisor's own disclosures.