SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · FLORIDA
Budget Blinds franchise in Florida: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Budget Blinds in Florida have taken 34 SBA loans since 1991 (average $537,088), and of the 18 loans whose story has ended, 22.2% were charged off — versus 13.6% for Budget Blinds nationally and 14.8% across all rateable franchise brands.
Loans in FL
34
Resolved
18
Local charge-off
22.2%
National charge-off
13.6%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = FL. Charge-off rate = charged-off ÷ (charged-off + paid-in-full); open loans excluded. A local rate is published only when the resolved cohort clears our floor.
Businesses in this industry
10,280
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
44
national 39.6
Versus the country
+11%
denser
Every business in Budget Blinds's industry operating in Florida — franchised and independent — from the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (2023), against 2024 population estimates. Counter-intuitively, density is not a warning: across 198 brand-state cells in our loan data, the densest quartile charges off at 5.6% versus 18.1% in the thinnest. A crowded market is usually proven demand; an empty one is often empty for a reason.
Avg weekly wage, this industry
$1,152
Florida, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$1,252
same industry, all states
Versus the country
-8%
cheaper to staff
What Budget Blinds's industry actually pays workers in Florida, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2025), employment-weighted across counties. This is a real cost signal independent of the FDD — a market can look demand-rich above and still carry a margin headwind here if local wages run hot for the sector.
| System | Loans in FL | Local charge-off | Units in FL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ace Hardware | 47 | 11.5% | — |
| MIGHTY DOG ROOFING | 20 | thin | — |
| SAM THE CONCRETE MAN | 12 | thin | — |
| Mr. Electric | 10 | thin | — |
| Mr. Handyman | 10 | thin | — |
| ACE HANDYMAN SERVICES | 9 | thin | 43 |
| Bumble Bee Blinds | 9 | thin | 22 |
| GLASS DOCTOR | 9 | thin | 14 |
| Closets By Design | 8 | thin | — |
| Five Star Painting | 8 | thin | — |
| Mosquito Shield | 8 | thin | — |
| Closet Factory | 7 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Budget Blinds compares to the systems a buyer in Florida would actually be choosing between. Local rates under 10 resolved loans are marked thin, not hidden.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Budget Blinds's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.