Boulder Designs franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Boulder Designs franchise takes $147,565 – $173,130 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $139,500. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 7% on sales. To qualify, Boulder Designs asks for $40,000 in liquid cash and a $250,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Boulder Designs franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $139,500 | $139,500 | $139,500 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $147,565 | $173,130 | $147,565 to $173,130 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $147,565 | $173,130 | $147,565 to $173,130 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 7% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Not disclosed |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full Boulder Designs cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Boulder Designs's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Boulder Designs's disclosed cost sits against the Home Services category:
- Minimum startup cost of $147,565 — about 1.3× the Home Services median of $116,350.
- Initial franchise fee of $139,500 — about 2.6× the Home Services median of $54,450.
Category medians are computed from the Home Services brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Home Services franchises
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How Boulder Designs's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2017: began the window at 40 units; 113 units opened, 7 closed, ending at 125 units.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Boulder Designs or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Boulder Designs for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Boulder Designs is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Boulder Designs grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Boulder Designs can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Boulder Designs franchise
Boulder Designs is a home services franchisor with 125 units at the end of 2017 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2017, it began the window at 40 units; its filings record 113 unit openings and 7 closures, ending at 125 units.
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
Boulder Designs is unique, simple, has a low cost, and with little inventory needed. We make custom crafted boulders that create unique commercial signage that are environmentally friendly and can turn any business into a potential landmark. Our boulders are also desired often by local zoning regulations, where other signage is not allowed. Besides custom commercial signage, we can make residential landscape rocks, memorials, monuments, mailboxes, fire pits, fence & entrance pillars and much...
Boulder Designs franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Boulder Designs franchise cost?
- $147,565 – $173,130 all-in to open, per Boulder Designs's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Boulder Designs units are there?
- 125 units at the end of 2017 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Boulder Designs's units held up?
- 96.2% of units at risk between 2015 and 2017 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).
- Is Boulder Designs SBA-eligible?
- Boulder Designs is flagged SBA-eligible in our dataset (as of 2026-05). Confirm current status on the SBA Franchise Directory before relying on it for financing.