The Waiting Game franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening The Waiting Game franchise takes $9,200 – $11,050 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $7,500. To qualify, The Waiting Game asks for $6,000 in liquid cash and a $6,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
The Waiting Game franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $7,500 | $7,500 | $7,500 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $9,200 | $11,050 | $9,200 to $11,050 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $6,000 | $6,000 | $6,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $6,000 | $6,000 | $6,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $9,200 | $11,050 | $9,200 to $11,050 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | Not disclosed |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Not disclosed |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 5 years |
See the full The Waiting Game cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How The Waiting Game's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where The Waiting Game's disclosed cost sits against the Professional Services category:
- Minimum startup cost of $9,200 — about 89% below the Professional Services median of $84,700.
- Initial franchise fee of $7,500 — about 81% below the Professional Services median of $39,700.
Category medians are computed from the Professional Services brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Professional Services franchises
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How The Waiting Game's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2014: began the window at 11 units; 10 units opened, 9 closed, ending at 12 units.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for The Waiting Game 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 The Waiting Game 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 The Waiting Game 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 The Waiting Game 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 The Waiting Game 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 Waiting Game franchise
The Waiting Game is a professional services franchisor with 12 units at the end of 2014 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2014, it began the window at 11 units; its filings record 10 unit openings and 9 closures, ending at 12 units. Its parent company is Waiting Game Publications, LLC.
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.
The Waiting Game franchise: quick answers
- How much does The Waiting Game franchise cost?
- $9,200 – $11,050 all-in to open, per The Waiting Game's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many The Waiting Game units are there?
- 12 units at the end of 2014 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have The Waiting Game's units held up?
- 57.1% of units at risk between 2012 and 2014 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).