This is an independent estimate of manager-run, pre-tax owner earnings for one established U.S. Radiant Waxing salon, with a base scenario of about $41,000. An active owner who replaces a paid Designated Manager may receive an estimated owner-operator benefit of about $65,000–$142,000, including the value of the owner's full-time labor rather than passive business profit alone.
Independent-estimate disclosure. These earnings figures are analytical scenarios, not an Item 19 financial performance representation by Radiant Waxing Franchise, LLC. The model combines identified facts from the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document with a broad Internal Revenue Service industry margin, a Bureau of Labor Statistics wage proxy, and clearly labeled sensitivity assumptions. Actual results can differ materially because of location, sales, waxologist labor, occupancy, required marketing, financing, owner involvement, and execution.
Data basis. Legal franchisor: Radiant Waxing Franchise, LLC. FDD issuance date: April 1, 2026. Item 19 reports 2025 Gross Revenue, salon visits, and membership measures for franchised U.S. Salons, but it does not disclose Operating Profit, EBITDA, Net Income, owner compensation, or cash flow. The applicable central population is 56 franchised Salons open throughout 2025; 45 had been open at least three years. The estimate uses the 2022 IRS “Personal and laundry services” corporation data as a broad margin proxy and May 2025 BLS compensation for First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers as a manager-labor proxy. Evidence checked July 18, 2026.
FDD references: 2026 Radiant Waxing FDD, Item 1, pp. 1–4; Item 6, pp. 8–16; Item 15, pp. 48–49; Item 19, pp. 56–58; Item 20, pp. 59–63.
Median 2025 Gross Revenue multiplied by the 7.6% benchmark margin.
2025 median for the 56 franchised Salons operating throughout the year.
The cohort excluded two 2025 openings and three Salons that closed during 2025.
IRS total receipts less total deductions divided by total receipts for a broad industry group.
Royalty, Brand Marketing Fund, Local Spend Amount, Local Advertising Fee, and Technology Fee.
May 2025 BLS mean annual wage; payroll taxes and benefits are not added.
What does the 2026 FDD actually say about Radiant Waxing earnings?
Officially, Item 19 says how much Gross Revenue selected franchised Salons generated in 2025; it does not say how much their owners earned. For all 56 franchised Salons open throughout 2025, average Gross Revenue was $554,671 and median Gross Revenue was $537,633. Twenty-seven Salons, or 48.2%, met or exceeded the average.
The FDD defines Gross Revenue using the Franchise Agreement's Gross Receipts definition. It includes revenue from services, memberships, merchandise, gift cards, and certain insurance proceeds, while excluding specified taxes, client refunds, and tips paid to employees. That is a revenue measure before waxologist wages, rent, supplies, royalties, advertising, technology, manager compensation, debt, and other expenses.
| Item 19 cohort | Statistic | 2025 Gross Revenue | Population context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom third | Average | $278,029 | 19 franchised Salons |
| All included Salons | Median | $537,633 | 56 franchised Salons open throughout 2025 |
| Salons open at least three years | Average | $622,708 | 45 franchised Salons |
| Top third | Average | $842,669 | 19 franchised Salons |
The Federal Trade Commission's franchise buyer guidance specifically warns that gross sales do not reveal actual costs or profits. The FDD's $537,633 median therefore cannot be presented as owner income, salary, or take-home pay.
Item 19 also reports a wide range: the highest included Salon generated $994,191 and the lowest generated $127,205. Those endpoints show dispersion, but they do not disclose the expenses or owner roles behind either result. The franchisor says the submitted data were not audited or independently verified and that actual results may differ. Prospective buyers may request written substantiation.
How was the annual owner-earnings range estimated?
The estimate applies transparent margin assumptions to three Item 19 revenue anchors. Conservative revenue uses the bottom-third average, Base revenue uses the all-Salon median, and Upside revenue uses the top-third average. These are analytical scenarios, not probabilities and not franchisor forecasts.
- Revenue anchors: $278,029, $537,633, and $842,669 from the 2026 FDD's 2025 franchised-Salon cohorts.
- Base margin: 7.6%, calculated from 2022 IRS Table 5.1 as total receipts less total deductions divided by total receipts for “Personal and laundry services.”
- Margin sensitivity: 4.6%, 7.6%, and 10.6%, using the permitted analytical spread of three percentage points below and above the single benchmark margin.
- Owner-operator labor value: $52,360, the May 2025 national mean annual wage for First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers.
- Treatment of financing and taxes: the IRS proxy includes industry interest, depreciation, officer compensation, and wage deductions; financing principal, personal income taxes, and future capital expenditures are not calculated.
Measure definition: “manager-run earnings” in this article means revenue multiplied by the all-in IRS earnings margin after the benchmark population's reported deductions. It is not EBITDA or pure cash flow. Normal labor and manager compensation are assumed to be embedded in the proxy but cannot be isolated; interest and depreciation are included, financing principal and personal income taxes are excluded, and maintenance capital expenditures are not separately estimated.
| Scenario | Revenue and margin basis | Manager-run earnings | Owner-operator benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | $278,029 × 4.6% | $13,000 | $65,000 |
| Base | $537,633 × 7.6% | $41,000 | $93,000 |
| Upside | $842,669 × 10.6% | $89,000 | $142,000 |
Estimated manager-run owner earnings by scenario
Annual pre-tax business earnings before financing principal and personal income taxes.
Interpretation: revenue and margin move together in this sensitivity model, so the range is intentionally broad. The Base scenario is a reference case, not a prediction of the most likely result.
Sources: 2026 Radiant Waxing FDD, Item 19, pp. 56–58; IRS Corporation Income Tax Returns, Table 5.1. Calculations use full-precision inputs and are rounded to the nearest $1,000 for publication.
The U.S. Census Bureau classifies depilatory and hair-removal salons under NAICS 812199, Other Personal Care Services. The usable IRS table is broader—“Personal and laundry services”—and covers many businesses besides waxing salons. It also reflects 2022 tax-return accounting, including interest, depreciation, officer compensation, and mixed ownership structures. That mismatch is the main reason confidence is LIMITED.
How does active owner involvement change the result?
The 2026 FDD allows two operating structures: full-time supervision by the owner or Operating Partner, or full-time day-to-day management by an approved Designated Manager. Replacing a paid manager can increase the economic benefit received by an active owner, but the added amount compensates the owner for work performed and is not passive profit.
The owner-operator sensitivity adds the BLS mean annual wage of $52,360 for First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers to the manager-run residual. The occupation is a practical labor proxy, not a Radiant Waxing wage disclosure. Local manager wages, bonuses, payroll taxes, benefits, and recruiting costs can materially change the substitution value.
Manager-run earnings versus owner-operator benefit
The distance between markers is the $52,360 manager labor-value assumption in each scenario.
Interpretation: the active-owner figures combine residual business earnings with the market value of full-time supervisory work. They should not be compared with passive investment income or an after-tax salary.
Sources: 2026 Radiant Waxing FDD, Item 15, pp. 48–49; BLS May 2025 national employment and wage data. Wage-only labor value excludes payroll taxes and benefits.
An owner working full time may improve the cash retained by avoiding a manager wage, but may also have less capacity for another job or portfolio oversight. The FDD requires immediate owner or Operating Partner supervision if no approved Designated Manager is in place, so “manager-run” does not mean unmonitored or passive.
How much do disclosed franchise fees affect salon economics?
The core disclosed recurring burden is 10% of Gross Receipts plus $32,628 a year in current fixed advertising and technology fees. At the three revenue anchors, that equals approximately $60,431, $86,391, and $116,895 before annual conference costs and any fee increases.
| Recurring obligation | FDD amount | Annual amount at Base revenue | Model treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty | 6% of Gross Receipts | $32,257.98 | Shown as part of the disclosed fee load |
| Brand Marketing Fund | 2% of Gross Receipts | $10,752.66 | Current rate; FDD permits an increase |
| Local Spend Amount | 2% of Gross Receipts | $10,752.66 | Separate from the Brand Marketing Fund |
| Local Advertising Fee | $2,000 per month | $24,000 | Current fixed annualized amount |
| Technology Fee | $719 per month | $8,628 | Current fixed annualized amount |
| Core total | 10% + $32,628 | $86,391.30 | Excludes conference travel, conditional fees, and increases |
The scenario model uses an all-in IRS margin and therefore does not subtract these fees a second time. The fee table is a comparability check: a broad industry margin may not reflect the same royalty, marketing, technology, supplier, or membership obligations that apply to Radiant Waxing. A buyer should obtain actual unit profit-and-loss statements to determine whether the benchmark margin remains plausible after the brand's specific cost structure.
How much confidence should a buyer place in this range?
Confidence is LIMITED. The revenue inputs are current, same-brand, and directly disclosed, but the profit margin is an external industry proxy rather than a Radiant Waxing expense statement. The estimate is useful for screening and sensitivity analysis, not for underwriting a specific site.
- Strong evidence
- 2025 Gross Revenue distribution, sample size, cohort definitions, recurring franchise fees, and owner-supervision requirements from the 2026 FDD.
- Moderate evidence
- Current national wage data for a closely related personal-service supervisory occupation.
- Weakest link
- The 2022 IRS margin covers a broad “Personal and laundry services” population and does not isolate franchised waxing salons.
- Unmodeled variables
- Waxologist productivity and commission structure, payroll burden, rent by market, supplies, discounts, membership liabilities, maintenance capital expenditures, local taxes, and the buyer's financing principal.
Item 19 excluded two Salons that opened in 2025 and three Salons that closed in 2025. Item 20 shows 58 franchised Salons at year-end 2025, down from 59 at year-end 2024 and 65 at year-end 2023. Excluding partial-year openings is normal for annual revenue analysis, but excluding closed units means the revenue table does not show a complete investor-outcome distribution.
The strongest observable operating driver is sales volume, supported by salon visits and recurring memberships. Item 19 reports average 2025 salon visits of 8,912 and average ending memberships of 146 for the 56-Salon cohort. However, the FDD does not connect those operating measures to labor hours, service mix, contribution margin, or owner distributions, so they cannot be converted directly into earnings.
What should a prospective owner verify before relying on the estimate?
A buyer should replace broad assumptions with actual Radiant Waxing unit economics. The FDD permits prospective franchisees to request written substantiation for Item 19, and the FTC recommends speaking with current and former franchisees about costs, break-even experience, and profitability.
- Request the Item 19 written substantiation and confirm how every Salon was assigned to the top-third, bottom-third, and mature cohorts.
- Ask manager-run franchisees for a normalized 12-month profit-and-loss statement showing waxologist labor, manager compensation, payroll taxes, occupancy, supplies, required advertising, technology, and repairs.
- Ask active owner-operators how many weekly hours they work and whether owner compensation appears in payroll, distributions, or both.
- Compare the proposed site's rent and labor rates with the FDD's assumptions and with local market quotes; do not use the system median as a site forecast.
- Separate interest, financing principal, depreciation, recurring maintenance capital expenditures, and personal income taxes when building a lender-ready cash-flow model.
- Contact former franchisees and owners of closed Salons listed through Item 20 to understand causes of closure, transfer economics, and any confidentiality constraints.
What is the practical Radiant Waxing owner-earnings takeaway?
The strongest defensible planning range is approximately $13,000–$89,000 in annual manager-run, pre-tax owner earnings per established Salon, with a $41,000 Base scenario. For an owner who personally performs the full-time supervisory role, the corresponding estimated owner-operator benefit is approximately $65,000–$142,000, including $52,360 of modeled labor value.
The figures are scenario-based, not official owner-income disclosures. Sales volume and labor productivity are likely to move the result most; the largest unresolved uncertainty is the absence of same-brand unit-level expense and owner-compensation data. Before making a decision, verify the Item 19 substantiation, obtain manager-run and owner-operated profit-and-loss statements from franchisees, and test the proposed site's labor, occupancy, recurring fees, financing, and capital-expenditure requirements separately.