Made in the Shade is the right fit for the entrepreneur who wants a relationship-driven, consultative business with strong gross margins, no royalty burden, and a customer base that will refer and return over decades of homeownership.
It is a category I return to regularly because the economics are genuinely compelling: home-based model, no storefront, high average ticket, and a customer base that makes this kind of purchase repeatedly over a lifetime of homeownership. It is also a category where the details of the specific brand's financial model matter enormously.
The brand I am introducing today is Made in the Shade Blinds and More. And it has one detail that makes it stand apart from almost every other window treatment franchise I have reviewed. It charges zero royalties.
Let me explain why that is a bigger deal than it might sound.
In most franchise systems, royalties represent the ongoing cost of the brand relationship. Typically calculated as a percentage of gross sales, royalties run 5% to 7% in most service franchise categories. On $500,000 in annual revenue, that is $25,000 to $35,000 per year leaving your business and going to the franchisor, every year, regardless of your profitability. Most franchisees accept this as the standard cost of the model.
Made in the Shade does not charge a royalty. Instead, franchisees pay a modest monthly fee for ongoing support and system access, and that is it. Every dollar of gross margin you generate stays in your business rather than being partially redirected to a franchisor's royalty stream.
For a window treatment franchise averaging the revenue numbers this system reports, the practical impact of that difference is significant. Over five years of operation at the system median, a franchisee retains tens of thousands of dollars that would have flowed to a royalty in a conventional franchise structure.
The 2026 FDD surveyed 69 of 106 eligible U.S. franchisees, representing a 65% voluntary participation rate. That is among the highest response rates I have seen in any franchise survey, which itself tells you something about how franchisees feel about the brand they joined. Owners who are unhappy with their investment tend not to fill out surveys.
Here is what those 69 respondents reported for calendar year 2025:
Average annual revenue was $730,016. The median was $496,655. The highest-performing location in the system generated $3,074,186. The average close rate across the system was 64%, meaning nearly two out of every three client consultations resulted in a confirmed sale. The average sale price per project was $4,201. And the average gross product margin across reporting franchisees was 45%.
Take the median revenue of $496,655, apply a 45% gross product margin, and you arrive at approximately $223,000 in gross product profit before operating expenses. In a home-based business with no commercial lease, no inventory carrying costs, and no storefront overhead, the operating expense structure is lean in a way that retail and restaurant franchises simply cannot replicate.
Download the free Quantum Franchise Group publication, Why the Franchise Model is Exploding in the United States.
Made in the Shade is a mobile, consultative, home-based window treatment franchise. Franchisees meet with residential and commercial clients in their homes and offices, bring samples from a curated product catalog, design custom solutions across blinds, shades, shutters, draperies, and motorized window systems, and manage the measurement and installation process through a certified installer network.
There is no storefront requirement and no inventory to purchase speculatively. Franchisees do have a required annual product purchase minimum of $75,000 to maintain their relationship with the franchisor's supplier network. That is worth understanding clearly before signing. For any operator generating meaningful revenue it is easily met, but it is an obligation that belongs in your financial model during the evaluation process.
The total investment to open runs from $78,000 to $107,000, making Made in the Shade one of the most accessible home-based franchise entry points in the premium home services category. A veteran discount of $5,000 is available, and the brand confirms financing options are available for qualified candidates.
Made in the Shade grew from 101 franchised locations at the start of 2023 to 131 at the end of 2025, adding net new franchised outlets each year with minimal closures across a 155-plus location system operating throughout the United States and Canada. There are no company-owned locations, which means every resource the franchisor deploys goes toward supporting franchise owners rather than competing with them.
That trajectory is the kind of system-level confirmation I look for. A brand that is growing steadily, retaining its operators, and generating strong voluntary survey participation from franchisees who report strong gross margins is a brand where the model is working.
Made in the Shade is the right fit for the entrepreneur who wants a relationship-driven, consultative business with strong gross margins, no royalty burden, and a customer base that will refer and return over decades of homeownership. You do not need a background in window treatments or interior design. You need to be comfortable with in-home consultations, organized in managing project timelines, and motivated to build genuine relationships in your local market.
The combination of zero royalties, a proven and growing system, and financial performance data reported by owners who overwhelmingly volunteered their numbers makes this one of the cleaner and more compelling opportunities we've written about at Business Builder Magazine.
Schedule a 20-minute Zoom meeting to learn more about territory availability in your city, the business model, economics, and funding options.
