Signs First
The total investment to open a Signs First franchise ranges from $26,700 to $192,500.
What is the Signs First franchise?
Signs First makes custom signs for businesses. The estimated total initial investment to open ranges from $26,700 to $192,500.
Signs First is headquartered in Jackson, MS.
Loan Activity Score
36/100
SBA Default Rate
10.0%
Active Lenders
9
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, Signs First has 10 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 9 lenders made 10 loans to franchisees of Signs First. PeerSense calculates Signs First's score as 36 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity.
10 locations
$26,700 to $192,500
10
10 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
FairDistinct lenders in public SBA records for Signs First
10
Total SBA loans
$106K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for Signs First
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Growing (10 to 24 loans)
Are lenders increasingly or decreasingly funding this brand? Growing trends score highest.
Blended default rate (recent + all time) compared to NAICS sector peers.
Quality lenders actively backing this brand, with penalty for lender pullback.
FDD availability, Item 19 disclosure, and overall data completeness.
Geographic spread of SBA funded locations across states.
SBA Lending Performance
SBA Default Rate
10.0%
vs 9.9% peer avg
SBA Loans
10
Total Volume
$1.1M
Active Lenders
9
States
5
vs. SBA Sector Average
SBA loan default rate vs. all franchises in the same NAICS sector, not limited to direct competitors
Key Highlights
Franchise Financing Resources
Data Insights
Key performance metrics for Signs First based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
10.0%
0.1% above peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
10 loans
Across 9 lenders
Lender Diversity
9 lenders
Avg 1.1 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Mid range investment
$26,700 to $192,500 total
Signs First: Deep SBA Data
Brand specific metrics derived directly from SBA 7(a) approval records: peak lending year, leading state, average loan size, and lender concentration. PeerSense computes these per brand so capital advisors and prospective franchisees can benchmark this opportunity against the rest of the franchise universe.
Peak SBA Year
1997
2 approvals. The best year on record for Signs First.
Top SBA State
Mississippi
4 SBA financed Signs First locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$106K
Median $48K. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own Signs First unit.
Lender Concentration
40%
Concentrated
Share of Signs First approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
Signs First's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 1997 (2 approvals). Operator density is highest in Mississippi with 4 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $106K, with the median at $48K. Lender mix is concentrated: the top three SBA lenders account for 40% of approvals. Credit decisions concentrate with a small group of incumbents.
Payment Estimator
Estimated Monthly Payment
$276
Principal & Interest only
Indicative only, as of October 1, 2026. Not a quote, commitment or offer of credit. Final pricing, leverage and terms are determined by the lender at underwriting, after full transaction materials are reviewed. PeerSense sources the file. The lender sets pricing. What these terms mean.
Locations
Signs First, unit breakdown
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Reviewed by Edward L. Freeman, Founder and Managing Director, PeerSense
- PeerSense is a capital advisory firm that places commercial financing with direct capital sources; the capital source sets final terms.
- Edward L. Freeman founded PeerSense in January 2020.
- He is a Registered Franchise Consultant with Business Alliance, Inc., a credential issued in March 2022, and worked as a franchise consultant there from March 2022 to May 2023.
- His recorded experience includes a $22 million SBA construction loan, with about $16 million funded on the deal.
- In the 12 months through September 30, 2026, PeerSense tracked 912 publicly announced financings with a disclosed size of $361.32 billion. PeerSense Capital Data Report · Methodology page
Last reviewed LinkedIn profileAbout Edward Freeman