10 SBA loans have financed Merle Norman - Cosmetics Studio Agreement locations since 2009, written by 7 different lenders across 7 states. Half were approved for $69K or less, the mix is almost entirely 7(a), and 20% went to owners whose business was under two years old.
A lender that has already underwritten this brand knows the unit economics, the build-out costs, and the franchisor. That is worth more to you than a bigger bank starting from scratch.