10. Matco Tools
Number of SBA loans : 321
Total dispersed: $28.9 million
Average loan size: $90,131
Failure rate: 36%
Tool manufacturer and distributor Matco is the riskiest investment on the top-10 "most popular" list, with more than one third of its SBA-backed loans going bad.
Matco is one of the least expensive franchises to launch, with no licensing or royalty fees. The tool company's franchisee distributors sell its tools and auto supplies out of branded mobile trucks, targeting likely buyers in their franchise territory.
Source: Loan data is from the Small Business Administration, covering loans made from October 2000 through September 2009. The failure rate represents the number of loans in liquidation or charged off, divided by the number of loans disbursed.
LAST UPDATE: Apr 26 2010 | 4:53 PM ET
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