The Yellow Balloon vs Great Clips Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of The Yellow Balloon vs Great Clips including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
	The Yellow Balloon Franchise	Great Clips Franchise
Investment	$55,000 - $103,500	$146,900 - $282,400
Franchise Fee	$25,000	$20,000
Royalty Fee	4%	6%
Advertising Fee	-	5%
Year Founded	1983	1982
Year Franchised	2000	1983
Term Of Agreement	5 years	10 years
Term Of Agreement	5 years	10 years
Renewal Fee	$2.5K	$1.75K
Business Experience Requirements
	The Yellow Balloon Franchise	Great Clips Franchise
Experience	General business experience Marketing skills	Marketing skills Strong management & leadership skills
Financing Options
	The Yellow Balloon Franchise	Great Clips Franchise
	In-House/3rd Party	In-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees	Yes/No	No/Yes
Start-up Costs	No/No	No/Yes
Equipment	No/No	No/Yes
Inventory	No/No	No/Yes
Receivables	No/No	No/Yes
Payroll	No/No	No/Yes
Training & Support
	The Yellow Balloon Franchise	Great Clips Franchise
Training	-	-
Support	Newsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives	Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives
Marketing	Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, National media, Regional advertising	Co-op advertising
Operations	Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 6 Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed.	Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 8 - 10 Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (95% of current franchisees are owner/operators)
Expansion Plans
	The Yellow Balloon Franchise	Great Clips Franchise
US Expansion	-	Yes
Canada Expansion	No	No
International Expansion	No	Yes

Company Overviews

About The Yellow Balloon

Nadia Pidgeon opened her first The Yellow Balloon children's hair salon in 1976 near UCLA and a second location five years later near Universal Studios, serving the children of celebrities, like Warren Beatty, and child stars, like the Olsen Twins. The company began franchising in 2000.
Each The Yellow Balloon salon caters to kids, featuring mini-arcades and toy boxes, and offering young customers balloons, cookies and popcorn. To commemorate a baby's first haircut, parents are given a framed photo, certificate and lock of hair. Adults can also have their hair cut at The Yellow Balloon.

About Great Clips

Established in 1982, Great Clips started franchising in 1983 and now has locations throughout the United States and Canada. Usually located in strip malls,

Great Clips hair salons are open evenings and weekends and do not require appointments. On average, franchisees operate three units. Great Clips sponsors NASCAR Busch Series driver Kasey Kahne. The company has also partnered with General Mills, Sprint, Best Buy, Blockbuster, Coca-Cola, Hasbro and DreamWorks.

The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Great Clips franchise is from $146,900 to $282,400. This includes $25,250 to $30,000 that must be paid to Great Clips or an affiliate for a single franchise agreement, and $40,250 to $45,000 that must be paid to Great Clips or an affiliate for the first salon you develop under a Three Star Program Agreement.

If you sign a Master Development Agreement, you also must pay to Great Clips or an affiliate a Development Fee of $4,000 for each salon you agree to develop, which would amount to $8,000 to $40,000 if you were granted the right to develop between two and 10 salons.