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Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Coffee News vs Around Town Community Magazine including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.
Start-Up Costs and Fees |
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Investment | $9,250 - $10,250 | $37,600 - $54,800 |
Franchise Fee | $6,000 | $25,000 |
Royalty Fee | $25-80/wk. | 5% |
Advertising Fee | - | - |
Year Founded | 1988 | 1996 |
Year Franchised | 1994 | 2003 |
Term Of Agreement | 4 years | 5 years |
Term Of Agreement | 4 years | 5 years |
Renewal Fee | - | - |
Business Experience Requirements |
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Experience | Previous sales experience preferred. | - |
Financing Options |
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In-House/3rd Party | In-House/3rd Party | |
Franchise Fees | No/No | No/No |
Start-up Costs | No/No | No/No |
Equipment | No/No | No/No |
Inventory | No/No | No/No |
Receivables | No/No | No/No |
Payroll | No/No | No/No |
Training & Support |
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Training | 3 day training program at Head Office, called Coffee News College. Mentor program, Annual Regional Roundtables, Biennial International Conferences, ongoing support via internet. | - |
Support | Newsletter, Meetings, Internet, Purchasing cooperatives | Meetings, Internet, Field operations/evaluations |
Marketing | Ad slicks | - |
Operations | Can be run from home office, can be owner-operated and absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. Agreements are in 4 year terms. |
Franchise can be run from home. 100% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 2 Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators) |
Expansion Plans |
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US Expansion | Yes | Yes |
Canada Expansion | Yes | No |
International Expansion | Yes | No |
Around Town Community Magazine, Inc. ("Around Town") began franchise operations in September 2002 in Woodstock, Georgia. Around Town franchises niche community magazines, each has a goal of "strengthening communities."Around Town was founded by Gina Carr and Don Kyle. Gina has a BA from Georgia Tech in Industrial Engineering and an MBA from Harvard. Don has a BS in Accounting from Florida State University and also is a CPA. Together they started The TowneLaker magazine in June 1996 and Sixes Living magazine in June 2000. After many years of practice, they decided to franchise the niche community magazine concept through Around Town Community Magazine, Inc.