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Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Around Town Community Magazine vs Our Town America including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.
Start-Up Costs and Fees |
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Investment | $37,600 - $54,800 | $63,300 - $86,250 |
Franchise Fee | $25,000 | $47,500 |
Royalty Fee | 5% | 5% |
Advertising Fee | - | up to 1% |
Year Founded | 1996 | 1972 |
Year Franchised | 2003 | 2004 |
Term Of Agreement | 5 years | 10 years |
Term Of Agreement | 5 years | 10 years |
Renewal Fee | - | - |
Business Experience Requirements |
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Experience | - | |
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 | - | On-The-Job Training: 40 hours Classroom Training: 40 hours Additional Training: At designated location |
Support | Meetings, Internet, Field operations/evaluations | Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Online Support Field Operations Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform |
Marketing | - | Social media Email marketing Loyalty program/app |
Operations |
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) |
Franchise can be run from home.
Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators) Number of Employees Required to Run: 1 |
Expansion Plans |
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US Expansion | Yes | Yes |
Canada Expansion | No | No |
International Expansion | No | 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.
Join Our Winning Team!
For almost a decade, Our Town America has been a growing franchise organization that is now in the top 50 list for franchisee satisfaction according to Franchise Business Review. At Our Town America, we build business relationships with the best small businesses in the country. A franchisee is a person or group of individuals that is part of the Our Town America family. Located throughout the United States, they operate as an extension of our corporate office. Their goals are parallel to ours: help new movers adjust and feel welcomed into their community, and help local businesses gain new loyal and long-term customers every month.