Balloon Cafe vs Party America Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees
	Balloon Cafe Franchise	Party America Franchise
Investment	$8,000 - $30,100	$250,800 - $491,500
Franchise Fee	$6,000 - $20,000	$25,000
Royalty Fee	$60-200/mo.	4%
Advertising Fee	-	-
Year Founded	1999	1980
Year Franchised	2002	1987
Term Of Agreement	5 years	10 years
Term Of Agreement	5 years	10 years
Renewal Fee	$1K	10% of current franchise fee
Business Experience Requirements
	Balloon Cafe Franchise	Party America Franchise
Experience	General business experience Marketing skills	Industry experience General business experience Marketing skills Customer service skills
Financing Options
	Balloon Cafe Franchise	Party America Franchise
	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
	Balloon Cafe Franchise	Party America Franchise
Training	-	-
Support	Newsletter, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures	Meetings, Grand opening, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives
Marketing	Ad slicks	Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, Regional advertising
Operations	Franchise can be run from home. 0% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 1 - 2 Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed.	20% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 9 - 12 Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (90% of current franchisees are owner/operators)
Expansion Plans
	Balloon Cafe Franchise	Party America Franchise
US Expansion	Yes	-
Canada Expansion	No	No
International Expansion	No	Yes

Company Overviews

About Balloon Cafe

While many people dream of owning a store, the Balloon Cafe home-based franchise is for those who want to be part of a proven business system while enjoying a more flexible lifestyle.

Some of the distinct benefits include:

• Ability to professionally serve customers without a retail location
  
•  Communicate with customers by telephone no matter where you are
  
• Flexibility to come and go from the operation as needed
  
• Zero retail store rent/lease payments
  
• Limited point-of-sale expenses such as cash registers
  
• Zero merchandising expenses such as signage, price tags, etc.
  
• Reduced, or in many cases, zero payroll expenses
  
• Significantly lower inventory requirements
  
• Home-based business tax advantages
  

Today Balloon Cafe is growing to deliver gourmet balloons worldwide through a vast franchise network, providing customers with the same superior-quality products and services everywhere!

About Party America

In 2003, Party America acquired the bankrupt Paper Warehouse, a party supply and paper products franchise chain. This brought Party America into the franchise business, as the company coverted Paper Warehouse stores to the Party America name and began offering the Party America franchise opportunity.

Party America stores provide party products for everyday, seasonal and celebratory occasions.