Minuteman Press franchise is one of those companies that follow the regular system and business structure of inviting people to join them.
If you are not familiar with franchising, let’s keep it simple for now.
You get the chance to start a business and be an independent business owner without dealing with the expenses and asking on your own.
It isn’t a secret that starting a business is tough. You need to find financing, handle logistics, and work on the details on your own. In the end, you don’t even know if the effort will be worth it.
Franchising helps you avoid all the hassle of not being able to build reputation, have a service or product required by the public, and the usual difficulties.
It doesn’t mean it is foolproof, but it is a great alternative. The question is, is Minuteman Press the franchise you need?
You need to align your needs and goals with the franchise you plan to acquire, and for it, going over the company you’re considering is crucial.
Thus, we will be reviewing this Minuteman Press franchise and conclude whether it is your next way to make money or just a prank call to success.
History & Success: When the Company Started
To take it slow and know as many details as possible, let’s go over some history.
Minuteman Press has very humble beginnings and can be considered more modest than most regular franchises in the USA.
Everything started when Roy Titus, the founder of Minuteman Press, had previously managed a large operation at Parents Magazine.
During his job, Roy had to deal with printers daily and was plagued by missed deadlines, poor quality, and poor service. The low-quality service was quite impressive (which isn’t secret for most of us).
This was when he realized that he could fulfill a unique role in the printing industry by providing exceptional customer service, fast turnaround, and high-quality prints.
He found a problem and simply decided to provide a solution that could benefit others the most.
Thus, Roy and his son Bob opened the first Minuteman Press office in Plainview, N.Y. It was a quick-copy center.
Although the beginnings were quite out of nowhere, the business grew rapidly, but Roy was concerned about the limitations of other quick printers.
The business only worked part-time or covered specific hours during the day to help people and for Roy to have enough time for his other job.
However, with the fast growth, Roy opened a Minuteman Press Center that would serve all of the printing needs of businesses. For it, he improved the systems and machines used. Those were based on the 3M system at the time.
The Minuteman Press Center was officially opened in 1974. The business grew faster than expected by expanding into quality printing and establishing a unique position within the printing industry.
Roy opened several additional locations, which grew equally quickly.
Franchising the Big Success: First Offices
After the company’s success was amassing, he decided to start franchising it as people asked about being part of the printing business.
Although Roy was initially cautious about franchising, he realized that it would be a great way to grow the Minuteman Press brand and reach other places in the country.
Minuteman Press opened its first franchise in 1975, and other franchises quickly expanded to the Long Island region.
Many of the original Minuteman Press locations are still located in the same places they were when they opened. Several of the centers are still operative as well and owned by the same families.
The first success for the new franchise came in Long Island.
As a result, the company became Minuteman Press International (not officially) since it expanded quickly and first into the United States, then to other countries.
Roy and his son Bob established regional offices to ensure that every Minuteman Press franchisee received their required support.
They continue to help franchisees thrive and grow to this day. Minuteman Press boasts nearly 1,000 franchises worldwide, supported by support teams in five countries, including the United States, Canada, South Africa, and Australia.
Investing in Minuteman Press: How Much Does It Cost?
With all the details you need to know about its history, you can determine three things:
- The franchise is legal.
- It has been in business for over four decades and with a great reputation.
- You can join if you are from the USA or other countries it supports like the ones mentioned above.
Now, what remains to know is whether it is something you can afford.
Although becoming a franchisee is a good option to save money, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with a great investment.
In the case of the Minuteman Press franchise, you need to access real estate, machines, equipment, training, and more elements to become part of the company.
This means it does involve quite many expenses that are covered once you pay your franchise fee and initial franchise investment.
In the case of the joining fee, Minuteman Press includes several elements besides the ones above. But before jumping into them, these are the costs you must consider when wanting to become a franchisee:
- Cash Required: $50,000.
- Initial investment $75,500 – $182,917.
- Initial franchise fee: $32,500 – $47,500.
For veterans, the company has set discounts and incentives. You can get $10,000 off the franchise fee for a new location; $5,000 for an existing location.
Meanwhile, the term of the agreement is set for 35 years, and although there is a renewal need, it isn’t expensive.
But with this in mind, what does the agreement include?
- Eighty-eight hours of on-the-job training.
- Sixty-five hours of classroom training.
- Ongoing support that includes newsletter, marketing, lease negotiation, field operations, proprietary software, franchisee intranet platform, site selection, and anything related to the franchisees’ needs.
- The marketing support includes national media, Ad templates, website development, loyalty program, email marketing, SEO, social media, and any regional and local lead generation assistance.
Just keep in mind that you need to remember some factors of how you can work with the company:
- Absentee ownership is allowed.
- You cannot work with franchise opportunities (at least, this one) from home or mobile units.
It is a full-time opportunity. - You required two more employees.
- Exclusive territories are not available.
Overall, you should be able to get every assistance needed and the details to keep your business on board.
Pros & Cons: Can You Really Print Money with It?
Overall, franchises come with benefits that focus on the type of business structure they use.
However, having a reliable company as your background and support and being able to work with it isn’t everything.
Most of the time, franchisees can have a hard time trying to keep up with the reputation and standards of the company, along with the fees and percentages they need to pay.
This is why it is crucial to analyze the pros and cons of the company but also the business structure. Thus, you can have a look at those below:
Pros:
- Minuteman Press franchise has a great reputation in the market.
- The services and products are top-notch, and you will be providing the same after training (digital print, just print, design services, and many other promotional products/services).
- The initial investment covers real estate and all expenses.
- Veteran’s discounts are a plus compared to other franchises.
- The full-time opportunity allows you to quit your job.
- You can get started in about four months (much faster than regular franchises).
- You can start with very few employees.
- Financing options are available.
- The business is available in the USA and over four other countries.
Cons:
- It is quite expensive.
- You can’t work part-time nor from home or other places.
- You have to deal with royalty fees set at 6%.
- It is renewable.
- You have to dedicate yourself to the business niche.
- Franchising is a good business model, but you need to handle conditions, terms and work under the franchisor’s rules.
- You must pay a fee in case you decide to leave the franchise before the agreement concludes.
Most of the cons of the business are mostly focused on the franchising option.
Overall, Minuteman Press is a reliable company that offers great benefits and has been around for a very long time. Thanks to this, it cares about franchisees and has shown it with the discounts and lower fees offered.
However, take the time to come up with more details about the franchisor. Determine whether this is a business and niche you want to dedicate your time to as well.
We do recommend Minuteman Press in specific, but the franchising option can be overwhelming despite how much time you can save in the process compared to being an independent print shop owner, in this case.
Why We Don’t Consider Franchising
Don’t get us wrong, franchising is great. But it isn’t for everyone.
The fact that we have to continuously pay fees and royalties based on the services and reputation we are working with can be quite exhausting.
In the beginning, it may not seem like you will give a lot of money away. However, when you truly start earning over $5,000, you notice the big difference in profits you could have.
Of course, everything is in exchange for the benefit of being able to make that profit due to the franchisor’s training and assistance. But it is quite the royalty in the long term.
Instead, we prefer options that offer more freedom and opportunities for us to make a net profit. Also, working from home wouldn’t be bad.
After all, running a traditional business requires that you leave your home and do a lot of physical labor.
We know that franchisees are a popular choice because they fulfill most people’s business goals. However, it is only for those seeking a traditional method.
We prefer alternatives that involve working either part-time or full time, from home or any other place, and we don’t have to rely on employees.
Lead generation is our favorite option that fits the description above.
It can be used as your primary source of income, or you can include it in your franchising journey in order to gain clients.
Lead generation allows you to open your own business anywhere and work remotely. You can also earn passive income by growing it despite the hard work it takes in the beginning.
You have two choices:
- Focus on the franchise operations, boost it with lead generation, and invest in it.
- Or you can choose to invest in lead gen only and even make more money with less effort in the long run.
It is much easier to understand the business opportunity we are offering than you might think. This involves finding niches, creating websites, ranking them on Google, and then generating leads.
Every lead generated per client or website is paid. This is why passive income can be achieved long-term.
However, training is required.
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