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Do you want to work at home? We can help you to start your own publishing business. Our package is great value, family friendly and less restrictive than most franchises.
Why would I want to join the group?
You benefit from belonging to a group with over 11 years of experience, a well proven management system, superb facilities to support new editors, a cooperative, non-competitive ethos and lots of freedom to develop your business. You can enjoy all the advantages of self employment, together with all the advantages of belonging to a well respected, established group. That's a combination which is hard to beat!
What does it cost to join the group?
There are no commissions or royalties relating to your income. Your licence purchase fee relates directly to the number of publications we have in print at the time you join us, so it reflects the strength and experience of our group. Fees are as follows:
0 to 19 publications £3,000.
20 to 29 publications £3,500.
30 to 39 publications £4,000.
40 to 49 publications £4,500.
50 or more publications £5,000.
You also pay a modest monthly fee of just �50 a month to belong to the group and use all our members' facilities. Of course, you may also need to invest in computer hardware and software. There is a full list of requirements in the prospectus.
That's it. We will never ask for any other money.
What do I get for my money?
Your licence gives you exclusive rights to operate within your territory and use one of our brands. You will be independent and self employed but you will not be on your own. You will get access to our fantastic Knowledgebase, an online guide which is packed full of useful advice, as well as access to our private editors' forum, a huge range of templates and reference documents and Grapeworks, our amazing software which runs every aspect of your business. You won't need any other accounting or contact management packages. From mid 2007 Grapeworks will be replaced by a fully fledged management application with even more facilities (but you won't have to use it unless you want to). We are also trialling a new web advertising facility and in mid 2007 which will be integrated with the management application.
What is it like being an editor?
Running your own publication can be a part time job or a full time job. It just depends on you and how much work you want to put in. The work is hardest at the beginning when there is lots of research to do and lots of cold calls to make. You will need to be self-disciplined, well organised and determined. Here you can read what editors say about belonging to one of our groups.
What skills do I need?
You will be responsible for every aspect of your local phone book including research, assessing the competition, building up leads and contacts, selling and designing adverts, preparing each edition for press, administration, accounts and distributing copies. You will need plenty of common sense and you may need to learn new skills. The most challenging areas are usually selling (you have to be pretty hard nosed to cope with rejection!) and desk top publishing.
How do I make money?
You make money by selling advertising. Your main expense is printing. After you have covered all your other expenses such as stationery and phone bills, anything left over is profit.
Can I do my own thing?
There are very few rules, but if you follow our format closely your business is more likely to succeed. You are welcome to try out your own ideas and develop your publication to suit your area. We encourage editors to share their ideas and experiences with the rest of the group.
What do I do next?
Take a look at the websites for those titles which interest you and find out whether we have an edition in your area. Download our prospectus and make sure that you understand how the business works. Have you seen a copy of one of our directories? You can download an example from one of our sites or ask one
of our editors to send you one. You should certainly look at any publications within or adjoining your proposed area. Have you spoken to any of our editors? Call a few for a chat! If you don't have the nerve for this you should seriously question whether you have the nerve to make literally hundreds of cold calls over the forthcoming weeks. Finally, fill in your details below, and we'll get in touch with you:
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