Nipate
Forum => Kenya Discussion => Topic started by: Globalcitizen12 on December 15, 2015, 12:41:58 PM
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http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/04/gary-rivlin-tax-prep-refund-anticipation-loan?page=2
Ogbazion is a native of Ethiopia whose family moved to the United States when he was nine years old. He opened his first tax-prep shop when he was a sophomore in college. By that point, several large banks had jumped into the business. Ogbazion began brokering RALs on behalf of Bank One, now part of JPMorgan Chase. By 1999, when he sold his chain to Jackson Hewitt for $3 million, Ogbazion was up to 26 shops, all in the greater Cincinnati area. Just 27 at the time, he decided to start a new chain, Instant Tax, setting up headquarters in Dayton, Ohio. By that point, the most desirable spots—those in the city's poorest precincts—were taken, so he started opening stores in working-class suburbs. "I moved to where opportunities were still available," he says with a shrug when I meet him at his stylish office in one of Dayton's pricier downtown towers. Today, Instant Tax boasts about 1,000 outlets, mostly owned by independent operators who pay Ogbazion a one-time $34,000 franchising fee, plus 20 percent of their gross revenues.
"We recommend that you locate your office where the household income is $30,000 or less," the Instant Tax manual counsels. Each franchisee attends a week of training sessions where "unbelievable emphasis was put on poor minorities," according to former franchisee Habtom Ghebremichael, who recalls a trainer telling his group, "We cater to the 'hood." His archetypal customer, Ogbazion says, is an assistant manager at a fast-food restaurant earning $19,000 a year. "They've burned the banks," he says. "They've bounced too many checks. They've mismanaged their finances." Experience has taught him that a few amenities (a ficus tree, free coffee, TV in the reception area) go a long way in making customers feel welcome. "At the check-cashing place, they're talking to someone behind bulletproof glass," Ogbazion continues. "The welfare building—you can imagine what that's like. Here, we treat them well, and they want to come back."