Card My Yard is all about joy. The home-based franchise creates and installs customizable yard-sign greetings to celebrate new babies, birthdays, graduations, retirements, holidays and other happy life events.
Founded in 2014 and franchising since 2017, Card My Yard appeals for many reasons, not the least of which are its ultra-low price tag (startup costs top out at $18,550) and always-upbeat vibe. “Card My Yard began with a simple mission — to spread joy in a memorable, personalized way,” says President Josh Arnold, who co-founded the brand with his wife, Amy, who serves as chief brand officer.
“The idea grew out of recognizing that families, schools, businesses and communities love to celebrate milestones in big, visual ways. But there wasn’t an easy, turnkey service to make that happen. Amy realized this — Card My Yard was her idea,” Josh says.
Despite the Arnolds’ entrepreneurial experience in having founded two previous businesses, Josh admits to a few growing pains. “The early days were a whirlwind full of passion, creativity and the typical challenges that come with rapid adoption of a new idea. We would frequently find ourselves installing signs at midnight or 5 a.m. because families had discovered us the night before a birthday.”
Besides that, building the business model required an extra-careful approach. “It had to be able to grow with us because we knew Card My Yard would be bigger than our hometown of Austin, Texas. That’s what made the technology so important. We were developing operational systems from scratch. We had to learn everything from how to print letters and how many letters people needed in inventory to be able to get names spelled, and so on. We had to learn it all.”
Before the Arnolds franchised their yard-sign greetings business, they tested the market. “Our BOO! sign campaign helped confirm what we suspected, that people love surprise moments that brighten their day.” During that initiative, they placed BOO! signs at friends’ and neighbors’ homes before Halloween.
“It was a heartwarming way to deliver joy during a seasonal moment, and it served as a highly effective real-world test of the model,” Josh says. “It allowed us to gauge consumer enthusiasm; understand the operational challenges of high-volume, surprise-style deliveries; build word-of-mouth momentum; and see how our community reacted.
“That campaign demonstrated the emotional resonance and shareability of yard greetings, and it helped validate the demand for a scalable business. That combination of marketing and market validation played a major role in shaping the systems we eventually rolled out on a franchise level.”
Launching the franchise posed another obstacle. “We didn’t know what a Franchise Disclosure Document was or how to franchise,” Josh says, “so this entire process was a learning experience.”
Benefits of Owning a Card My Yard Franchise
The couple figured things out, though, and Card My Yard now has more than 500 home-based franchises across 45 states. Josh says many factors help the brand thrive, including:
These attributes have helped Card My Yard win recognition from Entrepreneur magazine and Franchise Business Review in multiple franchising categories. The honors reflect franchisee satisfaction, Josh says, and “reinforce that a feel-good business can also be a strong business.”
As the Card My Yard franchise grows, Josh and Amy look for franchisees who love serving others and spreading joy. “They’re also hardworking, self-motivated problem-solvers who can handle last-minute requests. They value relationships with customers, schools and local organizations. It’s rare to find a business that is both financially attractive and emotionally fulfilling, but Card My Yard offers exactly that.”
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