Entrepreneurs in Franchising

While not all businesses are equally well suited to franchising, franchising can be an effective way either to expand a business or to become a small business owner. Entrepreneurs and small business owners often find franchising an attractive option [Page 146]for expanding a business venture versus opening additional locations using their own capital. In fact, several companies that are now global icons can trace their origins to a single ambitious entrepreneur who chose to expand his business by selling franchises; Ray Kroc's McDonald's is perhaps the example immediately familiar to most people, though numerous other businesses in industries as diverse as restaurants, cleaning services, fitness centers, dry cleaners, moving companies, and muffler shops have followed similar trajectories from single-location to regionally or globally recognized brands. ...