A franchise is a business opportunity whereby a company, the franchisor, grants exclusive rights to an individual, the franchisee, to market its products or services in a given territory or at a given location. [Page 206]Essentially, it is a prepackaged, turnkey business that one can buy, lease, or sell. In return for this right, the franchisee typically pays royalties to the franchisor and agrees to follow certain quality standards. In the United States, franchising is a very common and well-regarded model for going into business, with more than 900,000 franchised retail outlets operating in 2009. The economics of franchising in the United States are large, with franchising accounting for 4 percent ($880 billion annually) of the U.S. private-sector economy and 8 percent (11 million) of ...