Did you know that when you enter a McDonald’s for a cheeseburger, stay at a Marriott Hotel, or pick-up a coffee at a 7-Eleven, there’s a good chance that location is actually a small business?

You see, although franchisees borrow the branding of well-known parent companies, they are responsible for the day-to-day operations. Hiring employees, organizing hours, and compensating staff are all good examples. In practice, they’re simply independent small business owners.

Deciding to start a franchise is a relatively popular avenue to entrepreneurship. In 2020, there were more than 785,000 franchise establishments in the U.S. And it’s no surprise why; there are some big advantages. The structure provides businesses with immediate strong name recognition, which makes consumers more familiar with the product and therefore more likely to patron the location.

So just because the logo on the door of a business is a widely recognizable brand doesn’t mean it’s operated by a giant corporation. In fact, odds are, it’s owned and ran by a small business entrepreneur living in your neighborhood.