<Li> Most cells reflect sizes not defined in legislation </Li> <Li> Some definitions are multi-parameter, e.g., by industry, revenue or market share </Li> <P> According to the US 2012 Survey of Business Owners (SBO) there are: 27.6 million businesses in the United States . 9.9 million of these businesses in the United States were owned or led by a woman, representing 35.9% of overall business ownership . </P> <P> Franchising is a way for small business owners to benefit from the economies of scale of the big corporation (franchiser). McDonald's and Subway are examples of a franchise . The small business owner can leverage a strong brand name and purchasing power of the larger company while keeping their own investment affordable . However, some franchisees conclude that they suffer the "worst of both worlds" feeling they are too restricted by corporate mandates and lack true independence . It is an assumption that small business are just franchisees, but the truth is many franchisers are also small businesses, Although considered to be a successful way of doing business, literature has proved that there is a high failure rate in franchising as well, especially in UK, where research indicates that out of 1658 franchising companies operating in 1984, only 601 remained in 1998, a mere 36% . </P>

The greatest strength of a business owner in case of family and micro start-up is