The word "franchise" comes from Old French meaning privilege or freedom. As economies evolved, so did the concept of franchising. It is believed that our current concept of franchising comes from the mid 1800s when a major German ale brewer granted certain taverns the exclusive right to sell their ale. Around the turn of the century, the face of franchising looked very much the same. This system essentially granted the right to distribute and sell a product. At this time, the trend-setting model was the franchising rights authored by oil refineries and automobile companies. In the 1860s, the Singer Sewing Machine Company was the first to use franchising in the United States. Singer developed written franchise contracts for the distribution of their sewing machines and was the first to implement the predecessors of modern franchise agreements. After WWII, millions of servicemen and women returned home, and with that - the Baby Boom began. The large work force demanded the opportunity to explore and develop more and better business opportunities, which changed the business and our economy forever.

With these demands, franchising evolved into the dominant and most successful concept - business format franchising. In this type of franchising, the franchisor (example: McDonald's) not only allows the franchise to use its name and sell its products or services, but also involves the total transfer of a way of doing business.
This includes marketing, operating, technical training, management techniques
and expertise developed and perfected by the franchisor
(sometimes referred to as a "learning curve"). The franchisor will also provide on-going training and support throughout the life of the franchise agreement.

Within the next 10 years, franchising will comprise over 50% of the retail economy and employ millions of people. This growth should be anticipated based on the simple logic of the underlying concept. Franchising offers success to aspiring, new business owners with the least amount of risk. These systems will enable hundreds of thousands of new business owners to realize the dream of successful business ownership and financial independence. Like the US and world economies, franchising is evolving. There will be even greater opportunities for wealth creation among both franchisees and franchisors as this evolution progresses. New franchises will be developed while the existing systems become more fortified andcontinue to grow.