Inc. extends list to franchisees

Inc. magazine has decided that franchisees will be eligible to included in its annual list of the fastest-growing private companies in the country.

“There are tens of thousands of incredibly successful small business owners who make their living running franchises,” said Ed Sussman, executive vice president of Mansueto Ventures, owners Inc. and Inc.com. “Now that we have expanded our list from the top 500, we want to recognize the efforts of all entrepreneurs to gain an even broader snapshot of America’s fastest- growing private companies.”

According to the 2003 Economic Impact of Franchised Business conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, more than 760,000 franchised businesses generate a total economic output of more than $1.53 trillion, or nearly 10% of the U.S. private-sector economy.

All companies included on the Inc. 5,000 will be listed on the Inc.com website and invited to the Inc. 500 conference in Chicago at the downtown Hilton on Sept. 6-8, 2007. The top 500 will still be known as the Inc. 500, and will be listed in the September 2007 issue of Inc. magazine.

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