<p>Business opportunities differ from franchise ownership because an independent business owner is not obligated to run the business according to an operating manual or pay any ongoing fees. All profits are the business owner&rsquo;s, who does not receive the operational support enjoyed by franchise owners. Many sole proprietor businesses are actually run as distributorships &ndash; the proprietor buys products from the wholesaler, then sells them at retail price. Some business operators act as an independent agent representative of a larger entity. 1. The growth of new small businesses has undergone an unprecedented growth spurt in the last ten years. The Small Business Administration (SBA) estimates that 672,000 new companies with employees were created in 2005 &ndash; an average 12 percent higher than in the previous decade. 2. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that more new businesses were created in 2006 than the previous year. 3. Small businesses contribute significantly to the US economy. They employ more than half of all private sector workers and account for 45 percent of private US payrolls. 4. The SBA credits small businesses with generating 60-80 percent of new jobs created in the last decade. 5. Sole proprietor businesses have a higher failure rate than franchises, which generally enjoy a 90+ percent success rate. According to a study by the SBA, only two-thirds of all small business start-ups survive the first two years and less than half make it to four years. The success/failure rate numbers are hotly debated, with many analysts sceptical about the alleged failure rate. Many entrepreneurs start up their businesses with a specific exit strategy for defined time frame. 6. US Census Bureau data indicates that half of new businesses are still operating after more than four years and about one-third businesses that close are successful. 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