{"id":96947,"date":"2025-08-05T21:26:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T21:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/?p=96947"},"modified":"2025-08-05T21:43:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T21:43:31","slug":"franchising-at-the-heart-of-americas-most-trusted-institution-small-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/2025\/08\/franchising-at-the-heart-of-americas-most-trusted-institution-small-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Franchising at the Heart of America\u2019s Most Trusted Institution: Small Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

By the International Franchise Association<\/em><\/p>\n

In the latest annual Gallup poll<\/a> on Americans\u2019 confidence in major institutions, small business once again ranks at the top of the list<\/strong>, with a remarkable 70% of U.S. adults<\/strong> expressing \u201ca great deal\u201d or \u201cquite a lot\u201d of confidence in America\u2019s small businesses. This marks yet another year that small business remains the most trusted institution in the country\u2014above the military, science, the medical system, and far ahead of Congress, television news, or even the presidency.<\/p>\n

At the International Franchise Association (IFA), we know that trust doesn\u2019t happen by accident. It\u2019s earned\u2014through years of dedication, service, and impact in local communities. That\u2019s why we\u2019re proud to represent the more than 831,000 franchise small businesses<\/strong> across the United States that form the backbone of this trust.<\/p>\n

Franchising is a uniquely American business model that combines the power of brand standards with local ownership and community commitment<\/strong>. These are the restaurants, fitness centers, preschools, service providers, and countless other businesses where customers return not just for the product or service\u2014but because they know the owner by name. That local connection, that sense of shared values and community, is what drives trust.<\/p>\n

Franchise businesses do more than just operate within communities\u2014they invest in them. They employ over 8.7 million Americans<\/strong>, offer career advancement opportunities, and often serve as pillars of support during times of crisis. Whether donating meals during natural disasters, offering flexible jobs to working parents, or supporting local causes, franchised small businesses show up\u2014day in and day out.<\/p>\n

As debates continue in Washington and in state legislatures about the future of small business and the policies that shape the economy, it\u2019s important for leaders to remember what the public already knows: Americans trust small business<\/strong>. And franchising is one of the largest and most powerful engines<\/strong> of small business growth, ownership, and economic mobility in the country.<\/p>\n

Franchises aren\u2019t faceless corporations. They are neighbors, coaches and community leaders. And they are building something bigger than a brand\u2014they are building trust.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By the International Franchise Association In the latest annual Gallup poll on Americans\u2019 confidence in major institutions, small business once again ranks at the top of the list, with a remarkable 70% of U.S. adults expressing \u201ca great deal\u201d or \u201cquite a lot\u201d of confidence in America\u2019s small businesses. This marks yet another year that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":96948,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[374,489],"tags":[],"company_type":[],"content_type":[],"infohub_tags":[],"class_list":["post-96947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-media","category-ifa-thought-leadership"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Gallup-graphic-0825.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Gallup-graphic-0825.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Jayson Pearl","author_link":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/author\/jpearlfranchise-org\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96947"},{"taxonomy":"company_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/company_type?post=96947"},{"taxonomy":"content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_type?post=96947"},{"taxonomy":"infohub_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchise.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/infohub_tags?post=96947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}