International Franchise Association <\/a>President and CEO Matt Haller to discuss the 2026 Franchisee of the Year Awards and the role locally owned franchises play in communities across the country.<\/p>\nWatch the full video above to learn more about franchising and meet some of the business owners being celebrated.Recognizing local business owners<\/p>\n
The International Franchise Association recently honored 89 franchise owners in Washington, D.C., as 2026 Franchisees of the Year.<\/p>\n
\u201cLocal franchise business owners are really the fabric of local economies,\u201d Haller said. \u201cWhile they do bear a brand that is commonly known to the consumer, these brands are executed locally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Haller also emphasized that franchising extends well beyond the restaurant industry, encompassing businesses ranging from hair salons and pet care to home services and childcare.<\/p>\n
Texas tops the list<\/p>\n
According to research cited by Haller, Texas ranks as the top state for franchising in 2026, with more than 83,000 franchise locations employing nearly 900,000 Texans and generating more than $92 billion for the state’s economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything is bigger in Texas, and Texas is actually the top state for franchising,\u201d Haller said.<\/p>\n
Several Texas business owners were among this year’s honorees, representing brands including Sport Clips, CertaPro Painters and Ivy Kids Schools.<\/p>\n
A path to business ownership<\/p>\n
Haller says one appeal of the franchise model is the opportunity to own a local business while operating with an established brand and business structure.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou’ve got the backing of the brand that’s working with you to set you up for success, but you’re the employer, you’re the person giving back in the local community,\u201d Haller said.<\/p>\n
For more information about franchising and the 2026 Franchisees of the Year, visit Franchise.org.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From restaurants and salons to childcare, pet care, and home services, franchises are part of everyday life. Behind…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-446520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}