Franchising law involves helping new business owners evaluate franchising opportunities, and assist in the purchase and operation of business franchises -- an alternative to starting a new, independent business from scratch. Franchising allows businesses owners to reduce their investment risk by associating with an established company, but may also require business owners to relinquish significant control over their business.
Atchison is a city situated along the Missouri River in the eastern part of Atchison County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. The population was 10,232 at the 2000 census, and it was estimated to be 10,154 in the year 2006. It is the county seat and most populous city of Atchison County. The city is named in honor of David Rice Atchison, United States senator from Missouri, and was the original eastern terminus of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. Atchison was the birthplace of aviatrix Amelia Earhart: the Amelia Earhart Festival held each July annually attracts an estimated 30,000–50,000 people. The festival includes a downtown craft fair, an antique airplane fly-in and airshow, and one of the largest fireworks displays in the Midwest, which takes place over the Missouri River. Atchison is also the home of Benedictine College, a small Catholic liberal-arts college. Atchison is often called one of the most haunted places in America, due to the city's ghost-story heritage, featured in the 1997 book, "Haunted Kansas," written by Lisa Hefner Heitz, and published by University Press of Kansas.