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.
Barker is an unincorporated community in western Harris County, Texas, United States. It lies along local roads off Interstate 10 and seventeen miles west of downtown Houston. Its elevation is 102 feet (31 m), and it is located at 29°47′4″N 95°41′6″W / 29.78444°N 95.685°W / 29.78444; -95.685 (29.7843955, -95.6849469). Barker was originally built along the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, which built through the area in 1895; the community was named for Ed Barker, a railroad contractor. The community's first postmaster was appointed in 1898. Although Barker was originally an agricultural community, the area is now primarily residential.