A 1996 study by economics professor Timothy Bates is referenced in a story about franchising in Washington . The state's entrepreneurs are facing the small-business dilemma of needing to expand their businesses to reach customers and yet desiring to remain solo resisting franchise offers. Bates' study found that "while franchise firms were better capitalized than non-franchise firms, about 62 percent of the franchise firms survived, versus 68 percent of the non-franchise or independent firms."