In a franchise relationship, who is referred to as the individual business operator?

In a franchise relationship, the franchisee is the individual business operator. This term refers to the person or entity that purchases the rights to operate a business under the franchisor's brand and system. The franchisee is responsible for managing daily operations, adhering to the brand standards set by the franchisor, and ultimately running their franchise location as an independent business while benefiting from the franchise's established brand, marketing, and operational support.

The franchisor, on the other hand, is the person or entity that owns the overall business model and brand. The licensor typically refers to a party that grants permission to use intellectual property, which is somewhat unrelated to the franchise model. An affiliate is generally an associated organization or subsidiary but does not specifically denote the business operator in a franchise setup. Thus, the franchisee is the correct term that identifies the individual who operates the business within the franchise system.