Free range businesses. Not penned in by private equity.
Free Range maps independently-owned businesses across Washington State, so you can choose where your money goes — and which kind of economy you want to live in.
Why this matters
Private equity firms have quietly rolled up dentists, vets, auto shops, and restaurants — often keeping the local-sounding name while cutting staff, raising prices, and sending profits out of the community. It's hard to tell who's actually local anymore. We try to make it obvious.
Who's included
Free Range only lists independently owned businesses — the kind where your money stays in the community instead of flowing out to private-equity investors or a corporate parent. Each listing carries a badge showing how its independence was confirmed:
Certified independently-owned by Washington State (OMWBE).
Ownership verified through documentation.
The owner has claimed this business and attested it's independent.
Registered as a small business with the SBA.
Confirmed independent by the local community.
We don't have enough data to verify ownership yet.
What we leave out
We don't list private-equity-owned businesses, publicly-traded or corporate-owned chains, or franchises. A franchise may be run by a local owner, but a slice of every sale leaves the community as royalties and fees to the corporate franchisor — which is exactly what we're helping you avoid. We keep these on file so you can check whether a place is actually local, but they never appear in the directory.
Matched to a known private-equity portfolio company.
Shows signals that suggest private-equity ownership.
A publicly-traded or corporate-owned chain — profits leave the community.
Locally operated, but part of a franchise system with PE backing.
How we detect PE ownership
We combine public data — Secretary of State filings, known PE portfolio locations, website footers, and registered-agent clustering — into a transparency score. Business owners can claim and verify their listing at any time, and the community can confirm or flag what we get wrong.
Free Range Directory's verification system uses public data and automated analysis. We make our best effort to identify independently-owned businesses, but we cannot guarantee the accuracy of every listing. Business owners can claim and verify their business at any time. Questions? Get in touch.