Quality control

One of biggest hurdles franchises and agencies have to overcome if they want to grow is quality control.

How do you ensure that what your contractors/employees/franchisees produce is just as good as what you promised?

Because in order to grow, businesses have to hire other people. People who may not have the same skills, ambitions, or point of view as you do.

That if you hire a teenager (or several) to make a sandwich at your shop, they better have more than enough incentive and direction to make that sandwich to spec. Because if they don't, it's your business that's going to suffer. (Most customers aren’t going to expect it to taste any better a second time.)

Same goes for contractors. If they don't see eye to eye with you, if they're not getting paid what they're worth, or if their skills aren't up to par with what you promised your client, you can't stick around for long.

How to make work? Good recruiting and training works. As does clear communication and regular feedback. But I think what really works is putting in the upfront work to ensure that you’re on the same page as your ‘employees.’

To ensure they feel respected and appreciated and above all well-compensated. And that their enrolled on the same journey as you are—towards betterment—for the right reasons (or, at least, with something at stake).