Kinko's: Paul Orfalea
This lesson is an episode of How I Built This.
Listen to the episodeWhat you'll get
Paul Orfalea tells Guy Raz how a copy shop in a former hamburger stand near UC Santa Barbara, opened in 1970 and named for his boyhood nickname, became a worldwide chain run through local co-owners rather than franchisees, an arrangement that left owners in different places fighting over the logo and over whether to stay open all night before FedEx bought the company. Listen before you add a partner, location or franchisee, to hear what sharing control cost him.
Do this week
Before you add a partner or a second location, write down the three standards that must be identical everywhere, such as price list, hours and uniform, and how you would check them.