The golden rules of growth: Mac Voisin

No one knows how to build a business better than the entrepreneurs behind some of Canada's most successful companies. These are their most powerful lessons. Mac Voisin Founder & chairman M&M Meat Shops Kitchener, Ont. Pick the right partners "Back in the early '80s, if you had a pulse and a pocketbook, you could get a franchise. There were no qualifications, in terms of personality; no testing to see if there was a fit. So, we said, 'Let's not do that; let's take our time, and make sure we invite the right people to join the team'." "We have as extensive an interview process as anybody in Canada. We are real fussy. And we're not trying to be jerks about it. We want to make sure franchisees belong, for their sake as well as ours. Because if you bring somebody into the system who doesn't fit, it's nothing but heartache for both parties. "If someone looks promising to us, we give them a personality test to see if they're a good fit. If they pass the test, the new prospect comes to see us and talks to several people at head office. One of the biggest things we look for is an outgoing personality. We want people who like to work with people. We're not looking for people with a butcher's background. We can train people to do anything. We'd rather train them in the M&M way right from the ground." —RW