Has it ever occurred to you to franchise your small, quirky coffee shop-say, the one where the barista sings Pavarotti upon demand-and make it an empire? Ah, welcome to Become a Franchise. It’s not just a mouthful-it’s a full plate. Franchising can be the deep end of a pool into which you’ve been catapulted without knowing whether you can swim this weird race. And yet, if you’re considering the franchise model, a scalable business is your flotation device.

Imagine your favorite pizza corner doing great business on Main Street. The aroma! The queue of eager souls at noon! Why not take this goodness to the world? Ouch, franchising isn’t quite going to get that magic happening the next day. At the center of every successful franchise is scalability, the secret ingredient that makes your pizza zing just as nicely for Des Moines and Chicago.

Think of your business like a viral dance move: intoxicating when well choreographed and mystifyingly bizarre when not. Because Sally and Joe can nail it doesn’t mean others necessarily will. Franchising is no different. You need systems— simple, reproducible ones—guaranteeing everyone, from Saskatoon to San Antonio, stays in the groove.

Ever encountered the franchise road tripper? My friend John once whirled me through how his buddy’s burger joint came to be the bomb dot com. First, it was no big deal, just juicy burgers and charisma. Then someone uttered the F-word. Eons were spent refining recipes, manuals, training programs—name it—all to make pesky questions like “How much lettuce is too much?” little more than a murmur in the ears of new franchisees.

When you think of scalability, think of two-for-one on slaying dragons: standardized operations and retaining personality. We have seen those impersonal franchises that are cookie-cut from a mold. A franchise that can roll out without losing its quirky charm. Like those zany aunties who wear outrageous hats-recognizable yet each brings her panache.