When owners of the original McDonald’s decided to sell the franchise, Ray Kroc immediately had an eye for it. He bought the company on 1954, and allowed it to grow on what is known as the biggest fast-food chain worldwide today.

How did Ray Kroc create such huge a food company? To many, this has been dubbed as the McDonald’s way, where it has been constantly used as a business model worldwide and not to mention, college case studies. Although it might look like McDonald’s had it easy, it was not always the case. In several occasions, the giant fast food chain flopped some of their offerings.

One of the most notable of these flops is the so-called Hulaburgers. A hamburger offered to Christians during lent with only pineapple and cheese in it. Can you imagine how it would taste? It didn’t succeed, so I bet it must have tasted bad.

But through the years, we know that their success can be mainly attributed to their business practices, which are detailed below.

Standardization

The company set standards by making sure all their hamburgers, as well as their other food offerings will taste the same from all of their branches worldwide. Can you imagine McDonald’s if their hamburgers tasted differently from place to place?

Systematization

Like any business, McDonald’s wants to maximize their resources. Due to their system, a service crew who normally serves a handful customers can maintain that service quality even if he starts serving hundreds of people. What is more interesting about their system, is that a new hire who doesn’t know anything about making burgers, can give you the famous McDonald’s burger in just a few days of training.

Values

Most importantly, it is the company’s values that allowed them to succeed. They have a diverse team of well-trained individuals. Customers aren’t always right, but they come first. And they always give back to the communities they serve.

The current economic picture certainly looks gloomy to many businesses. All you read in the newspapers are bankruptcies, foreclosures and layoffs. The days of spending extravagantly, going to expensive boutiques to avail of specialty services, or shopping for designer clothes, don’t happen as often anymore. Or at least, gone are the days where you have to own something brand new.

Thus, as the old saying goes, that one man’s misfortune is another’s opportunity. This condition has helped many small businesses in America thrive. Small businesses that are thriving includes thrift stores, shoe and bag repair shops, as well as stores selling quality second hand products such as books and clothing. Many of these stores are reporting increased volumes in overall sales as well as increasing revenues.

People are more cost sensitive and value more the products they buy, or the services they avail. Another business category that has reported increased sales volume is the auto repair shop as people are having their cars fixed instead of buying new ones. People are also less conscious about the repair shop that they go to. The auto mechanic at the dealer is not necessarily better than the auto mechanic at a local shop. For these business types, a recession is good news.