Jolene Tate

Jolene Tate – Turning Around Struggling Franchises With Leadership and Culture

Jolene Tate is a Franchise Owner of HireQuest Direct, a women-owned staffing agency with 14 locations across Tennessee, Arizona, and Indiana. Over the past 20 years, she has expanded her business from a single Nashville office into one of the top-performing franchises in the HireQuest network. Jolene is also the Founder of the Women in Networking Construction group, which supports women in the industry.

Here's a Glimpse of What You'll Learn

[2:25] How a forum retreat led Jolene Tate to develop a passion for skydiving and competitive jumps
[5:34] Jolene talks about becoming a franchise owner with HireQuest Direct
[7:54] How joining EO Nashville transformed Jolene’s leadership style and business operations
[11:06] The lessons Jolene learned from managing underperforming franchises across multiple states
[15:23] Leadership, hiring, and recruiting insights and advice
[18:27] Jolene’s approach to building an internal culture with employees
[29:40] EO’s role in helping Jolene navigate divorce and personal bankruptcy

In This Episode

Entrepreneurs often find themselves stretched thin, managing rapid growth, navigating toxic partnerships, and sacrificing personal well-being for business survival. When the hustle culture starts to cost more than it delivers, how can business owners scale without burning out or compromising their values?

After enduring a difficult partnership breakup, personal bankruptcy, and a divorce, experienced franchise owner Jolene Tate rebuilt her business from the ground up. Embracing entrepreneurial peer support, building systems for multi-location oversight, and redefining her leadership style helped her regain control. Jolene advises leveraging employee referrals for recruitment, researching franchise markets, and hiring outside traditional markets to bring deeper meaning and resilience to your company culture.

In this episode of The Decision, Robert Hartline and Eric Jackson interview Jolene Tate, Franchise Owner of HireQuest Direct, about building a franchise business with resilience and heart. Jolene shares how skydiving helped her rediscover personal balance, how EO forums build trust, leadership, and growth, and her approach to building an internal culture.

Quotable Moments:

“I say that I’ve been through two divorces; I’ve been through a personal divorce and a business divorce.”
“If I can jump out of an airplane and pull my reserve and come to the ground calmly, I can do anything.”
“You’re going to get out of it what you put in it and really seek to get to that 5%.”
“I always pull a positive out of anything that we have going on, even like right now.”
“We are all trying to help people. We want to positively affect lives.”

Action Steps:

Build systems for multi-location management: Establishing clear processes and meeting rhythms keeps remote teams aligned and accountable across markets. This ensures consistency in operations, even when leadership isn’t physically present.
Hire with a culture-first mindset: Prioritize candidates who align with your company’s values and mission, especially in high-touch industries. Employees who connect with the culture are more likely to stay engaged and refer others.
Don’t ignore the red flags in partnerships: When ethical or behavioral concerns arise, address them early to minimize further damage. Trust is the foundation of every successful business relationship.
Embrace second-chance hiring: Offering employment to those from transitional or challenging backgrounds can create a life-changing impact and build team loyalty. It also fosters a mission-driven culture that resonates internally and externally.
Invest in peer communities like EO: Joining a forum of fellow entrepreneurs can provide emotional support, strategic insight, and accountability. This peer-driven structure helps leaders grow both personally and professionally.