What if paying people to show up is the problem?
Joey Rockey has built 29 businesses, with 25 now running without him. His secret isn't better delegation or time management. It's designing businesses where employees get paid for results, not hours. Hotel housekeepers who finish by noon and earn more than hourly workers. Marketing teams compensated per customer acquired who iterate in real time. Line cooks paid on attendance and quality ratings who batch tasks for efficiency.
This episode breaks down how to structure every role for performance-based pay, why it filters for the right people during hiring, and how it eliminates the micromanagement trap that keeps founders stuck.
Fixed salaries create a fundamental mismatch. You want results, but you pay for time. Commission-based compensation across all roles forces clarity about what each position actually accomplishes. When a hotel housekeeper gets paid on room quality scores, they batch tasks differently than someone paid hourly. When marketing staff earn commissions per customer acquired, they iterate faster than those collecting flat rates.
The model separates people confident in execution from those who want stability. Both are valid choices, but only one builds businesses that run independently. Roles closest to sales convert easiest. Support functions require more creativity to quantify outcomes.
One sports bar implemented this by giving cooks attendance-based pay plus quality bonuses from customer ratings. Marketing staff earned commissions per customer acquired, tracked through unique QR codes. The owner stopped being the only person who cared about outcomes because everyone's income depended directly on performance. The structure creates self-correction. When someone isn't performing, it shows immediately in their compensation.
A hotel owner struggling with cleaning quality and high turnover switched to a grading system. An A+ room paid more than a B+ room. Cleaners could work as many rooms as they wanted, as long as everything was done by 2 p.m. Start time didn't matter. The flexibility attracted better workers who could drop kids at school first, spend less time at the hotel, and deliver higher quality results. Net costs dropped while quality and reviews improved.
Traditional hiring optimizes for matching candidates to vague descriptions. You write broad job specs that appeal to multiple personality types, then push whatever aspect resonates during interviews. Six months later, they realize the role isn't what they signed up for. Performance-based compensation flips this. The role is three specific tasks with clear outcomes. Candidates self-select based on confidence in their ability to execute.
The model fails when outcomes aren't measurable or when implemented mid-stream without cultural buy-in. Converting salary workers to commission-based pay creates resentment. They signed up for stability. It also breaks down in highly regulated industries or when founders can't actually let go of control. If you're constantly checking and overriding decisions, the automation promise becomes a lie.
You can't build a business that runs without you by delegating better. You have to design systems where your absence forces better decisions. That starts with clarity about what each role accomplishes and compensation that rewards results, not time.
Watch the Full Episode on Building Businesses That Run Without You with expert Joey Rockey below:
Follow us to watch live on YouTube and LinkedIn or listen to episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.