As someone who has been involved with startups and entrepreneurial businesses for the last decade, if not longer, I knew it was time for me to listen to Michael Gerber’s phenomenally popular book The E-Myth when twice in the same week I heard people make reference to it.
But I didn’t immediately grab a copy of the book.
In fact, rather a while passed before I bumped into the audible.com download of The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Business Don’t Work and What to Do About It (Unabridged). With their various discounts this audio book ended up costing me about $12 for an 8 hour audio title. Seemed quite a reasonable price for me to gain some insight into the myth of entrepreneurship…
I’ve now listened to the first 50% of this audio book or so, and it’s another of the overly large class of business titles that are focused on enumeration and gross oversimplification.
In The E-Myth Revisited, the key idea of the entire book seems to be that businesses are started by technicians frustrated by working for someone else who haven’t yet realized that doing the same job for themselves doesn’t alleviate the need for management and business infrastructure.
Got that? The E-Myth itself is that you can do what you like to do and ignore everything else, and the E-reality, as it were, is that a business has multiple facets and requires more skills than just that brought by the technician.
Can I just say now that this is so intuitively obvious that it’s astonishing it’s the basis of this book? Every entrepreneur I’ve ever met knows that there’s more to a business than just “doing the fun stuff”, even if they don’t necessarily like it.
Further, perhaps it’s addressed later in the book, but why doesn’t Gerber mention even in passing that you can bring other people into your business to strengthen your weaknesses. A startling omission and one that – so far – taints the value of this book to me.
One of the enumerations in the book is that there are three types of people involved with a business:
- Entrepreneurs (who are the dreamers, focused on the future)
- Managers (who are the organizers, focused on how to do things efficiently)
- Technicians (who are the “do-ers” focused on what’s to be done)
And, of course, each of us has all three of these simplistic personalities within us, and the challenge of successful businesspeople is to figure out how to integrate all three facets so that the business succeeds.
To be fair, I’m enjoying the book, and there’s no question that Michael Gerber is a wonderful storyteller, but it continues to amaze me that what seems like a good 45 minute lecture can be transformed into a book, eight hour audio, and series of ancillary products.
One precept of this book that I find surprising is that businesses must grow or shrink, and that shrinking is always a mark of being “unable to get out of your comfort zone” and “learn how to be a business owner”, while growth is always the goal and that, indeed, truly entrepreneurial companies are begun with the intent of growing and growing.
But I don’t agree. I think that with the so-called virtual companies and limitless capability for outsourcing and partnerships, companies can indeed apparently stay the same size yet tackle more work and be more successful. Further, there’s another facet of entrepreneurial business that’s glossed over completely, so far: some entrepreneurs want to help others rather than do it themselves. In that case, growth, hiring employees, becoming bigger, is death, is dissolution of the brand, ego over common sense, and isn’t a desirable outcome at all.
Oh, and if you do opt to listen to this audio book, you better be very interested in pie shops.
I’ll continue listening and add more to this article as I go
I have read this book a couple of times, albeit a few years ago, and the principles taught made sense to me and i wondered why people in the business community, especially small business, were not running their businessess like this, i mean, as u say after all it is common sense!
In the book he uses the analogy of the Bakery or pie shop, cannot remember, and leveraging by systems implementation to allow you to get 4 more bakeries. I know that is how i will be running my businessess once i go retail, and from talking to many business owners, down here in australia anyway, they think it cannot be done! Looking forward to further reviews of the audio Dave….Is it the same once as the Nightingale-Connant audio?
Alvin
Alvin, thanks for your note. I don’t know how to answer the question of whether it’s the same as the Nightingale-Connant audio or not, though. I only know what’s on the audible Web site…
Why review a book that you haven’t finished? I am reading this book too and wanted to see what other people are saying about it. It is hard to place any value on a book review done by someone who hasn’t finished the book. Maybe the title to your article should read “Review of the first part of the E-myth revisited”
I think it’s a brilliant book – it might have seemed intuitively obvious to someone with previous business experience, but for me it was a complete eye-opener.
I liked the ‘spiritual’ side of it, and how a business is meant to fit into one’s life – how there has to be a game plan in one’s life, and a game plan in the business.
I liked the fact that the author had clearly been around the block and has learnt lessons that the average person never comes across.
Somehow it all made sense to me, I’ve read a fair selection of other business books and they’re all very mechanistic. This book has morality and the sort of wisdom it’s easy to sneer at but actually has a lot of depth to it.
Whether or not it works in real life remains to be seen, but it’s made me look at the world in a completely new way, and that perspective is one hell of a useful tool.
The book and the E-Myth Mastery Program changed my life, both business life and personal life. The results were so profound that I sold my business and became a Senior Certified E-Myth Consultant in 1998.
Michael Gerber is a total genious and his material is easy to understand and apply. After completing most of my MBA, I realized I had only gained theoretical knowledge. The E-Myth Mastery Program gave me practical knowledge that I could apply quickly and build the “franchise prototype” so the business could be sold.
Fascinating. What does it mean to become a E-Myth Consultant, let alone a Senior Certified one, Del? Given what I said about the obviousness of the book to me, what’s your reaction?
I read and enjoyed both the E-Myth Revisited and its prdecessor. To learn how to develop infrastrucuture, or to fix existing infrastructure that doesn’t work, latch on to a copy of Conundrum: The Challenge of Execution in Middle-Market Companies. Its available through amazon.com, and is like an “advanced course” in most of the basics set forth in the E-Myth books.
I really enjoyed your review and I was surprised that you did not mention his annoying voice and the way he tries to make you feel stupid. The obvious statement is right on. Thanks for the pie comment too, I had a nice laugh. Also enjoyed your e-consultant comments, Ha!
Yes, his voice is ultra-annoying. He’s putting too much emphasis on every other word and acts like he’s so smart. “You should go to your happy place and be yourself. You should do this by hiring other people and paying them the least amount that you can and develop a system that works without you and that can be done by the most uneducated of people. Thus, you can pay them less and you make more profit, to be more of yourself.” LOL, what a funny theory. He definitely tries to get too spiritual into why business owners deserve success and to take advantage of their employees because they are entitled to be themselves. Just tell us the facts, man! I don’t like these types of books because they try to make you feel like the game of life is a lot less straightforward than it is and that you should follow your passion and that somehow that will make you money, which I can vouch for that it does not. It has some good points where it separates the different titles of personalities needed to run a business and how you should not be the technician unless you don’t want control of the profits, but everything else is a little too sappy.
Certified by? It sounds like another get rich quick idea that has made one person rich. The lesson as usual is research before you leap. That includes buying a myth story.
Dave – The book is just a tip of the iceberg. The E-Myth Mastery Program provides the framework, worksheets, modules, and coaching in order to free the owner from the business and build a “franchise prototype” that allows the business to grow, increase locations, or be sold. In the end, you have an asset that is not controlling your life, rather a business that runs itself. Take off for Hawaii for 2 weeks, and you will not worry what is going on back at the fort.
Dave, I agree that the concepts in the E-Myth book seem like common sense but in reality they are not. I have worked for 3 companies that were started by a ‘technicians’. They were able to grow the company but then hit a point where their lack of leadership and managerial skills held the company back. Their ego or lack of understanding also stopped them from bringing in the proper talent or outside help. You would be surprised how many times I have heard owners say, “I must be doing something right because I have grown the company to this point.”
Also, I think you are missing the point of what is meant by growth. Growth doesn’t always equate to size or revenue. It means to pursue the ideal ‘vision’ of the company.
I have read your thoughts with interest, Dave and if people like ‘me’ sat back for a moment to really think, we’d have a lot more fourishing businesses and a lot less stagnant ones. I agree with John Lewin. I spent some time explaining the E-Myth revisited to a good friend who worked hard in his ‘air steel’ business outside of Melbourne, Australia. His wife agreed with the principles because he was never at home and she could see the benefits to his young family. He was a really great technician, but kept control of it all and expected his only other employee, a well paid but dissinterested sheet-metal worker, to do the same when my friend was not around. He refused to understand that this employee wanted to fold steel and go home at five and to not manage the business as if it were his own. We drifted apart soon after he angrily stated that he knew the air conditioning game better due to his 25 years experience and that I didn’t. “So don’t tell me because I know more than you about this industry.” Sadly his 18 year old business was abandoned last year and his home sold.
As John Lewin said, he grew his business to a point and it stopped there. He needed help and ignored the help that Gerber can provide. No ‘get rich scheme’ as ‘me’ has decided. Just a sad story of a business opportunity wasted and a friendship lost. I wanted him to do well for himself and his family.
I’ve listened to this guy’s seminar on tape. What a wonderful presenter. His business and marketing ideas are very interesting and the way he speaks is brilliant. I found it very entertaining when he spoke about the marketing mistakes people make and how NOT to run your business. Very interesting book.
I have been in business for 28 yrs. and consider myself sucessfull, but I have reached that point that I would like to run the business instead of the business running me. I have not read the book yet, but it was recominded by a friend, which he said changed his whole life. I do thank everyone for their comments.
I saw Michael Gerber interviewed today on a local TV program (he’s speaking in Vancouver next week) and it prompted me to look into E-Myth and his books. That’s how I found you and so far, only hearing him interviewed, I agree with you. Perhaps the “meat” of his program is found at the end of the book. When are you going to finish the tape and your review? I look forward to it. Thanks so far.
I found this review quite helpful for myself, an upcoming and budding entrepreneur.. But besides the review, what recommendations would you have besides this?? I’m looking to learn about partnerships, outside investors, dividing companies, and figuring out stocks and shares ahead of time and knowing when to do it.. I’d appreciate an email if you could give me a good recommendation. thanks for the help!!
Thanks, Kory. The big issue with the eMyth is that while Gerber talks about entrepreneurship as the core of business, he doesn’t address the other possible “e”, electronic. That is, there’s not much mention of the importance of the online world for marketing and positioning your company, not to mention inventing it in the first place. That’s why I ended up pulling my thoughts together on this and writing “Growing Your Business with Google”, which you can learn about at http://www.findability.info/
Hope that helps you out!
Dave, very interesting post. I heard Gerber interviewed on John Jantsch’s show. Jantsch went on and on about how the E Myth is on his list of 10 books that every small business owner must read. So I was considering getting the book, but while listening to the interview I got exactly the impression you described: that it was very over-simplified. Thanks for the confirmation.
I’m surprised that no one has mentioned how ridiculous it is to review half a book. Do theater critics review half a play?
Yes, many of the principles seem obvious, but there is still a need for them to be stated and for these stories to be told. Many people, myself included, get caught up in putting out the fires, that we fail to take the time to step back and take a look at the business at a whole. For someone like you, Dave, who has started four businesses and who writes about business, these principles are extremely simplistic. But most small businesses are started by technicians who want more control over their lives, but who find out that in reality the business is controlling them! Most small businesses are started by people without business degrees (and I’d venteure to say that most small business owners don’t even have college degrees).
This book is aimed at those people, not savvy entrepreneurs of high tech companies.
Having two luxuriously rare days off, I decided to research a book that a finanicial advisor, and customer of mine suggested, that being the one in point. This individual, also holding an M.B.A. ,felt that I would enjoy this book ,as I am currently in the pursuit of my M.B.A. ,as well as running my small business of thirteen years. As time ,at this point ,for me ,is like gold ,I most definately don’t want to waste it, on an over simplified version of common sense issues. However Dave ,I really wish that you had read the whole book before such a scathing review. I’m sure you would not want any of us to react to your books in the same manner. Had you been able to post a review after acknowledging all of the material I should better be able to decide if the cost in money and time would be advisable. One thing I will say on your reference to E business, is ,that, it is indeed a necessary blessing and evil for all involved in the business world ,large and small. However to shun the other very necessary elements, that some here have commented on ,is also simplistic. I have found that common sence ,is indeed ,perhaps the most valuable of assets, that any business person can , however it is a natural blessing and is not to be found in all. In every single adventure Iv’e had from a B.Sc , law school , small business, and now an M.B.A. I have found common sence is the least prevailing occurance. And so to say, at this point now, perhaps this book points out to those more mechanically inclined the common sence things that people like you and many others take for granted. Finally I will say that today I will look at the book in question, while I sip on a delicious Starbuck coffee , and perhaps buy it. If I do, I will send you a brief review. I wonder if you have read Good to Great, and if so what are your thoughts on it?
Jamie, Dave Taylor did everyone a dis-service in not reading this book in its entirty before reviewing it. READ IT. It is a quick easy read and it is profound. I’d like to see integrative software built around these precepts. Hey, there’s a business opportunity! This book is going to change my life and the lives of my employees. Thank you Michael Gerber.
I have owned and successfully run a business brokerage firm in Maine selling businesses for 25 years. I first read Michael Gerber’s “E-Myth” in the 1980’s. I have also read the “Revisted” updating from 1995. I just bought his 2005 book on ‘E-Myth Mastery,” that I haven’t finished yet.
That we are all still talking about his 1986-1995 book, and that it is still a bestseller, says that it works for someone.
His whole system is not simplistic at all. Go look at his website, or get the “Mastery” book. His advice is actually too complicated for many. I have TRIED to follow his precepts for fifteen years and am only now beginning to understand what he has been saying. When I finally “got it,” my business doubled in size overnight, and is on its way to doubling again. But, then again, I never met him or went to one of his live seminars.
Not everything he says is golden. He is sometimes irritating and simplistic (but not as irritating and a book reviewer who reads half the damn book!). He has a delivery style that can be grating. He is getting a bit dated in his references. He’s a little too California-zen-style for those of us in Maine. He often comes off poorly in short interviews because his concepts are NOT simple.
With all of MY personal business experience, however, I KNOW what he is writing and saying is correct, and I also know that LONG EXPOSURE is what made it finally work for me. I have read and re-read his many materials for years. I only just recently “got it.”
Glen Cooper, President
Maine Business Brokers
http://www.MaineBusinessBrokers.com
Portland, Maine
Is “Revisited” just a new edition of the 1980’s book? I am trying to get folks to buy the book for a study group and thought it was going to be easy to pick up cheap pre-owned copies of the original on Amazon, but all I am finding is “Revisited” except for some over-priced hardcovers of the original.
– Confused.
I don’t run my own business yet. Mostly because I am trying to develop a process for doing my kind of business – something common sense told me was key having worked in 3 companies where fire-fighting was the order of the day.
But I have read a lot of management books and I must admit that E-myth is one of the few that says without mincing words that an organized, well-known systematic way of doing things is absolutely necessary. In fact, I think the beauty of E-myth is that it says this in a way that most people can understand. Very simply. And that is probably the biggest failing of the book. For the technocrats and seasoned managers who would prefer laymen to believe that running a small business requires some arcane intelligence…It is too simple. Even for me, by virtue of my “management books”!!!
But even with the simplicity, I think we would be surprised at how many entrepreneurs (new and old) miss the important, common sense things…By the way, when I say simple, I mean his manner of delivery. Michael Greber advocates a great deal of mental work and I have always found brain, mind, thinking work to be the most difficult of all…
My view? The book is good. It certainly does not provide all the information an entrepreneur needs but it is a good place to start…The man’s style can be grating and “California-zen-like” but his ideas are sound…
Dave, you should have finished the book first. That might not have changed your mind, but I suspect it is the proper thing to do.
Bottom line: It’s a not-to miss book.
I’m also about halfway through and the book is causing me severe consternation, which is a compliment. That means it’s making me think.
I’ve had a business rise and “get small” in EXACTLY the same way that Gerber described. I’m working on growing my wings again, but before I really fly, this time I need a solid plan.
However, the book suggests hiring the least-skilled help you can get away with. That bothers me on an ethical level. I’ve always prided myself on making my clients really happy with my work. I had an excellent client retention rate for years, before I crashed and burned after about a decade.
To prove Gerber correct, I never could find anyone as competent, skilled, etc. as myself. I often went behind people to clean up their design work because I knew what my clients would and would not find acceptable.
The services I provide (software training and graphic design) are very dependent on customizing the solution for the customer. There is no “McDonald’s burger” I can create and shove out routinely that will satisfy everyone.
I’ve known a few web companies that provide standard template solutions. I’ve also unintentionally acquired a few of their dissatisfied customers that wanted something created that accurately reflected their company’ mission.
The counterpoint to Gerber’s examples are expert entities such as dentists, doctors, lawyers and even business coaches. They have a small staff and keep it that way, but these people never seem to be hurting for money. Some do work crazy hours, of course.
Can one not have a good life being a technical expert with a business that stays small?
Is this a question of getting wealthy vs not getting wealthy?
Anyway, I’ve included my e-mail with this comment. If you’d like to delve into this quandary further with me, feel free to e-mail. I’d love to bat this around with others.
What about a restaurant run by a chef who cannot possibly ‘teach’ staff that which has taken 20 years to master? I am basicly an artist and my product does not lend itself to simplification into a process that can be followed by any other person.
Not to mention the ever evolving menu ( ie when I say master of my field I mean the knowledge of taste and inherent cooking chemistry that has taken 20 years to be trustworthy and yet new stuff keeps being created) I am a technician in the greatest sense and find it difficult to take any time away from the business because in my case the business is me,- my taste, my nose and my eye for aesthetics. Is there a solution for me?
I’m a chinses.i read this book by chance.it gives me deep impression.I think this could apply to all areas of my life, not just my business.
I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s comments. I’ve decided that I will purchase the book. I’ve not started my business yet but I look forward to the challenge and reward of ownership.
Thanks everyone! Good luck to all!
Kat
OK, so I’ll probably get a hold of this book. Reading comments of other entrepreneur I think that the true sense of what the book says is highly context sensitive – namely to the business to which it applies. I agree for e.g. that infrastructure is paramount to growth in a typical McDonald’s model (how long will one guy flip burgers and grow by volume alone?). But that’s not my area of expertise. On the other hand if you consider the hi-tech sector; in my opinion the only thing you need to grow is a serious technical itch. At least in this industry it’s the proverbial ‘technicians’ that are the driving force of the enterprise. Infrastructure and management can go to hell. Take Google – geek kingdom. Nowhere in it’s history was it handicapped due to a lack of management infrastructure. That evolved with the company as it broadened it’s technology. The proof lies clearly in the Dot.bomb era. How many companies failed due to purely management related issues? Very few. How many failed because it was just a plain old bad stinking idea? Almost the entire graveyard.
I chuckled as read the post by Dave and the subsequent posts re: a 1/2 read book. Ironically that is where I am at in my reading of “Revisited”. I thought I would be like Dave and give my thoughts up to date.
This 1/2 of the story exposing a pattern of a technician lead business, is exactly what has transpired in our business. That being said, I am hooked and will finish to hear the solution. It may well be a great Ad for the e-myth worldwide company, but if so cudo’s for the e team. Simply recogzing the main limiting factor in the business, b/c it is never one thing, in our business has been a positive. I look forward to the balance of the book, from what I hear and read it will be a good investment of my time.
Dave I would say you blew it in reviewing after only half a book. But then again, so did I. 🙂
Reviewing a half read book is as amusing as the post by Jamie Lundquist on July 22, 2006 9:30 AM is depressing.
All that school and he can’t spell common SENSE words and contractions. Maybe he hadn’t had his Starbucks yet.
“In every single adventure Iv’e had from a B.Sc , law school , small business, and now an M.B.A. I have found common sence is the least prevailing occurance.”
The E Myth is a great book and one that I recommend that all my small business clients read.
As I explain in my review on The Business Coaching Blog I didn’t like it when I first read it but then I saw the light.
This book is simplistic, but that does not take anything away from the very important message that is relevant to many SMALL business (google aint a small business!!)
I also love:
Spare Room Tycoon: Succeeding Independently – the 70 Lessons of Sane Self-Employment by James Chan .
It is the antidote to the E-myth, for businesses that do not fall into that catagory.
First, WRT Dav’es decision to write a review on half a book and post it on his blog – IT’S HIS BLOG! Why should he subject himself to the torture and tyranny forced on him by wasting precious hours of Life reading something he finds wasteful??? One of the key success traits of successful entrepreneurs is to “…not throw good money (or “time,” in this case) after bad…” If you can’t make a judgment call w/only SOME of the information, that could be something to work on…”fish or cut bait” my Dad would always say.
…oh, and any misspelins in this post are a result of fast typing, not my education… 😉
Full Disclosure: I have not read this book; rather, I have skimmed it (read a chapter or two on topics that were relevant to me, at the time; it’s on my “airplane reading list”)
Writing style: simplistic / easy-to-follow compared to other business books
Quality of Information: debatable (obviously; see above breadth of comments)
Intended Audience: unknown, but based on my impression it’s small business owners.
Most people I know have a tough time pulling themselves back and gaining perspective on their businesses, lives, relationships, etc. As one commenter said above, they spend an inordinate amount of time focusing on the crisis of the moment.
I think the message of the book is really to step back and to THINK. Business leaders (regardless of ownership) need to be able to FOCUS and provide LEADERSHIP. Books, courses, etc. can help, and may even help one to avoid some icebergs. However, the school of hard knocks can also be a wonderful teacher.
WRT his trinary segmentation of business personalities:
1. Entrepreneurs (who are the dreamers, focused on the future)
2. Managers (who are the organizers, focused on how to do things efficiently)
3. Technicians (who are the “do-ers” focused on what’s to be done)
In my experience – stemming from the companies and organizations that I have started, run or advised, as well as my educational experience – successful business owners know:
* at which of the above where they really excel
* are emotionally functional enough to KNOW at which of these they are weak
* are mature enough to not let their EGO interfere with making this evaluation
Independent of the “systemization” variable, the Dependent variable with the biggest impact on performance are the People; specifically, your Leadership Team.
One of the most common examples I have seen over and over again, is the “technician” who thinks he is an “entrepreneur”. This type of vanity stifles growth and is frequently a root cause for why growth stalls. It gets worse when the individual then interprets that failure as a judgment on themselves, which tends to accelerate the company’s (and sometimes the individual’s) Spiral of Failure
Knowing what you should focus on and what you should partner for…hmmmm…sounds like a nice, 6-CD audio series.. 😉
I’ve read the whole book and like the idea behind it. I’ve seen too many business owners whose business owns them and they have less freedom.
I had similar thoughts on the artistic side such as the chef, how does this work in that kind of business? Artists, writers, etc. can’t really write themselves out of the equation and be replaced as well. Yet you can create more income by finding more ways to get paid on work already done. How many ways does the Harry Potter author get paid for what she has already written.
One only needs to go to a bookshop to get swamped by the 1,000’s of books on building a busines, improving your lifestyle etc etc.
Perhaps the one key difference to this is that Michael Gerber has built a very successful enterprise that practices what he preaches, and also supports and teaches the premises behind the books.
My first encounter with E-Myth was about 10 years ago, when as CFO, I was roped in to assist the then CEO to implement the principles of E-Myth. There was too much internal resistance, and ultimately the initiative failed, and so to did the business.
Round two, as I now have my own business, have built it up rather successfully but need to now take it to new levels of success.
I’ve only read the summary of E-myth Revisited but so far, it’s speaking directly to me. Can’t wait to lay hold of the book cos I know positive change will come to my business & I can then be free to live the life I’ve always wanted.
Your review can’t and won’t discourage me from reading it. No offense but the book is OBVIOUSLY not meant for you.
a wise man once said “opinions are the wolrds cheapest commodity”. of course we are all entitled to our opionions, though i do feel that in order to share an opinion it would be wise to do your research carefully.
i have witnessed first hand the pain and suffering unintentionally caused when a technician business owner fails to systemise or delegate their work in a company resulting in terrible consequencies.
my father suffered a stroke at work which could have been easily avoided had he read and incorporated the ideas presented in the e myth book.
yes, it is oversimplified but only if you dont carry on with the other books in the series…. and yes hearing about a pie shop over and over does grate immensely! im practically put off pies now!
with the viewpoint presented in the e myth series of books, i was able to see the errors in my fathers business outlook and went on to ensure that i never fell back into the trap that was to blame for his early life health issues.
business, i have found, can be as easy or as hard as you want it to be. we have a tendency to make things hard for ourselves. the vision that the emyth books allow us to see, is that a business shouldnt take over your life, it should be the vehicle which accelerates our lives and allows us to do and experience more.
personally i would like to thank michael gerber for sharing this often misinterpreted idea with us.
im pleased to say after reading the book i had a massive change in my outlook towards business and also in the bigger scheme of things too.
I found the book facinating. As a real estate agent, it took me a while to figure out how to apply the principles in the book to my business (we have a tendency to BE our business), but once I “got it” the transformation was amazing.
As far as your review goes, I may not agree with what you say, but I’ll die defending your right to say it!
A great book that gently enlightened me into what I was doing (thinking) wrong and then reassuringly giving solutions.Sarah, the character running the pie shop is definitely a part of me and I have many of her flaws. This book has changed the position from which I view my import / distribution business and I am planning to run my business so I am not the the only thing holding it all together.
Often we forget the little guy, the SMB, in our discussions of the comings and goings of the Internet marketing industry. Sure there are times like this when a report surfaces talking about their issues and concerns but, for the most part, we like to talk about big brands and how they do the Internet marketing thing well or not so well.
I’m all for a good story, but this book should have been a pamphlet. I literally ended up writing “bla, bla, bla” at the top of the pages when the pie talk became unbearable. It’s a nice tool for others like me that find that Gerber does offer useful to offer, it helps you fast forward the fluff. I wish he would have come out with E-Myth: Condensed, as Dave Taylor begins to do in his article in stead of E-Myth: Revisited.
I likewise read this book a few years ago. The point that you and others have made about business being simple is fact , but it never ceases to amaze me what people in business do not think about or understand.
The book actually became an inspiration for our website and also , as a mentor for SME businesses , experience does count for something , and that is also a point of the book.
Key message for me was… how do you know what you do not know??
This book made me think about an exercise that I’m in the midst of implementing. Hypothetically, I am going to die in a month. My business is the only asset I have to assure my family a good life. How do I document it so that my two year old son can run it when he comes of age?
I like the book. Yes, it is obvious and simple, but forcing yourself to compartmentalize and memorialize each function does indeed put you on a path to more golf, and probably a longer, stress-free life.
This book takes you back to the basics of running any business. I finished reading it last night and I’m thinking of starting to implement them in my businesses, which are an Advertising Agency and a Pizza Place in South America, but now I have to redefine which business I’m in. Nice, fast reading, highly recommended.
I couldn’t really relate to most of the content. I never thought I’d finish it, to be honest. But I will say that it gives dentists in peterborough a run for their money.
The E-Myth Revisited is a good book with a simple, but powerful message for businesses / entrepreneurs: take your personality out of your work and create business systems (or, in Gerber’s thought process, franchises). Work _on_ your business (system) as much or more as you work _in_ your business. And the point of creating a good system or franchise, is for someone else to eventually buy it out from you (getting you enough money to retire or move on to the next project/business system/franchise).
I read this book in 1995 and it is still relevant today, 20 years later. The author underestimates the number of so-called business people that start with no map, no compass, that fall victim to the rush of adrenaline – the startup high. As the director of a larger regional business incubator, I would make this book required reading for every startup founder and management leader. It not only helps you be productively introspective but casts a perspective on those that you to come into your company. From this book alone, you can triage outside help – which type of business person they are and where they will be most productive in your company. It is a good foundational tool, and I use several more advanced frameworks when working with clients that get into more specific topics, more deeply – but this is always a good, friendly base to fall back on through a career of startups.