“The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It” dispels the myth of the entrepreneur. That myth is that entrepreneurs are naturally talented, successful business people. In Gerber’s opinion most small businesses fail because of the lack of proper systems and organizational structure.
Roles in a Small Business
First of all, there are three key roles that in a small business. They are the technician, the manager, and the visionary. The technician is responsible for providing the service or product of the company. The manager is responsible for ensuring that that the work coming into the business is on schedule and delivered with quality. The visionary is responsible for investigating new directions and initiatives that the company can pursue. Most small business owners start out as technicians working in their business and become overwhelmed with managing and growing their business.
Building a Successful Small Business
The E-Myth Revisited provides a step-by-step approach to build a successful small business. The goal is to create a business that does not require the owner to be present all the time. This frees the owner to focus on big-picture vision and new opportunities for the business.
The approach to build a successful business outlined in the E-Myth Revisited is as follows:
- Work on the business, not only in it: The business owner needs to take a step back and focus on developing the systems, processes, and structure of the business, rather than working in the business on a day-to-day basis.
- Build a business model that works: The owner needs to create a clear vision of what the business is, what it does, and how it does it. This includes defining the target market, products and services, and unique selling proposition.
- Build a culture of entrepreneurship: The owner needs to cultivate a culture within the business that supports creativity, innovation, and growth. This requires empowering employees and encouraging them to take risks and experiment.
- Create a turn-key system: A turn-key system is a repeatable and replicable process for running your business much like a franchise. It includes written procedures, training programs, and other tools to help you standardize your business processes and make them more efficient.
- Hiring and training the right people: The owner needs to be surrounded by the right people to help the business grow and succeed. This includes hiring employees who are aligned with your values and vision and training them to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities.
- Continuously improving the business: Finally, the owner needs to continuously evaluate and improve the business processes and systems. This requires ongoing experimentation and innovation to ensure that the business remains relevant and competitive in a dynamic
A Primer for New Franchisees
“The E-Myth Revisited” is extremely beneficial to perspective and new franchise owners. Two of the most important things a franchisor provides to their franchisees are a proven business model and a turn-key business system. Also, franchisors provide key input to their franchisees regarding hiring and general human resource policies. By helping take care of these issues, franchisors help franchisees work on their business and increase the probability of success for the business.
Summary
In summary, “The E-Myth Revisited” is a comprehensive guide helping small business owners build a successful and sustainable business that can grow and thrive over time. It is important that all small business owners build their business in terms of a turn-key operation. Having the right people, systems, and processes in place, the owner will be able to work on the business as opposed to working in the business. Furthermore, when the time comes to sell the business, the owner the owner will have a business to sell, whereas if the owner is trapped working in the business the only thing that can be offered for sale is a job for another person to take over.