The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber is one of my favourite business books that I've always come back to again and again, as it provides me with some important lessons about how to successfully build a business that doesn't depend on you in any way.
I originally learned about The E-Myth from an old roommate that was an entrepreneur. Also, Tim Ferriss recommends it in The 4 Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich I originally read this book about 5 or 6 years ago when I was starting my first business and was seeking out resources that could help make me successful. I didn't know anything about business at the time. I didn't go to university or have any experience. I figured I would learn everything I could through modelling success through books and coaching programs. This book is one of the first that I studied that provided me with a lot of tools and strategies on how to build my first business.
One of the biggest things that hit me hard while reading The E-Myth was this phrase:
“Your business is nothing more than a distinct reflection of who you are.”
This really made me pause and think. It made me realize that in order to have a successful business, I need to constantly grow and improve myself – to literally change my way of thinking and mindset. I needed to take the necessary actions to grow, as my business is merely an extension of myself. Michael Gerber explains it more thoroughly below:
If your thinking is sloppy, your business will be sloppy. If you are disorganized, your business will be disorganized.
If you are greedy, your employees will be greedy, giving you less and less of themselves and always asking for more.
If your information about what needs to be done in your business is limited, your business will reflect that limitation.
So if your business is to change — as it must continuously to thrive — you must change first. If you are unwilling to change, your business will never be capable of giving you what you want.
Another thing that Michael Gerber talks a lot about in The E-Myth is creating a franchise. You want to avoid creating a business that depends on you. As he says, “If your business depends on you, you don't own a business — you have a job.”
What happens if you're sick, or on vacation? If that happens, then the business STOPS. You stop making money and in fact, are losing money. I recently wrote a lengthy blog post and put up a video on how to make passive income online, which is an extension of this way of thinking. You want to be working ON the business and not IN the business.
One question that he says you should be constantly asking yourself is, “How can I get my business to work, but without me?”
In The E-Myth, Michael Gerber goes into detail how to create a Primary Aim, Strategic Objective, Organizational Chart, Management Strategy, People Strategy, Marketing Strategy, and a lot more. Many of these strategies have been extremely useful for me in my years of building businesses. Others weren't as useful, as it was different than my type of business model.
Another big one for me in The E-Myth was creating an Organizational Chart. Most people when creating a business try to do everything on their own. They're wearing too many hats. They don't realize that business is a team game. That in order to be really successful at it and to grow your business, you can't do anything. Instead, you need to think about outsourcing different elements of your business and build a team. You want to focus on your strengths, and hire others to run other aspects of your business. The analogy he uses is one of a sports team. You can't play every position.
As of writing this book review, I run several internet businesses that are automated systems that run without me. I worked ON these businesses at the beginning to set them up and automate them, but once set up, I don't need to touch them anymore and they will continue to make me money. I have a customer support rep that I pay $2/hour in the Philippines that handles all customer e-mails. That is a system that I set up. I hire and outsource all web design, programming, content creation, search engine optimization, etc… using oDesk.com and Fiverr.com. Again, another system that I've set up that doesn't require any work on my end.
In my opinion, every business owner on the planet needs to read The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber. I couldn't imagine going through life without it, and not knowing how to create a system. That one little principle was a huge breakthrough in my life and business as an entrepreneur. Another great book that I wrote a review about that talks in-detail about this is SpeedWealth: How to Make a Million in Your Own Business in 3 Years or Less by T. Harv Eker, which is also worth checking out.
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