The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
You're great at what you do. So why is your business eating you alive?
Most small businesses fail, and there's one devastating reason why. Michael E. Gerber reveals that technical expertise doesn't equal business success. Being an excellent baker, accountant, or mechanic doesn't automatically make you an entrepreneur. This fatal assumption, the Entrepreneurial Myth, is destroying businesses every single day.
Inside every business owner, three personalities are at war. The Entrepreneur dreams big. The Manager craves order. The Technician just wants to do the work. Until you understand how to balance these forces, you'll remain trapped in a business that owns you instead of the other way around.
Gerber shows you how to escape the chaos through a revolutionary insight: work ON your business, not just IN it. Learn how to build systems that run without you, apply franchise principles to any business, and transform your company from a demanding job into a thriving enterprise that gives you freedom.
Transform your business into a turnkey operation.
With practical strategies and eye-opening insights, The E-Myth Revisited provides the blueprint for creating a business that works without you. Whether you're just starting out or struggling to grow, this book will revolutionize how you think about entrepreneurship and give you the tools to build a business that truly works.
Interesting Facts
Revised Edition of Underground Bestseller: The E-Myth Revisited is an updated version of the original 1986 book The E-Myth, with the revised edition incorporating fifteen years of additional experience and insights from working with thousands of small business owners.
Voted Number One by CEOs: Inc. 500 CEOs voted The E-Myth Revisited the number one business book, and Inc. Magazine dubbed author Michael Gerber "The World's #1 Small Business Guru."
Millions of Copies Sold Worldwide: The book has sold over 5 million copies globally and has been translated into multiple languages, reaching 145 countries and being taught in 118 universities.
Structured as a Conversation: Unlike the original, The E-Myth Revisited is written as a dialogue between Gerber and a fictional small business owner named Sarah, who runs a pie shop and struggles with burnout, making the concepts more relatable and emotionally engaging.
Three Personalities Theory: The book introduces the concept that every business owner embodies three distinct personalities: the Entrepreneur (the visionary dreamer), the Manager (the pragmatic planner), and the Technician (the hands-on doer), with most small business owners being 70% Technician, 20% Manager, and only 10% Entrepreneur.
The Entrepreneurial Myth Explained: The "E-Myth" refers to the false belief that most small businesses are started by entrepreneurs when, in reality, they're typically started by technicians who are good at their craft but lack business management skills, which Gerber identifies as the root cause of most small business failures.
Franchise Prototype Concept: Gerber advocates building every business as if it were a prototype for 5,000 franchises, even if you never plan to franchise, emphasizing systems-dependent operations rather than people-dependent ones to create a business that can run without the owner.
Working ON vs. IN: The book draws a vital distinction between working on your business (strategic development and systems creation) and working in your business (daily technical tasks), arguing that owners must shift from the latter to the former to achieve true success.
McDonald's as Case Study: Ray Kroc's McDonald's franchise model serves as the primary example throughout the book, demonstrating how standardized systems and processes can create consistency, scalability, and predictable results regardless of who operates the business.
Spawned an Entire Series: The success of The E-Myth Revisited led to 29 E-Myth books total, including industry-specific versions like The E-Myth Attorney, The E-Myth Accountant, The E-Myth Dentist, and many others tailored to specific professions.
Business Development Program Included: The book outlines a comprehensive seven-step Business Development Program that guides readers through creating their franchise prototype, starting with defining their personal primary aim and ending with documented systems and processes.
Never Traditionally Marketed: According to Gerber, The E-Myth Revisited was never formally marketed and owes its extraordinary success entirely to word-of-mouth recommendations from accountants, coaches, and satisfied readers who insisted their clients and colleagues read it.
Quotes
"The problem is not your business; it never has been. The problem is you."
"Most entrepreneurs are merely technicians with an entrepreneurial seizure. Most entrepreneurs fail because you are working in your business rather than on your business."
"Your business is nothing more than a distinct reflection of who you are. If your thinking is sloppy, your business will be sloppy."
"Systems run the business and people run the systems."
"The purpose of going into business is to get free of a job so you can create jobs for other people."
"If your business depends on you, you don’t own a business—you have a job. And it’s the worst job in the world because you’re working for a lunatic."
"The people who own businesses usually end up working for the business rather than having the business work for them."
"In the hands of an entrepreneur, the business is the product."
"Your business is not your life. Your business and your life are two separate things."
"The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next."
"Work on your business, not just in it."
"Go to work on your business as if it were the prototype for 5,000 more just like it."
"The system produces the results, not the people."
"To the entrepreneur, the business is the product. To the technician, the product is what he delivers to the customer."
"The best way to predict the future is to create it."
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