Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

Michael E. Gerber

"If they don't fail outright, most businesses fail to fully achieve their potential. That's because the person who owns the business doesn't truly know how to build a company that works without him or her.. which is the key." - Michael Gerber Michael Gerber is the founder and CEO of E-Myth Worldwide, and best selling author of The E-Myth Revisited, and E-Myth Mastery. He defines E-Myth as: 1: The entrepreneurial myth: the myth that most people who start a small business are entrepreneurs, 2: the fatal assumption that an individual who understands the technical work of a business can successfully run a business that does technical work.

Since its publication in 1995, this business classic has sold over one million copies, and is published in 16 languages. Michael observes that most small businesses are started by "technicians", that is, people who are skilled at something and who enjoy doing that thing. When these technicians strike out on their own, they tend to continue doing the work they are skilled at, and ignore the overarching aspects of business. Without clear goals and quantification benchmarks, they soon find themselves overworked, understaffed, and eventually broke. They come to hate the work they do. Rather than owning a business, Gerber writes, "they own a job."

The solution, according to Gerber, is for every business owner, especially the technician-owners, to balance their business personalities. To be successful, every small business owner needs to simultaneously be an entrepreneur and a manager as well as a technician. Of these three personalities, the entrepreneur is key- -without it, the technician will work herself to death or bankruptcy. As the business grows, the business owner will need to take a systems approach - using the "Turn-key Revolution", based on a franchise model.

Michael Gerber's E-Myth Point of View embodies his commitment to personal growth and the realization that a business owner's purpose in life can be actualized through his or her business. Michael Gerber's efforts, his message--his very life's work has been to empower business owners to gain more freedom, more money, more time, and more life. His book, The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, (HarperBusiness), is licensed in 16 languages and has gone into its tenth printing. Selling over a million copies, The E-Myth Revisited has been named one of the top business best sellers. Gerber has also authored The Power Point (HarperBusiness), The E-Myth Manager: Why Management Doesn't Work and What to Do About It (HarperBusiness), and The E-Myth Contractor: Why Most Contractors' Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It (HarperBusiness), The E-Myth Physician: Why Most Medical Practices Don't Work and What to Do About It (HarperBusiness) and his latest book E-Myth Mastery: The Seven Essential Disciplines for Building a World Class Company.

Resources:
E-Myth Worldwide
The E-Myth Revisited CD : Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to do about it

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

E-Myth Mastery : The Seven Essential Disciplines for Building a World Class Company

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