Stop Your Business From Failing!
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
by Michael E. Gerber
Business
TL;DR
This book slaps you with the reality that being good at making lattes doesn't mean you're good at running a coffee shop. It pushes you to stop being a glorified technician and start thinking like a system architect. The core method is to design your business as if you're going to franchise it tomorrow, even if you never do. This means documenting every single process, from how to answer the phone to how to onboard a new hire, so your business can run smoothly without you constantly being the bottleneck. It's all about building systems that empower others and creating a predictable, scalable operation rather than just a job for yourself.
Action Items
Identify one task in your current side hustle or job that you're really good at, but also one task that you hate doing but is crucial for the "business" side. Acknowledge the difference.
For one hour today, put on your "Entrepreneur hat" and brainstorm 3 wild, unrealistic ideas for your business/project. Then, for 30 minutes, put on your "Manager hat" and try to figure out the first 3 practical steps for one of those ideas.
Pick one recurring task you do in your work or personal life (e.g., making coffee, responding to emails, doing laundry). Write down the exact step-by-step process as if you were teaching a robot to do it.
Identify one task you do regularly that takes up too much of your time. Brainstorm 2-3 ways you could create a simple system (a checklist, a template, a delegated role) to either automate it or have someone else do it consistently.
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Key Chapter
Chapter - The Three Personalities: Your Inner Chaos Crew
This chapter totally blew my mind by breaking down the three main "personalities" battling for control inside every small business owner: the Technician, the Manager, and the Entrepreneur. Most of us start as the Technician, obsessed with doing the actual work, like baking the best cookies. But if you don't level up to the Manager, who organizes the cookie-making process, and the Entrepreneur, who dreams up the next big cookie flavor and how to scale, you're screwed. It's like trying to win a game with only one player. You gotta learn to juggle these roles or, better yet, build systems so others can wear those hats, freeing you up to actually grow your empire instead of just making more cookies yourself.
Key Methods and Approaches
The "I'm Good at This, So I'll Start a Business" Trap
(AKA: The Entrepreneurial Myth/Technician's Fallacy)
Description:
Thinking that because you're a wizard at a specific skill, you'll automatically be a wizard at running a business based on that skill. Spoiler: You won't.
Explanation:
Imagine you're the absolute GOAT at making TikToks. You get millions of views, brands want to work with you. So you decide to start a "TikTok Agency." You think, "I'm good at TikTok, so I'll be good at running an agency!" Nah, fam. You're still just the TikToker. Now you gotta deal with contracts, invoicing, hiring other TikTokers, client management, marketing your agency, taxes... it's a whole different beast. Your brain's like, "Wait, I just wanted to make cool videos!" This trap makes you a slave to your own skill, not a business owner.
Examples:
A killer chef opening a restaurant but spending all their time cooking instead of managing staff or finances.
A brilliant coder starting a software company but getting bogged down in writing code for every client instead of building a product or managing a team.
A dope graphic designer starting a design studio but still doing all the design work themselves, drowning in client revisions.
Today's Action:
Identify one task in your current side hustle or job that you're really good at, but also one task that you hate doing but is crucial for the "business" side. Acknowledge the difference.
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