The E Myth: Why Most Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It [Paperback]

Michael E. Gerber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1988

The E-Myth, or Entrepreneurial Myth, says that most new businesses are not started by entrepreneurs who set out to build a strong business but by technicians who enjoy the hands-on work themselves. Because of that natural bias, most business owners focus on working in their business when really they should be working on their business. There is, however, a simple and effective way to offset the E-Myth tendency. Instead of looking at the business as a one-off operation, the owner should consider the business to be a prototype for a large number of franchises that will be added at a later stage. By adopting that mindset, the business owner will not only participate in the business as a technician but will also act as a manager (putting systems in place and controls) and as an entrepreneur (having a vision of how the business can create sustainable added-value for all key stakeholders). A business that is built and managed by someone who combines the approach of the technician, the manager and the entrepreneur will have a far greater chance of future success than one guided by someone thinking like a technician alone.

Product Details

• Paperback: 162 pages
• Publisher: Ballinger Publishing (1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887303625
• ISBN-13: 978-0887303623
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #150,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael E. Gerber is a true legend of entrepreneurship. Inc. Magazine
called him "the World's #1 Small Business Guru." He started over 40 years
ago addressing a significant need in the small business market: businesses
owned primarily by people with technical skills but few business skills, and
no place to go to get meaningful help. Over the years, Michael E. Gerber's
companies have helped tens of thousands of small business owner-clients
to successfully transform their businesses into world-class operations.

Mr. Gerber's latest books are The Most Successful Small Business in the
World, Awakening the Entrepreneur Within, The E-Myth Enterprise, The E-Myth
Mastery, The E-Myth Manager, along with co-authored E-Myth Vertical books
The E-Myth Attorney, The E-Myth Accountant, The E-Myth Optometrist, The
E-Myth Chiropractor, The E-Myth Financial Advisor and soon to be released
The E-Myth Landscape Contractor and The E-Myth Architect.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#60 in Books > Business & Investing

#60 in Books > Business & Investing

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this before spending a dime to start any business April 30, 2008

By G. FitzGerald

Format:Paperback

Everyone that starts a business is a technician that suffers from an Entrepreneurship seizure, hence the E Myth. Small businesses do not work the way intended because the technician only works in the business and can not also have the foresight to work on the business at the same time. This book will open an individuals eyes to what is the reality of owning/operating a business. I wish I had the knowledge of this book when my real estate brokerage exploded with growth in 2005 and I hired my first person. Its not enough to know your business; you need to get others to run it while you focus on growing the operation.

The book will demonstrate and shall the reader how to install systems in the business so anyone can run it, then you will have a business, until then the owner/technician will only have a job. The systems, not the people will run the business and the business will do what it was designed to do. If anyone can run the business because of the systems then anyone can own it and it still will produce income for the owner and his employees. McDonalds is a great example of systems put in place will determine the desired outcome(not the people).

The book will change the way you think of your small business and how to organize the business so you can attain a level of success and freedom. There are only two reasons to own a business to have freedom and to sell it one day.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential for any and every small business owner March 18, 2009

By SusieQ Porter

Format:Paperback

I read Gerber's "E-Myth" many years ago. It's probably the book that most influenced my thinking. It's a fast and easy read. The first time I read it I said to myself "this is a great book but I don't think it will work for my business". As soon as I said that, I thought "what a dumb way to read a book!", so I immediately read it again, this time thinking about all of the ways I could apply and adapt his principles to my business. It helped me elevate my business. I created a mission statement, everyone that came to work for me had to sign on it. After reading this book I created a system that allowed me to standardize nearly all of the processes I used to produce an outstanding product. That process allowed me to move ahead of the pack in my chosen field and that never hurts. The standardization process allowed me and those that came to work for me to uncover 99.9% of the problems that might arise in a given situation and uncovering the flaws in a transaction means that you have the opportunity to deal with them or eliminate them. This time I bought it as a gift for someone wanting to improve their business.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple concepts for easy digestion! July 20, 2005

By Mitchell L. Martin

Format:Hardcover

This book is a must read. The concepts presented are given plainly and initially disect common reasons for management failure. Mr. Gerber then reconstructs in easy terms how to fix the issues. The concepts provided are simple, such as service for example, which in my opinion direct the reader to focus on simple business features that are commonly forgotten about and which at the same time are what are primarily responsible for any businesses sucess.

This is by no means a pandoras box of new ideas. These are fundamental business ideas communicated in a way that are unforgettable and change the way you may have thought about critical business improvment issues. This style of communication give credit to the authors exceptional method of storytelling.

The Entreprenural Myth discovers and alludes plainly what each us may have thought about running a business and the trappings that may occur. This book also exposes our pre-disposition toward actions which may lead to failure and how the formation of our ideas about business are based upon our ego and mis-information.