The E-Myth Revisited proposes that owners of businesses that are not working should start again. This time they need to translate their vision into a management system, and to control their unpredictable employees through this system. I agree completely with this philosophy. My question is concerned with the practicalities of achieving this for a business with 25 employees. Sarah, in the book, had downsized to one, and moving forward was not complicated by any employees. How would you install a management system within an existing business with 25 employees, all of whom have been creating their own form of unpredictability? What difficulties do you envisage? from Jill Tydeman Thanks for your thoughtful question. You ...

An old friend, Marcia, owns a cookie business that in 20 years has grown from a tiny kiosk to a fine store employing 12 workers and a manager. She recently visited me to discuss a personnel accountability problem. Not uncommonly, however, she didn't see it as an "accountability" problem, but rather as a "people" problem. "The business is stagnating, and so am I," she complained. "Production is down, deliveries are late, quality is worsening...and so is my throat from yelling at my manager. I don't want to have to look over everyone's shoulders all the time. I just want to play bridge with my friends." "But Marcia," I said, "if after 20 years you still have to be there every day to oversee everything, apparently your people don ...

As an enlightened business owner, you understand the importance of doing market research on your prospective customers. For example, you want to know where they're located, any common characteristics they may have and, ultimately, as much as possible about how they think - their needs, wishes, and motivations. The goal, of course, is to refine your ability to effectively and efficiently target your message to those with whom you most want to do business. Well, you may be surprised to learn that this wisdom equally applies in seeking prospective employees. In fact, marketing for customers and marketing for employees address the similar four key questions: What is my likely trading area? (Where are my likely employees located)? What ...

A business partnership is like a marriage. It comes with similar baggage - the ebb and flow of independence, dependence, insecurity, creativity, and crisis - and the challenge of trying to raise a child (your business) from infancy through adolescence to adulthood. Have you checked the divorce statistics lately? Well, the odds of a business partnership surviving are even worse! And for a family business? Train wreck ahead! But as with marriage, there seems to be a strong human pull to form business partnerships. And for those who've forged ahead despite the many perils, strategies do exist to increase your odds of success. A study in contrasts A partnership is an agreement to rule by shared decree. It's a declaratio ...

Every growing business sometimes needs an infusion of critical expertise. If you need to expand online, you'll need an IT expert. If you want to increase your press exposure, you'll hire a PR expert. If you need to maximize your return on investment, you'll hire a qualified accountant or financial adviser. But we're often our own worst enemies when it comes to experts. In thrall of their expertise, we bring them into our business and say, "Do your thing." We abdicate our leadership position, often compromising our vision in favor of someone else's -- someone who doesn't understand our goals and expectations for the business. And when things then go horribly awry, the result is what I call the Curse of the Experts. Don't waste y ...

At E-Myth Worldwide, we coach and encourage our business owner clients to get free of their business by becoming self-sufficient, lead-generating, client-converting, customer-satisfying machines. How? By designing systems to get work done, and training people to operate those systems to produce consistent results. If this sounds similar to a franchise prototype, you're right. And while that's usually the domain of fast food restaurants, hair salons, gyms, and other industries whose familiar signs dot the commercial landscape, the advantages of the franchise prototype apply to individual businesses as well. Get free from your business The goal for many small business owners is to be liberated from their business, and I suggest tha ...

When E-Myth Worldwide was founded almost 30 years ago, it was based on a single underlying principal: "Systems run the business and people run the systems." And absolutely every frustration you experience in your business has a systemic solution. "Every frustration?" you ask. "But my frustration isn't about systems. I just can't find good people." Yet good people are everywhere. Some of them may even be working for you right now. And although they're good, maybe they're not good at what you're asking them to do. There could be several possible reasons for that frustration: One is that they're good people who don't have the minimum required skills to do what you're asking them to do. So begin trying to discove ...

Company Culture: A game worth playing What do you and your employees experience when walking through the doors of your business in the morning? Is there a feeling of tension or indifference? Do your employees share your values? Are they performing as you wish them to? Is there a sense of camaraderie and of playing on the same team? If not, perhaps it's time to take an honest look at the state of employee relations and your company culture as it stands today. Objective observations: A basis for change Adam, the owner of a dental clinic, wants to build a world-class business but feels like he can’t get past the daily employee frustrations. Adam’s desire is for his employees’ behavior to match the standard of the franchise pro ...

The manner in which you serve your customers is the foremost way to either support, or negate, your business growth. Effective businesses do more than survive -- they thrive -- by knowing what to say and do for their clients. But, for many business owners, it takes time to learn these things. The first step is to start listening, to try things out, ask the clients what they want, and slowly build a database of responses and actions that show you, through trial and error, how to serve your clients in a way that makes them come back time and time again. As your business grows, it is likely that you have given more thought to how you would like your customer service experience to be. But have you informed your employees about these th ...

Nothing is more eloquent, strategically planned and gracefully executed, than a symphony - the individual musicians performing in unison as a cohesive orchestra under the strategic oversight of the conductor. Your business can also perform as a symphony, with your staff working together to achieve your vision under your strategic oversight as the leader. The key to a successful outcome, whether in music or in business, is to create the proper systems and strategies. According to Michael Gerber, business development comes through a cycle of "innovation, quantification, and orchestration." Therefore, as first mentioned in Parts One and Two of this series, Innovation, and Quantification, we at E-Myth believe that one key to succeeding ...

As first mentioned last week in Part One of this series, Innovation, we believe that one key to succeeding in business is through analyzing and improving business development systems. According to Michael Gerber, business development comes through a cycle of "innovation, quantification, and orchestration." Systems quantification, the second step in the cycle, consists of evaluating the effectiveness of a particular system. Why is quantification important to your business? Quantification is the objective evaluation of business performance. It allows an owner or manager to understand the impact of any changes in the business, because it provides a basis of comparison between the new way and old way of doing things. When you receive re ...

Why do some companies grow and thrive, while others wither and die? What do successful companies know that others don't? At E-Myth, we believe that one key to succeeding in business is through analyzing and improving business development systems. According to Michael Gerber, business development occurs through a cycle of "innovation, quantification, and orchestration." Systems innovation, then, is the starting point of the cycle. "Improvement" is the Objective of Innovation Innovation is about creating new systems, enhancing existing systems, and doing things in a better way. In your efforts to create a world-class organization, you must strive to innovate everything your business does, because the goal of innovation is improveme ...

At Embark Community Connection we read and review many Entrepreneurial sites on the web, and will occasionally re-publish articles of interest. This week we found two interesting stories from the National Dialogue of Entrepreneurship, who publish a very informative weekly newsletter. Business Support in London The British government and many of Britain's regional development agencies are in the midst of several interesting and innovative experiments in how to effectively support local entrepreneurs. The latest edition comes from the London Development Agency (LDA), which has recently published a series of consultation documents regarding reform of London's business support services. The reports contain intere ...

The intangible, but highly influential, experiences of free expression, self-sufficiency, and creative control are what drive many people to embark upon the entrepreneurial journey, as it is these factors that provide personal satisfaction to business owners. Obviously, as the business owner and leader, you have a unique stake in the success or failure of the business because it is tied to you as an individual. As such, you are willing to struggle through the tough times while maintaining your excitement as you create a vision for the future. As mentioned in our earlier article, Your Entrepreneurial Vision in Action, creating what we refer to as the "Strategic Objective" is an entrepreneurial exerc ...

Time Management Skills In these modern times we are turning to more advanced tools - such as automated machinery and advanced software applications - to increase productivity. But as our use of these tools grows, the more responsibilities and activities we are able to add to our day, which results in the need for more time to do them in. The cycle is virtually endless and the pace seems to increase each day. The reality is that time management is a challenge for all of us, and it is important to see it as a habit to be improved upon and optimized. Changing the way you use and manage your time can be one of the most positive and rewarding things you do for your business. To manage your time more effectively, you will first n ...

I've read The E-Myth Revisited and I've heard Michael Gerber speak, but I have a business partner who has not and will not. I believe in my entrepreneurial vision for our company, but my partner is not convinced. He prefers doing technical work (which other employees should do) and he swears by the adage "If you want it done properly, then do it yourself." His attitude is definitely holding back our growth plans. Any suggestions? from Michael Lloyd Partnerships present challenges as well as opportunities. A partnership can potentially have profound impacts on your business, your role in the business and in your life. Entering into a partnership should not be done without careful forethought and attention to detai ...

We are very proud to announce that the Embark Community Connection; an online community that offers a forum for busy business owners to learn about and discuss the principles of Michael Gerber and E-myth Worldwide; is now live! The introduction of the Embark Community Connection marks a new era of opportunities and possibilities for business owners. The Embark Community Connection is meant to showcase the entrepreneurial successes that many millions of small to medium businesses have achieved, and to report on the important next steps they have taken to implement systems-directed processes and organizational-wide accountability. The Community promises to attract business owners from all walks of life, and all corners of the world, who ...

The recent spate of damaging hurricanes is a stern reminder of how suddenly disasters can strike businesses and devastate communities. While your business may not be located in an area prone to hurricanes, you could still be vulnerable to other kinds of natural and man-made disasters such as fire, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, landslides, or terrorist attacks. Your life and livelihood, as well as those of your employees, and the very health of the community, could be at stake. Are you prepared? To be able to recover and thrive after a disaster situation requires a comprehensive disaster response plan, which you should develop and have in place long before an actual disaster strikes. Basic steps you should take now include: ...

"Systems run the business and people run the systems." Michael E. Gerber Management isn't about doing things, it's about getting things done. It's knowing what has to be done and finding a way to get it done without doing it yourself. Management is not the same as leadership. Leadership focuses on you, your vision, the way you think, the way you communicate, and the image you project to your people. Leadership is about you. But management is about your business. How to get your business to do the things it has to do while leaving you free to do the things you want to do. When you reach the point where your business gets things done the way you want them done, consistently and predictably, without your having to do them, then yo ...