High-Level Thoughts

This is a must-read for any business owner small or big. It centers around the myth of the entrepreneur. That small businesses are started by entrepreneurs risking capital to make a profit. Gerber gives business advice as he is telling a story of him giving business advice to a woman with a failing pie bakery. So many hidden gems and valuable lessons on how to prevent your business from becoming another statistic.

The E-Myth Revisited Summary

The E-Myth and the Small Business:

The E-Myth -> The myth of the entrepreneur. That small businesses are started by entrepreneurs risking capital to make a profit.
Fatal Assumption: if you understand the technical work of a business, you can understand a business that does technical work
The problem is that when you go into business you're actually 3 people: The Entrepreneur, The Manager, and The Technician and they're all fighting for control.
"I wonder" is the true work of the entrepreneurial personality.
A business in infancy -> the owner and the business are one and the same thing.
Businesses that can overwhelmed by fast growth who try to go 'small again' end up dying.
"Simply put, your job is to prepare yourself and you business for growth. Educate yourself so you will become the foundation and structure that can carry additional weight"
A mature company is founded on a broader perspective, and can work completely fine without the owner.
"I realized that for IBM to become a great company it would have to act like a great company long before it ever became one" - [[Tom Watson]] #[[ 🖋 Quotes]] #Insight

Part II: The Turn-Key Revolution:

Go to work on your business, not in it
The Business Format Franchise not only lends its name to the smaller enterprise but it also provides the franchisese with an entire system of doing business.
built on a. belief that its not what the business sells but how it sells it. Ray Kroc understood at Mcdonalds the hamburger wasn't the product, McDonald's was.
The Franchise Prototype is the model of a business that works and satisfies your three personality types.

The model will provide consistent value to your customers, employees, suppliers and lenders.
The model will be operated by people with the lowest possible skill level.
The model will stand out as a place of impeccable order.
All work in the model will be documented in Operations Manuals.
The model will provide a uniformly predictable service to the customer.
The model will utilize a uniform color, dress and facilities code.

Make the model system-dependent not people or expert-dependent.
Consistency in the customers experience is extremely important
The design of your logo, name and the package of the model all have significant impact.

Part III: Building A Small Business That Works

Innovation -> getting new things done.
Example -> changing how may I help you? to Hi, have you been here before? Sales increased by 10-16% by changing these few words.
Quantification -> All innovations need to be quantified or they will go nowhere. (pretty much data analysis)
Quantify everything.
Orchestration -> Elimination of discretion, or choice -> keeping everything consistent, but at the same time unique.
Your Business Development Program:

Your Primary Aim -> the vision necessary to bring your business to life and your life to your business.
Your Strategic Objective -> Clear statement of what your business has to do for you to achieve your primary aim.
The commodity is the thing your customer actually walks out with in his hand
Th eproduct is what your customer feels as he walks out of your business
Your Organizational Strategy
Have clear cut defined roles and descriptions of the responsibilities, no matter how small the business, this should include roles you will have 7 years from now.
Begin documenting the most effective practices and how you are dealing with different situations.
Your Management Strategy _. a system designed into your prototype to produce a marketing result.
Your People Strategy -> Treat your employees seriously.
"The work we do is a. reflection of who we are"
There has to be an idea behind the work that was more important than the work itself.
You don't need to hire professional managers
Your Marketing Strategy
The only thing that matters is what your customer wants. However many of these things are not clearly visible.
75% of buying decisions are made at the headline alone for print ads (which is why copyrighting is important)
demographics -> who your customer is, and psychographics -> why he buys are two essential pillars to marketing.
Your Systems Strategy
Three types of systems: hard, soft and information.