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The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael E. Gerber
Publisher: HarperCollins
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy Used: $3.76
You Save: $13.19 (78%)
New (74) Used (169) Collectible (8) from $3.76
Avg. Customer Rating:  291 reviews
Sales Rank: 243
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 268
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0887307280
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.022
EAN: 9780887307287
ASIN: 0887307280
Publication Date: April 12, 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: GOOD USED copy. NO MARKS INSIDE. BINDING TIGHT.
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Product Description
In this first new and totally revised edition of the 150,000-copy underground bestseller, The E-Myth, Michael Gerber dispels the myths surrounding starting your own business and shows how commonplace assumptions can get in the way of running a business. He walks you through the steps in the life of a business from entrepreneurial infancy, through adolescent growing pains, to the mature entrepreneurial perspective, the guiding light of all businesses that succeed. He then shows how to apply the lessons of franchising to any business—whether or not it is a franchise. Finally, Gerber draws the vital, often overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in. your business. After you have read The E-Myth Revisited, you will truly be able to grow your business in a predictable and productive way.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 286 more reviews...
 Great Advice, But Lacks "Beef" May 16, 2008
I liked this book even though I felt it was a little light in detail. I also found the presentation a bit redundant. Having said that, this book presents two very important concepts that bear repeating:
1)You can't (and shouldn't if you could) do it all.
2)A truly successful business must be able to run without the owner present.
Mr. Gerber correctly points out the way to implement the latter is to preplan for growth and implement systems that are documented in a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual that are simple enough for an entry level to follow. Easier said than done.
Mr. Gerber doesn't address how the small business owner already working 70+ hours per week in his or her business is supposed to find the time to do the kind of detailed process workflow analysis required to produce such a document. No matter that the need for doing so is evidently clear.
Nor does Mr. Gerber address the obvious capital requirements necessary, even if one can find the time, to get the job done. Time is money and time and money are the two precious resources most small business owners have the least of. This is a classic catch-22 situation where it's imperative that business owners systematize their operations but lack the resources to accomplish the task.
Perhaps a great companion book for the author to write would be a meaningful blueprint for implementing the good advice found in E-Myth Revisited. Or perhaps the author could add a chapter or two to the existing book.
Either way I give it four stars for not providing enough content to support an otherwise salient concept. It would also be helpful if his example business owner wasn't so docile and one dimensional.
 Basic and Dry May 16, 2008
This book was reccomended to me as a must read. well I read it and it was unimpressive. It may be of value to a young entrepreneur with little business education, but rather basic for someone with a degree in business.
 A perfect first step May 8, 2008
After the first read of Michael Gerber's "The E-Myth Revisited" I could hardly put it down. I will say right from the start that YES ITS SIMPLIFIED, NO ITS NOT THAT EASY, but thats exactly what makes this a great book. I read the critics' reviews and they seem to be basing their entire opinion of this man's teachings off of one book. If it were physically possible to fit enough information in one paperback book to run a business, then running a business would not be difficult at all.
But no, this is not a how-to manual or a solve-all method, this is the beginning of a process. Gerber introduces us to the three personalities of a entrepreneur (technician, manager, and entrepreneur or visionary) and discusses how most small businesses face a similar problem and that is letting the technician take over the business and killing off the other two.
He discusses how the greatest one-time small businesses in the world have overcome that obstacle. He does this mainly through praising the franchise system. In this way I consider this book also on economics- explaining a little bit how small businesses' affect world economy.
The franchise system allows all personalities to excel, and when they excel the customer is better served and better satisfied. The system works. So managers and technicians can have a business that will be successful and they will be fulfilled working on. But it does not stop there. He also teaches that entrepreneurs must create their small businesses according to a "franchise prototype," basically set-up systems and operations so the business can work most effectively (like as if they were to sell it, even if they don't plan to).
When you set-up you business as something you could sell if you wanted to, then you are creating a business of value. When you do that, then you can be most successful and fulfilled. What is the point in going into business if after 5 years you've only created more work for yourself and nothing to show for it?
In the book's simple story-telling format, Gerber travels with his protege (and the reader) and walks her through the mindset. In order to go from unsuccessful to wildly successful- your mindset has to be the first thing to change. (Read the "one star" reviews to see the effects of a closed mind).
This book reminds me of the simplicity of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and its philosophical take on business. No, its not a well-laid out instruction manual, thats your job to create a manual. This book will inspire you to do more than you have previously thought possible.
Must read for any entrepreneur April 20, 2008
After reading hundreds of business books...."The e Myth" is one of only five I recommend. If I had read before starting my first business....it would have saved me millions of dollars. I always keep extra copies to give away.
Stop reading all the trend books about business...this book will change the way you do everything. By explaining what drives the entrepreneur from the beginning, the cycle we all fall into, and the path out of destruction, no other book is necessary. THE BOOK IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Insightful. Revealing. Clear-Sighted. Inspiring. April 11, 2008
THE E_MYTH REVISITED is worth reading and revisiting. Gerber reminds the reader about the basic premise of business: satisfying the customer, in a new, entertaining, and insightful way.
He proposes that the three key characteristics (skills) of a successful business owner are: skilled technician, entrepeneur, and manager. This is sound advise and a proper balance of the three prevents tyranny by any one personality. I have seen exagerations of all three of these skill sets to the ruin of the afflicted enterprises; mine included.
As a case study, he follows Sarah, owner of All About Pies, as he leads her through her catharsis from exhausted technician to balanced, productive and fulfilled business owner.
There is a great deal of truth that Gerber captures and teaches along with room for some disagreement. Not every business, for example, is suited to be franchised. Not every service can easily be documented. Nonetheless, this quick read is worth its weight in gold to the young or new businessman. I wish I had read this 20 years ago - it would probably have changed my business and my life.
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