The E-Myth, Revisited. Loads of people talk about it. It’s one of the biggest books an entreprenuer “must read.” And I’ve read it. I’ve read it a few times, actually. And the more I think about it, the less sense it makes.
For most people, it’s a bad idea.
The book is fine. There are enough disclaimers. He doesn’t pull a Kiyosaki and lie all the time. But the ‘hustle your ass off so you no longer have to work thing.” well, that’s no good for the economy, no good for business, and a stupid, stupid goal. Most people get the wrong lesson. Cristina Favraeu says that the Journey is the Point. Damn straight. The point is not to outsource your stuff in some 4HWW-esque goal. The point is to do something you’re PASSIONATE about. To put yourself in position where you get to do the things you enjoy most. Not to seek idleness.
Not to detach and wander off. The entrepreneurs that take no vacations for a decade? They’re hustling. Winning. Putting their passion into it. Not trying to work their way out of the business.
I’m for systems. I’m for writing EVERY F#@%ing THING DOWN. I’m for processes and making yourself REALLY GOOD. I’m even for making it so you can replace yourself. But I’m not for WANTING to replace myself. I’m not for starting with a “jobber” ethos.
Here’s why. There is something to working “on” and not “in” your business. But the smug BS that comes with it, the self aggrandizing, and the self righteousness that the Gerberites have is revolting. And I don’t know one that succeeded once they caught that bug. I know it cost me because I began to resent the stuff that’s below my level. I started resenting the necessary paperwork, the necessary customer service and the necessary bolts and nuts to win the war.
Think I’m kidding? Maybe. But here’s the deal. A business that’s started to ‘get out of,’ or ‘get away from,’ is no business at all. It’s not something the owner loves, with all his heart. When there’s no passion, and when everything is delegated…a couple levels down, you can feel it. Call Dell’s customer service. Then watch Michael Dell on Charlie Rose.
You can feel it when the joy dies. You can feel it when someone cares–mind body and soul–and when someone doesn’t. You can feel it when you’re dealing with the owner, and when you’re dealing with a salesperson, and when you’re dealing with a wage earner.
You can’t replace a passionate and vibrant business with wage owners. You need believers. You can hire people, but hire passion, talent, vibrancy. Google doesn’t hire people that don’t believe. Neither does 37s. Neither will Scott Ginsberg, Greg Swann, Jeff Brown, Seth Godin, Tim and Julie Harris. Not hiring someone is far better than hiring someone that has tepid beliefs. Don’t look to work your as off then phone it in.
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OK, Chris, I can see not wanting to approach it like a jobber. But take any old business and put yourself in the entrepreneur role. My understanding of Gerber is he says take the tech work, write a manual and hire it out. Take retail for example. The joy of owning a business is not putting inventory on the shelves or working the cash register. Both are critical but not what most entrepreneurs are all about. They want to be planning shelf layout, making new deals with vendors, finding the next location, etc. I guess at some point (the Wal-Marts on the scale), that too becomes the tech work and joyless. But I think any real entrepreneur going into business will not become a shouting grouch in the corner office who never does work.