The Successful Psychological Triad of a SB Owner

Balancing three critical inner personas; that was what The E-Myth Revisited was all about.  I had never read it but apparently it's standard reading for the small business owner.  The "E-Myth" refers to the myth that all people who start a small business are entrepreneurs.

???Well aren't they???

Not exactly according to Michael Gerber, a small business guru and founder of E-Myth Worldwide.  Most small business owners were once frustrated technicians working under "The Man."  After becoming fed up with their former boss's antics these technicians experience an "entrepreneur seizure" (a moment of inspiration to open their own business).  Statistics show most of these technicians turned business owners fail quickly...

Why???

Gerber elegantly explains that their failure is due to an imbalance of three personas we all must nourish: "technician, "manager," and "entrepreneur."

If all of the above three are exercised a successful business will surely emerge.  Gerber claims most small business owners only play the technician role and thus fail to sustain the longevity of their business.  The technician is focused, perhaps obsessed, with doing things.  The technician knows how to get the job done and thus works like crazy.  But, what the technician does not do is see the big picture.  He does not take on the role of the entrepreneur who painstakingly analyzes the market.  The entrepreneur asks questions like "how will my business offer a new unique solution to the customer's problem," or "what market do I want to enter in the first place."  The entrepreneur pioneers a new market identity - something that is sure to pull in a niche group of paying customers.  He innovates the place in the market where his company will settle.

Of course there is need for the manager too.  Managers understand organization.  They are endowed with the ability to systematize ostensibly chaotic events to efficient lucrative processes.  They also find enjoyment in sometimes mundane filing work...

The book does a terrific job at explaining how these tree personas in each of us work together and sometimes against one another.  Gerber challenges the small business owner to engage every persona.  Better yet, he gives numerous examples, contrasting the features of successful and unsuccessful small businesses.

Recommend.