My first experience reading the E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber was a transformative one. As in I was transformed into a person who wouldn’t stop talking about it. 

The year was 2018 and I was working as the buyer of a small, independently owned health food store. I was surrounded by entrepreneurs with infinite potential but so many of them were floundering. 

They were working hard, they were creating, making, and selling, but several of them were still failing despite having so much potential and I hadn’t been able to figure out why. 

After reading The E-Myth, I realized that even with cash flow and beautiful branding and instagram followers, it was a failure to structure growth that was holding them up. 

The E-Myth, via a highly relatable, highly enjoyable parable style narrative, paints a picture that almost anyone with a dream can easily slip themselves into. 

In reading about the fatal flaws plaguing a skilled and technically capable entrepreneur, the reader is given permission to examine their own weaknesses with honesty and vulnerability. 

The E-Myth is far from a pity party; the upswing of the book highlights solid infrastructure as the fastest path out of Start-Up Land and away from The Small Business Struggle that pulls the potential of a company up short with a leash that is yoked to the shoulders of a single individual. 

Building Infrastructure

Infrastructure seems like an intangible concept to most and therefore it can be received as a frustrating suggestion, but The E-Myth does an excellent job of making the connection between work and work structure easy to grasp. 

Being told that you need to have standards is unhelpful, but being encouraged to build and record work-flows that allow you to meet those standards on a weekly basis is attainable. 

‘Delegate’ is horrible advice, but being told to write down every single thing you do and how you do it so it can live someplace outside your brain is solid counsel. 

Creating SOPs and concise job descriptions will eventually allow you to break your company up into segments like an orange and pass each part to someone else who is not only competent but also well informed and prepared to meet your standards and continue your work. 

Critical Thinking

The reason I enjoyed the E-Myth so much and why I recommend it so frequently is that even though it’s incredibly relatable and adaptable to almost anyone’s story, it’s also very upfront about not being a one size fits all solution. 

There is work that has to be done once you are given good advice to make that good advice work for you.

Exploring sources of media, like books, blog posts and videos is what I love to do and Baker and Buyer has recently created a resource called Build Your Board that seeks to familiarize entrepreneurs with constant and constructive critical thinking.

Build Your Board relies on social media but also mixed media like books, videos and external publications to facilitate the sort of continuous learning and unbiased industry examination that can help young entrepreneurs thrive. 

You can learn more about it by following Baker and Buyer on social media and preview our other resources on our website.