I just recently finished reading a business book in my alternating schedule of fun and business reading. This one was The E-Myth Revisited which overall was a worthwhile read.
There were a few areas where the book veered a bit from reality. And, as the author might put it, the reality is likely my own anyway and not actually reality (how philosophical).
So here’s my rundown of the book and what I liked about it and what I didn’t Overall I rated it 4 out of 5 stars on Apple Books.
For the first time, I used the notes feature in the Books app so I could remember parts I wanted to comment on in this review. So hopefully I remember enough between the notes and highlighting plus reviewing the overview.
What I Liked About The E-Myth Revisited
It laid out a clear path to changing your mindset for your business. I think it is important to differentiate between working in your business and working on your business.
if you already started a business or are planning on ever starting one then you have to look at it from the outside. If you simply work in your business then you’re a freelancer and the business controls you. It’s time consuming to work in your business and it will never work without you so you’re stuck.
If you do it this way then your business doesn’t work without you and you likely make no money (or at least won’t grow). I do like the messages that the book emphasizes that even if it’s just you there should be a plan for growing beyond just you.
Someday you will likely want to take a break or not be the only one in the business. If you haven’t done the planning for creating a system for your business then it’s difficult to ever step away from your business.
Definitely true and this book shows you the way in planning for a system which the author calls The Franchise Prototype. No, not the franchise as in McDonald’s where others own the business but rather franchise as in everything is a process and everything can be replicated for someone else.
It also means that you can hand the business (or at least a position) to someone with little to no training and they could pick it up with what you’ve systematized and documents.
Good advice and something I’m working on very slowly.
The entire book follows the author’s conversations and meeting with Sarah, the owner of the small business names All About Pies. The entire book is story based on realistic enough stories which seem to be the best business books.
He even takes Sarah through a process of documenting everything from each position then moving down the organization chart to do the same documentation. Pretty good way to get this done, know each position thoroughly, and be able to hand the documentation/training over to someone so you aren’t the sole person responsible.
One of my favorite quotes in the book is
Most salespeople think that selling is “closing.” It isn’t. Selling is opening.
Michael E. Gerber – The E-Myth Revisited
So true.
I liked that and think it’s useful for any business owner who feels stuck or that they aren’t making the progress they need.
There were some things I wasn’t too fond of, though.
What I Didn’t Like About The E-Myth Revisited
The marketing strategy was extremely lacking and was made up of things that are absolutely out of reach for all but the riches and biggest organization. Also, some of it just wasn’t true.
For example, the blue suite vs brown suit. Blue suits according to the author always outsell brown suits because of testing. There are always variables involved that testing fail to show.
This example seemed like the popular marketing strategy of button colors. Testing shows that red buttons always perform better than blue. That’s not true because it’s all in context and what’s contrasting.
The truth is that it all requires testing no matter what any other study says because your results will be very different. It depends on the location, customer, your employees, etc. There are too many factors to take any other study and apply it as broad truth.
Also, don’t ask your customer’s everything about their preference no matter what you give them. Nobody’s going to tell you enough about them where anything you give them matters. A free pie? Ya, I’ll answer 5 questions for that but beyond that your information is going to be flawed.
The author is right about unconscious bias and the customer. They don’t know what they like and couldn’t name many of it. Customer preference and choice happens on a deep subconscious level.
That’s the author’s claim and it’s true. He’s right. But then he goes on to say ask your customer all these questions (favorite color, food, clothes, jewelry, etc.) to figure out their psychograph.
Well that’s a bunch of balderdash. If customer’s don’t know why they make choices then they sure as heck aren’t going to be able to tell you anything that would lead to their decisions.
Their favorite color? It doesn’t matter because that doesn’t mean that’s going to lead to the choice they’d make in a product. They could tell you their favorite color is blue but actually choose the red car because something else in their unconscious bias led them to the choice.
The fact is that people are way too complex for any questionnaire to mean anything. Even when you ask them how they enjoyed their service you’re only getting half the story.
Overall I recommend buying The E-Myth Revisited book on Apple Books, whatever your reading preference. Business books are about 50/50 on whether they’re good or garbage. Whether they provide some value or are a waste of time. This one while having some things lacking and odd conflicting info was overall a great message.
Read it if you are a freelancer, small business owner, or may start a business some day. You won’t regret it.
Up Next, Fun Reading In Russia
I just started a new book which is my fun book. So far I’m liking the book which is in the literature category, my favorite. My absolute favorite book is one that wraps a story around real history. The only thing I’ve been avoiding lately is WW2 books because they’re a little too played out.
I’ve really been enjoying books about Russian history and even France around the time of Napoleon. This one is all Russia though during the time of the Bolshevik revolution.
I’m looking forward to A Gentleman In Moscow which follows Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov who is imprisoned in a hotel (so harsh) because of a political poem. So far I’m liking it and am looking forward to learning more about the inner workings of Russia’s history.
Until I finish my latest fun book, I’ll be back with more updates to my blog including a planned review video of my favorite social media tool ever, Missinglettr. I’m creating a video for this one.