---
title: Small Business Coaching, Resources & Tools | EMyth Blog | Ilene Frahm
description: "Ilene joined EMyth in 1982 and partnered with Michael Gerber in building the company during their 17-year marriage. Over that time, she collaborated with Michael on
The E-Myth Revisited as his editor and publishing agent, as well as on a number of his other books. Ilene worked ON EMyth not just IN it, making it possible for her to retire as EMyth’s President in 1999 while continuing to serve as the company’s board chair, a position she still holds. In 2020, Ilene returned to company operations as its CEO to support a new executive team, and everyone in the company at every level, in their leadership. Since her return, Ilene has created an original, customer-centered approach to sales and coaching, Uncommonly Genuine™ Engagement, which is designed to help small business owners open to their blindspots so they can grow in their leadership. She lives in Gig Harbor, Washington with her husband, Gerrit."
---
[Entrepreneurial Mindset](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/entrepreneurial-mindset)[Small Business Leadership](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/small-business-leadership)
### [A message of hope from one business owner to another](https://www.emyth.com/inside/a-message-of-hope-to-small-business-owners)
Let’s be honest. It’s been another challenging year for the owners and operators of small businesses. You’ve had to find a new normal as Covid restrictions eased. The prices of goods and services you depend on to operate have shot up, often cutting into already thin margins. Your employees are looking to you for r...
Ilene Frahm
## Latest Posts
[Lead Conversion](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/lead-conversion)
### [Maximize your sales conversions not by closing but by opening](https://www.emyth.com/inside/maximizing-sales-conversations)
[Systems Thinking](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/systems-thinking)
4 min read
### [The dance between people and systems](https://www.emyth.com/inside/the-balance-between-people-and-systems)
[Hiring Employees](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/hiring-employees)
1 min read
### [6 ways to create a team that cares about what you care about](https://www.emyth.com/inside/how-to-build-a-team-that-does-things-your-way)
[Small Business Leadership](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/small-business-leadership)
### [Find time for the strategic work of your business](https://www.emyth.com/inside/being-a-strategic-leader-in-your-small-business)
## Request a free coaching session with a Certified EMyth Coach
[](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/411995/14924c09-8a82-42d7-90b9-55a5c68c5989)
[Entrepreneurial Mindset](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/entrepreneurial-mindset)[Small Business Leadership](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/small-business-leadership)
### [Navigating the transition from employee to entrepreneur](https://www.emyth.com/inside/employee-to-entrepreneur)
This year, I’m celebrating my 40th Anniversary at EMyth. I joined the company as an entry-level salesperson in 1982 at the age of 29. I’d just moved to northern California from the East Coast in search of a new direction after leaving a PhD program at MIT in public policy. As a graduate student, it dawned on me th...
Ilene Frahm
[Small Business Leadership](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/small-business-leadership)
### [Become the leader your business demands](https://www.emyth.com/inside/qualities-of-great-small-business-leadership)
If you’ve ever had the thought that you weren’t a good leader or didn’t know how to be one, you’re not alone. Business owners rarely go into business for themselves in order to become the leader of a company. In truth, most are looking to secure a “job” where they can provide their product or service free of a bos...
Ilene Frahm
[EMyth Approach](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/emyth-approach)[Small Business Leadership](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/small-business-leadership)
### [Work ON it, not just IN it](https://www.emyth.com/inside/work-on-the-business-not-in-the-business)
The phrase “Work On It, Not Just In It” has been part of business vernacular for more than 35 years, ever since Michael Gerber coined it in The EMyth Revisited. Its message speaks to so many entrepreneurs who can’t see any other way to do business than to build a business around their own ability to get things don...
Ilene Frahm
## Want a self-sufficient business—and life you love?
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[EMyth Approach](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/emyth-approach)
6 min read
### [An owner’s perspective on the assumptions that keep us stuck](https://www.emyth.com/inside/overcoming-challenging-assumptions-as-a-small-business-owner)
As 2021 winds down, I’m sure you’re reflecting on how your business has done this year and what you want to achieve in 2022. I’m reflecting quite a bit. I’ve spent the last 2+ months working with EMyth’s leadership team on our annual ritual to build our strategic plan for next year. The process always reminds me h...
Ilene Frahm
[Lead Conversion](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/lead-conversion)[Small Business Marketing](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/small-business-marketing)
### [(Un)conventional wisdom for building a powerful sales conversion strategy](https://www.emyth.com/inside/how-to-build-a-powerful-sales-conversion-strategy)
If we’ve learned anything at EMyth worth teaching business owners, it’s that the systems you build—if they’re to create real value—need to generate consistent, predictable results. Consistency and predictability eliminate chaos, reduce stress, drive growth and make it possible to build a business that doesn’t depe...
Ilene Frahm
[Entrepreneurial Mindset](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/entrepreneurial-mindset)[Small Business Leadership](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/small-business-leadership)
### [Build a self-sustaining business](https://www.emyth.com/inside/how-to-build-a-self-sustaining-business)
If you’re fortunate enough to have taken your company on a journey through all of its highs and lows for 5, 10, even 20 years or more, chances are you’ve had those moments when you wished your business weren’t so damn dependent on you. No matter what you’ve achieved, most business owners know in their heart that i...
Ilene Frahm
[Managing Employees](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/managing-employees)
5 min read
### [How employee benefits help your business](https://www.emyth.com/inside/how-employee-benefits-help-your-business)
As you grow your business, it’s hard enough to know when it’s the right time to bring on that next employee or how to compensate them. When you add benefits to the equation, these employment questions are among the most complicated issues business owners have to address. Benefits can be expensive. It’s easy to fee...
Ilene Frahm
[Small Business Finance](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/small-business-finance)[Small Business Leadership](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/small-business-leadership)
### [3 tips for simplifying your PPP application process](https://www.emyth.com/inside/round-two-ppp-funding)
Last April, like many of you, I applied for the first round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds. My company had taken an immediate hit in revenue from the shock of the pandemic, and there was no certainty that it would rebound anytime soon. The only point of comparison I had was the 2009 financial crisis, a...
Ilene Frahm
[Business Growth](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/business-growth)
### [The three best ways to prepare your business for 2021](https://www.emyth.com/inside/grow-your-business-to-the-next-level)
Ilene Frahm
[Small Business Finance](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/small-business-finance)[Small Business Leadership](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/small-business-leadership)
23 min read
### [One business owner’s experience: Applying for Paycheck Protection Program funds](https://www.emyth.com/inside/applying-for-paycheck-protection-program-funds)
Just like so many of you, my company’s been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. Since the end of February, I’ve woken up every morning relieved that today wasn’t the day I had to ask our Team to take a pay cut. Layoffs have been out of the question except as the last possible resort—and I’m just glad we haven’t re...
Ilene Frahm
[Work-Life Balance](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/work-life-balance)
### [Four steps to take back your life](https://www.emyth.com/inside/take-back-your-life-as-a-business-owner)
Here we are at the beginning of a new year (and a new decade!)—an incredible moment that offers the opportunity to metaphorically wipe the slate clean and start fresh. And what if you really could start fresh, start anew? What if this were the year you could achieve the dream we know so many business owners have, ...
Ilene Frahm
[Managing Employees](https://www.emyth.com/inside/topic/managing-employees)
### [How to cultivate leaders you trust](https://www.emyth.com/inside/how-to-choose-and-select-leaders-for-your-small-business)
Okay—let’s say you’ve taken all the necessary steps to build a self-sustaining business. You’ve made a clear decision to do it, and you’ve let your desire build. You’ve let go of unproductive beliefs and are thinking like an Entrepreneur. You’ve come to see your business as a process designed to produce a desired ...
Ilene Frahm