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...
n less than two years, we’ve seen such incredible shifts in workforce trends that the traditional model of five days in the office seems like a thing of the past. And among the conversations of how, where and when to work, the theme of a shorter work week is slowly becoming louder. Recent studies on a four-day wor...
Pretend you’re seeing your business for the first time. Now ask yourself what you’d be willing to pay for it if you were in the market to buy a company. What gives it value, and what’s missing that, if present, would convince you to pay more?
When you think about your business and life as a business owner, do you know why you do what you do? Does leading your business provide the life you imagined it would when you started it, or is it running you ragged with little payoff?
Think about the role you play in your small business—not the title on your business card, but what you actually do. Are you a manager one minute, a receptionist the next? When there’s a problem with shipping or facilities or finance, are you the one racing to put out the fire? If any of this rings true, you’re not...
Do you remember your mindset back when you decided to start your own business? You were good at something, and you knew it. Why spend your time doing that something for someone else when you could have the freedom of being your own boss? But then you got wrapped up doing the work of the business—doing the graphic ...
Working ON your business is the skill that every business owner needs to build to create a thriving company that doesn’t depend on you to produce results. Turning what you know how to do really well into systems—step-by-step processes—that others can use effectively is something that anyone with the desire can lea...
Every small business faces challenges. Every business owner must deal with issues and problems in the course of building and running a successful operation. In many ways though, the challenges—and advantages—in a family business are unique.
I’ve never known a business owner who didn’t feel they needed to spend more time working on their business and less time working in it. But so many find it difficult to make the time to do it. If you’re predominantly a Technician in your business, someone who spends most of your time making, selling or delivering ...
Imagine what kind of workplace your business would be if your employees thought to themselves: "I’m excited about my work.” “This is a place where I can achieve my goals.” “I feel safe. It’s okay to make a mistake, and I will learn from it.” “I have some great ideas on how to improve things. I can’t wait to share ...
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...
The E-Myth Revisited proposes that owners of businesses that are not working should start again. This time they need to translate their vision into a management system, and to control their unpredictable employees through this system. I agree completely with this philosophy. My question is concerned with the pract...
Managing a business partnership may be the only thing more difficult than managing a business. Partnerships are hard for the same reasons that any relationship is hard. It takes diligence and work to bring together personalities, communication styles, and ideals. And if you want your partnership to serve your busi...
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...
Discover the five steps to improving team performance in this free guide.
As an entrepreneur, you likely start every day with an endless to-do list. So, how do you prioritize? What’s the most important thing (or things) to focus on? And how do you prevent yourself from fighting fires all day, only to feel like you didn’t really accomplish anything at the end of the day? The key to using...
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...