This is the season for planning for the new year and we’ve been talking a lot about it. If you haven’t started yet, it’s not too late to create your Annual Plan. We have a six step process to get you there. If you really want your business to look, act, feel and perform differently a year from now (Is there anyone...
Have you ever stepped back from your business for a few hours to think about what you want this company to give you? Maybe it's the dream you started with, the one that gave you the momentum and courage to quit a job and venture out on your own. Maybe it's the time and support you want to dedicate to your family a...
John Lennon gave us, “Yes is the answer,” and I get what he means. He was talking about saying yes to love, embracing life, and seeing opportunities instead of limits—all important and valuable in building the kind of world we want to live in. But what about saying “No?” Is there a place for that, especially in yo...
I’m in the upstairs bathroom writing notes on my iPhone when it strikes me—the apparent irony of me sketching out notes for a blog post about work-life balance while in the middle of giving my daughters a bath. I left work hours ago but had hardly left my work behind me. And in that moment I felt so close to the m...
You call your team together to roll out your strategy for the coming quarter. Everyone gathers around and all eyes are on you. You’ve spent at least forty hours over the last two weeks planning, modeling, forecasting, all in anticipation of this day. OK, take a deep breath, and begin your presentation. Five minute...
The idea that most owners struggle to embody the role of the Entrepreneur is a fallacy.
When was the last time you had an "aha moment" in your business? You know that moment I'm talking about. The one that comes along and knocks your socks off. It is that moment when inspiration strikes. When the puzzle pieces suddenly come together. When you realize an underlying truth that will change how you do bu...
Have you ever found yourself cursing your employees? "Why can't they do it my way?! I tell them to do X, and they do Y. I tell them to do 50, and they only do 10."
Training employees is one of the most important aspects of "building a business that works" (a phrase we use at EMyth to emphasize that a business that truly works is a systems-based, turn-key operation that works without you). Too often business leaders do not appreciate the value of employee training and neglect...
I've read The EMyth Revisited and I've heard Michael E. Gerber speak, but I have a business partner who has not and will not. I believe in my entrepreneurial vision for our company, but my partner is not convinced. He prefers doing technical work (which other employees should do) and he swears by the adage "If you...
At the heart of a systems-driven business is your company’s operations manual. The operations manual is the authoritative guidebook of how things are done in your business. It gives you an effective way of communicating policy and procedures, and gives your employees the independence and security they need to oper...
The essential foundation for getting your employees to take ownership of their roles is to give them a game worth playing. Though your business isn’t a game, you must create an environment where people want to give their personal best to support the team effort. This is not simply a matter of motivating and inspir...
Once you commit to a promise, the EMyth Manager’s job is to manage the process—the system—to keep it, improve it, and rally his troops around it. —Michael Gerber
By Nina L. Kaufman, Esq.
Deciding how to compensate your employees and, if you have partners, how to structure pay between them equitably is a topic of interest for our business owner clients. In this article I’ll touch on some of the important criteria from the EMyth perspective, helping you understand this critical component of your com...
There’s no substitute for being in the same place as your employees. And that’s a good thing. Part of the joy of going to work is that you get to spend your day with people you respect, and we hope, enjoy being around. And while there are some good reasons to have people on your team who work remotely, you have to...
It's probably easier to see now, but you didn't start your business just to make money. You did it to feel something - independence, a kind of freedom and control over your life, to be able to do it your way. And you "re-earn" that freedom with every headache and heartache that comes with being a business owner. B...