The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
by Michael E. Gerberbook data
749 ratings,
4.05
average rating, 174 reviews
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published
April 12th 1995
by Collins
binding
Paperback, 288 pages
isbn
0887307280
(isbn13: 9780887307287)
description
In this first new and totally revised edition of the 150,000–copy underground bestseller, The E–Myth, Michael Gerber dispels the myths surrounding sta
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avg 4.05
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in July, 2005
This is a fine book showing some of the flaws of small businesses and why so many fail. The author uses a fictional small business owner who started a pie shop and running herself ragged. She has a great gift in making pies but is burning herself out. She was thinking about how she her job was making and selling pies when her business could and should be so much more.
Successful companies don’t actually sell the products that they make. They fulfill an emotional need of their client...more
Successful companies don’t actually sell the products that they make. They fulfill an emotional need of their client...more
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I read this a few years ago. It was the text for one of my husband's business classes. He said it was a good book... and I said, "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" (qualifies as one of the most rare phrases to escape his gorgeous lips) So I had to read it, see.
It's actually pretty amazing. I'm betting I'll never start my own business, because the things I do tend to be less-marketable services and commodities. Reading, doing laundry, watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer... Don't th...more
It's actually pretty amazing. I'm betting I'll never start my own business, because the things I do tend to be less-marketable services and commodities. Reading, doing laundry, watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer... Don't th...more
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Read in January, 2009
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Read in November, 2007
About half a dozen important ideas buried in a mass of cloying, poorly written prose.
The 268 pages dedicated to this text could have been cut to 60 and the book would have been better for it. As it is, prepare to skim.
The author's habit of inventing characters that compliment him on his own ideas is a recurring and increasingly annoying technique. He also compliments his invented characters for their eloquence and drops repeated advertisements for his own company in the...more
The 268 pages dedicated to this text could have been cut to 60 and the book would have been better for it. As it is, prepare to skim.
The author's habit of inventing characters that compliment him on his own ideas is a recurring and increasingly annoying technique. He also compliments his invented characters for their eloquence and drops repeated advertisements for his own company in the...more
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Read in June, 2009
I want to give this one three and a half. I got one thing out of this book - and I think it was an important thing - that is the focus on the idea that while one's business reflects its owner's personality, it must operate independently of that owner to sustain itself. Other key points included a business needing to express a primary aim outside of the commodities it provides, and what the stages of infancy, adolescence, and maturity can look like for a company, and how it's important to start...more
Read in December, 2008
The E-Myth is of a class of airport traveler business self-help book that's ordinarily so far outside my orbit that I usually don't even have to avoid it. When two intelligent, trusted friends independently recommended this 20-year-old book within a week or two of each other, I eagerly picked it up.
I shouldn't have bothered. The E-Myth is a plodding, self-important, relentlessly pedantic book full of flat cheer and self-serving affirmations. I'm looking forward to hearing why my fri...more
I shouldn't have bothered. The E-Myth is a plodding, self-important, relentlessly pedantic book full of flat cheer and self-serving affirmations. I'm looking forward to hearing why my fri...more
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Read in January, 2009
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Read in June, 2008
This is one of the top 10 all time best business books (so far!) according to the NYT. I have to agree.
This book outlines the classic issue ALL entrepreneurs face. Creating a business which provides a job for the entrepreneur vs. creating a business which frees the entrepreneur to pursue other opportunities and choose how and when they work.
The need for control is one of the struggles entrepreneurs have to overcome. Without dealing with this issue, developing the systems and accoun...more
This book outlines the classic issue ALL entrepreneurs face. Creating a business which provides a job for the entrepreneur vs. creating a business which frees the entrepreneur to pursue other opportunities and choose how and when they work.
The need for control is one of the struggles entrepreneurs have to overcome. Without dealing with this issue, developing the systems and accoun...more
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I saw a video by Gerber as I was starting my own business. At the time, his ideas made sense but I thought they applied to larger organizations, not to my tiny, no employees business. My business also focused on custom work, so the idea of creating replicated processes and documentation seemed contrary to my business goals. Three years later, I read this book and realized that everything he had been saying applied directly to my business. Had I listened earlier, I would not have seen myself ...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
business owners
I read the slightly-revised 15 year anniversary version of Michael Gerber's acclaimed The E-Myth. I've heard of this book for years, but have just now gotten around to reading it. Timing was great; I was able to turn around and recommend it immediately to two clients--one who is beginning a business and the other who is figuring out how to grow hers in the right way.
Gerber sets out to answer four questions:
- Why do more than 80 percent of small businesses fail within the first ...more
Gerber sets out to answer four questions:
- Why do more than 80 percent of small businesses fail within the first ...more
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This book is an attempt to re-think the way small business owners run their businesses, and it does a pretty good job of it. The first half of the book explains why most small businesses are started and where they fall apart. Almost any small business owner will see some part of him or herself in this narrative.
The second half is a nine-step program to reform your small business and make it succeed. Several of the steps I found fascinating and paradigm-shifting. Other steps were ...more
The second half is a nine-step program to reform your small business and make it succeed. Several of the steps I found fascinating and paradigm-shifting. Other steps were ...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in May, 2007
recommended to Alex by:
Adrian J. Cartwood
One of the books recommended by Adrian at http://7million7years.com/. It opened up my eyes and thinking to why a business like McDonalds can succeed. I've been applying the principle this book to implement a system at work, and the more I use it, the more I realize that system works. Life is chaos, having a system (of solutions, or of automated solutions) will help one tremendously.
Not to say that government works best, but there's a reason why bureaucracy exists.
Not to say that government works best, but there's a reason why bureaucracy exists.
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Read in January, 2002
If you want to run your own business (and who of us doesn't, in some way), you do need to read this book. (The "E" in the title refers to entrepreneur, which even though you may be one, doesn't necessarily mean you're a successful one.)
Excellent, insightful, and immediately practical advice.
Excellent, insightful, and immediately practical advice.
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Read in March, 2009
I got through like 6/7ths of this book. There were a couple of good nuggets, but its definitely written more for someone who wants to open their own pie shop than start a Mary Kay business. So if you're thinking of starting up your own small business, I recommend it.
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Read in January, 1999
I highly recommend this book to anyone that is thinking of starting their own business or is looking for answers to improving the business they are already in.
This book is well written and will help you organize your thoughts and goals.
This book is well written and will help you organize your thoughts and goals.
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04/24/09
Beth
marked it as to-read
A friend recommended this book as a must-read for anyone wanting to start their own business. Plus, the example business the writer uses is a small bakery! Of course, it's been on my shelf for over 6 months, but I will read it. I really will.
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Read in December, 2008
Very applicable principles for constructing a successful and inspired small business. The author is a great verbal communicator but not necessarily an eloquent writer. Read it for the practical application, not for a literary fix.
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Read in December, 2008
Starting a business has been a daunting and difficult task for me. This book got me thinking about issues I never would have thought about. I would recommend this to anyone starting up a new business or even thinking about it.
The original and best book on systematizing your business. If you run your own business, and haven't read this book, then immediately STOP what you are doing and run out to the bookstore and get this book. Yes - you need it.
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Read in July, 2005
This was a pretty good book about small businesses and that they aren't going to work if we try to wear all of the hats and do it all ourselves. We need other people with other gifts to help us run our businesses. Very good.
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quotes from this book
"Contrary to popular belief, my experience has shown me that the people who are exceptionally good in business aren't so because of what they know but because of their insatiable need to know more."
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