The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

by Michael E. Gerber

“The first question you must ask, then, is: Who are they? “Who are my customers, specifically? What is their Demographic Profile? “How do you answer that question? You ask them! “You ask each and every one of them, by having them complete a questionnaire in return for a free pie! “The free pie is the price you pay for that information. “The answers you get will prove to be a bonanza! “But, while you’re at it, you might as well get the psychographic data you need, as well as the geographic data you need. “How do you do that? You find out on your questionnaire what colors they prefer, what shapes, what words. You find out the brands of perfume they buy, automobiles, clothes, jewelry, food. You match those brands to the ads and commercials that sell them, and you discover by becoming interested in what messages are being sent to your customers by other companies—who are successfully selling to them—what messages you might send to those customers, who are demographically and psychographically the same as your existing Central Demographic Model, to intentionally come in your door. “How do you find them, those people you have not yet met? You buy a list of those who fit your Central Demographic Model in what you’ve now determined to be your Trading Zone! “What’s your Trading Zone? It’s the geographic perimeter within which your current customers mainly live. You take their addresses from your questionnaire, identify them on a map, draw a line around them, and that’s your first-p...