A blog inspired by reading The E-Myth (Michael Gerber) and one that 99% of business owners will resonate with. If you’re thinking of starting a business or you’ve already started one and you haven’t read the book, I highly recommend you do so.
The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed the purposeful use of ‘walks’ and not ‘walk’ in the title – yes, that means that all 3 types are actually the same person and that’s what the story is all about; the need for successful business owners to have all 3 traits when the majority only have 1.
What does this mean then? Well, it means that the main persona they do have is, unless handled correctly, going to clash with the others which is going to severely affect the chances of the business being a success.
The Technician wants to focus on getting the work at hand done – they deliver the output.
The Entrepreneur wants to focus on how to grow the business – they supply the vision.
The Manager wants to focus on everything being done by the book – they bring order, systems and processes.
Straight away – you’re seeing yourself in one of these aren’t you? Maybe you’re lucky and seeing yourself in 2 of them and maybe – just maybe – you’re one of the chosen few who crosses all 3. If you are, what are you doing reading this blog – I need your help not the other way around!
According to the book, most new businesses are started by technicians and the heroic concept of the noble entrepreneur who starts a business to make the world a better place is just a myth. Technicians are people who are very good at doing something…ahem…technical and one day decide to start their own business rather than let someone else profit from all the good work they do.
One of the immediate challenges for these technicians is that they assume that because they understand the technical work of the business, they understand how a technical business works. In reality, these are two completely different issues and not understanding that could mean failing before even starting.
Most successful businesses go through 3 phases of growth: Infancy — when the Technician is running the show; Expansion — when better management skills are required; and Maturity – when the entrepreneurial perspective is needed.
The transition between Infancy and Expansion is typically where we start to work with businesses – our clients have gone so far down the road predominantly because of what they know but they’re now tired of wearing all of the various hats required for their business and they know something has to give. They generally have no professional background in sales let alone building out a sales function which is why they engage us to help them take their sales hat off and free up precious time because our work results in them having dedicated & skilled sales staff who are responsible for delivering results month to month. Some choose to use that time to work on other aspects of the business, some choose to use that time away from the business and some choose to use it on another business – whatever they do with the extra time is not our concern, we just need to give them that time back.
As the owner of your future, which one of these personalities are you and at what point will you look for help to expand?
If you need advice on this topic then don’t hesitate to get in touch: owain@dremur.co.uk
