A friend recommended I read Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth, and so I did. The book has received great press over the years, in a sort of wow-I-never-thought-of-it-that-way bewilderment of praise. While it is cannot be denied Gerber put voice to a little-observed phenomenon, I believe the way he did it did a disservice to entrepreneurs, and people in general.
Essentially, Gerber’s thesis is, there’s no such thing as a natural-born entrepreneur. What we call an ‘entrepreneur’ is really just an ordinary – albeit technically proficient — person who suddenly realizes he doesn’t like his boss and/or could do things better than his boss. In that fit of pique, the ordinary person quits his job, sets up his own shop, and proceeds to fail. Why does he fail? Because despite being technically proficient, he doesn’t know how to run a business.
My response to this is: Bunk! While I can’t deny many new businesses fail, and that many people do go into business simply because they disliked their boss, etc., I emphatically declare that natural-born entrepreneurs do indeed exist.
Let’s put things into perspective. Who doesn’t know a kid who was drawn inexplicably to dismembering bikes and motors, and who grew up to be a grease monkey or engineer? How many of today’s great teachers lined up their toys in order to teach them the alphabet? (My grandmother, short on dolls in rural Ireland, claimed she used to teach the hedges.) Sympathetic, caring kids who put unnecessary splints on their pets often go into medicine because they want to help people. Argumentative ones often end up lawyers. I could go on.
And while some future chemists and chefs were busy combining lethal doses of sugar, salt, and mud, while some future musicians were banging on pot lids, while some future astronomers were devouring books about the stars, future business men and women were probably finding things to sell, holding auctions in their backyard, or convincing other children to do their chores for much less than they were getting paid from mom and dad.
The point is, I believe we have natural inclinations to certain types of work, and these are frequently seen in childhood during play. And yet, even the brilliant ones aren’t born knowing all the details of their craft! Pretty much everything is done better with some amount of training.
The big difference between playing shop (or hawking your handmade potholders door-to-door) and running a Real Business is…paperwork. Sure, a business needs to be selling a viable product or service, it needs to connect with its target market, it needs to position its prices just right, and it needs start-up capital. Additionally, the technical proficiency necessary for fixing cars, painting houses, making gift baskets, or arranging flowers, and the interpersonal negotiating skills that help connect with customers, suppliers, and employees are still not enough: the entrepreneur also needs to know marketing, accounting, and taxes, and needs the wherewithal to stay abreast of both accounts payable and accounts receivable. And let’s not forget employer law.
An entrepreneur needs to wear many hats, many vastly different hats, and all at once. This is a tall order, and sometimes it can be overwhelming. Especially when “life” (broken appliances at home, new babies, ill parents, storms, and possibly a lonely spouse) also wants attention.
No, I’d say just because many small businesses fail does not mean there’s no such thing as a natural-born entrepreneur. Face it, lawyers lose cases, doctors lose patients, and even the best teachers eventually fail somebody. According to Gerber’s reasoning, this would indicate there’s no such thing as a natural-born lawyer, doctor, or teacher, and we know that’s absurd. The job of entrepreneur is, first of all, larger, and it requires a wider array of abilities. Where a mechanic simply needs to know cars, a mechanic who runs his own shop needs to know so much more! Sometimes it just isn’t feasible to farm out certain tasks.
Secondly, most of the tasks simply aren’t taught in school. Or if they were, it would take so long to master the material, there’d be no time left to open the business. Furthermore, I contend the ability to “do school” is yet another specialized talent, and not necessarily the best way for our earnest entrepreneur to learn. (Now there’s an article that would get me into trouble!)
Finally, even I can’t deny some people go into business for the wrong reasons. That is, they simply aren’t cut out for it. However, this is just as true for other jobs, including but not limited to nursing, teaching, and selling insurance. People can go into these areas for the wrong reasons (mother said so, daddy did it, somebody said it would make good money really easy) too.
In the end, what has to be realized is that Michael Gerber’s book was meant as a tool to demonstrate the need for his services as business consultant. Today, other business consultants are still using the book for that same purpose. Think: will a person make more money on the royalties from a book or from consulting fees at several hundred dollars an hour? With any endeavor, always consider who benefits financially, and how.
So, to all you entrepreneurs out there: I salute you! Your long hours, your vision, and your dedication to your widget are not lost on me! Not many people can do what you do. Remember way back to your first lemonade stand and be proud, then farm out the tasks that hold you back, and press forward.
