Michael E. Gerber's answer is the E-Myth: the entrepreneurial myth. The fatal assumption that because you understand the technical work of a business, you can run a business that does that technical work. The baker who opens a bakery. The plumber who starts a plumbing company. The consultant who hangs a shingle.
They're all extraordinarily skilled at their craft — and almost universally unprepared to run a business. The result is the worst job in the world: working for a lunatic, one who never rests, never delegates, and believes everything depends on them.
The E-Myth Revisited shows the way out — through systems thinking, the franchise prototype, and the distinction that changes everything: working on your business instead of in it.
"If your business depends on you, you don't own a business — you have a job. And it's the worst job in the world because you're working for a lunatic."— Michael E. Gerber · The E-Myth Revisited
"The purpose of going into business is to get free of a job so you can create jobs for other people... A business that depends on its owner is not a business — it's a practice."— Michael E. Gerber
Michael E. Gerber has written 29 books applying the E-Myth framework to small business owners across every industry. The core titles build the full system; the vertical series applies it to your specific profession.
Gerber collaborated with specialists in each field to apply the E-Myth principles to specific professions. Find yours.