Beyond the E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!

by Michael E. Gerber

Beyond the E-Myth embraces the fundamental premise of that first book - that a small business only succeeds to the degree its owner goes to work on the business rather than just in it, creating the systemic operating system that makes that business unique in the marketplace.

Beyond the E-Myth expands that conversation with the entrepreneurial small business owner, in a clear, precise, and compelling overview that addresses their main job - inventing, building, and launching a company with the power to "scale" - to grow beyond the "Company of One" in a straightforward, eight-step process.

When asked, Gerber emphatically "I wrote this to make the job of building a small business easy - for every man or woman struggling to get it right. This book cuts to the A company is a product to be sold. Build it right, and you will sell it. Build it wrong, and you won't. Most small business owners won't. This book was written to fix that."

Genres: Business, Entrepreneurship, Nonfiction

Audible Audio

Published January 29, 2021

About the author

Michael E. Gerber is an American author and founder of Michael E. Gerber Companies, a business skills training company based in Carlsbad, California.

Reviews

[Pavel Annenkov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Герберу удалось написать очень простым языком на сложную тему о том, как из самозанятости перейти в настоящее предпринимательство.

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cheesy and Simple

I love his earlier book, the E-Myth Revisited. But this book was terrible. There were some good nuggets at the beginning (that's why it's 2 stars, not 1). But then in devolved into him using over dramatic language, repeating content way past being helpful (every chapter recaps every previous chapter)...just read his earlier book.

[Shorel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed E-myth Revisited and its basic premise that you need to work on the business, not let the business work you. Setting up processes and structuring your business like a franchise model. Great stuff!

This wasn't nearly as powerful for me. The premise here is that you should be creating your business with the aim to sell. That goal of selling (whether you do or not), helps you to structure your business better for success. In other words, think of your business in entirety as a product.

I get it. I'm just not there yet. But I have some great quotes on my road there...

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“Sole Purpose” is to design, build, launch, and grow your company in exactly and definitively the way it must be done in order to prepare it for that supreme moment when the prospective buyer of your company, whoever that may be, walks in your door and asks you to show her your company, and you not only can, but in precisely the way that will assure you she will say, “Yes!”—with a great big check!

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 309-313


Your Dream is the great result your company intends to produce. Your Vision is the form your company must take in order to produce that result. Your Purpose is the outcome you’re going to produce for your most important customer. Your Mission is the core operating system you must invent for your company to succeed at what it’s setting out to do.

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 375-380


Your buyer isn’t looking for the company you are today. Your buyer is looking for the company you’ll become in the future. Because that’s where your buyer will find HIS Exit Strategy.

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 410-413


Your Dream tells the story of who you intend to become. The Great Result your company intends to produce in a way no other company has ever produced it. Your Vision tells the story of what your company will look like, act like, and be like in order to manifest that dream as an ongoing reality. That’s why I said, “to become the McDonald’s of small business consulting.” Because IF we could do that, we then would have achieved the strategic result every sensible buyer would be passionate about. Why? Because McDonald’s is the most successful small business in the world! What an exemplary model to fashion our great company on. And it was never a question of IF we could do that. It was simply a question of HOW we would do that. That’s what we set out to do. And that’s what I’m suggesting that YOU must set out to do, no matter what kind of business you’re in. Your Purpose tells the singular story of why your company is worth doing. It’s all about your most important customer. Who they are, why they are, and what’s going on with them. Your Purpose starts and ends with your most important customer. Just as at E-Myth, our Dream said our most important customer was an independently owned small business. Or, rather the owner of one. And there were millions of them. Billions, actually, worldwide. All of them struggling to get by. None of them truly understanding why it’s such a struggle. What if we could figure that out for them? That was our purpose. To figure that out for them. To figure out why most small businesses don’t work and what to do about it. Which is the subtitle of my most famous book, The E-Myth. Get it? That’s what you’ve got to do as well. Figure it out for them. For your most important customer. And then, once you get that that’s what you as a newly born entrepreneur are here to do, you’ll then, perhaps for the very first time, understand that unless or until you do that, you’ll never succeed at selling it. Not to Microsoft. Not to Apple. Not to Mary Kay Cosmetics. Not to Google. Not to anyone who is a truly spectacular buyer of small, scalable companies . . . in order to better grow theirs! Because you won’t have a worthwhile story to tell them. And, finally, your Mission will show your most important buyer how you did what you set out to do. Your Mission is the system at the heart of it all. Just like the system is at the heart of McDonald’s. Just like the system is at the heart of Mary Kay Cosmetics. Just like the system is at the heart of Starbucks, and Subway, and Apple, and Ameriprise, and Century 21, and UPS, and Uber, and so forth and so forth and so forth. It’s “the System, Stupid!” is what everyone knows it must be. Because without a proprietary, turnkey, scalable, muscular, indigenous and intelligent system at the heart of YOUR company, it will never be able to do what the word “scalable” demands it to do. In short, without that remarkably sonorous system living and breathing at the heart of your company, without that turnkey operating system—the OS of your business—there will never be a brand worthy of that name. There will never be a personality great gobs of customers identify with. As they do with Apple. As they do with Starbucks. As they do with every Great Growing Company worthy of the name. There will never be what’s needed to make your sale.

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 420-445


And, as we begin this exercise of ours to design, build, launch, and grow your company to scale, it’s critical for you to think of your “consumer” in two ways, and in this order: First will be the consumer who’s going to buy your company. And second will be the consumer who’s going to buy your product.

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 624-628


The Entrepreneur as a Complex of Personalities It became obvious to me that there were actually four personalities inside of every entrepreneur, each with its own role, each with its own contribution to the emergence of an Enterprise. Take out any one of those four personalities, and a serious gap would be created in the process of inventing and implementing a successfully emerging company. Those personalities not only define outcomes, but the linear process through which those outcomes are created. Those personalities are The Dreamer, The Thinker, The Storyteller, and The Leader. The Dreamer has a Dream. The Thinker has a Vision. The Storyteller has a Purpose. The Leader has a Mission. Dream. Vision. Purpose. Mission. The essential raw components of an Enterprise. The essential four components missing in almost every small business. To think about them in another way: The Dream is The Great Result. The Vision is the form the company is going to take. The Purpose is the profound Impact the company is going to have on its customer. The Mission is that great business operating system which will enable The Dream, The Vision, and The Purpose to be manifested as an operating enterprise.

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 726-742


That’s why thinking of one’s company as a product is so important to this process. Because just like a product, your company has to be packaged. Visually, emotionally, functionally, and financially. A turnkey methodology which produces exactly the results it was intended to produce.

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 836-840


It is here that you must understand that I’m not suggesting that you must create an enterprise with 1,000 employees in order to achieve your Great Result. Instead, I’m emphatically saying that you must create a company that has the ability to achieve that objective and, in order to demonstrate that ability, you must build out the platform to prove it. The platform to prove it is what I call your Franchise Prototype.

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 944-949


Your Franchise Prototype will be one small business, primed, ready and able to grow a very big one. I call that one small business your Practice. You’ll remember that your Practice is the three-legged stool, combining Lead Generation, Lead Conversion and Client Fulfillment—the three essential systems—into a turnkey capability prepared to scale.

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 949-952


want to remind you here that you really have two most important customers: The first customer, of course, is your strategic customer; the one who’s going to buy your company when you’re done. The second is the one we’re creating this Story for: the retail customer for your product or service. This is the primary and direct recipient of your Great Result.

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 999-1003


The Dreamer, The Thinker, The Storyteller, and finally, The Leader. Without the Leader, none of what we’ve done stands a chance of becoming a reality. It’s the Leader who makes things happen. It’s the Leader, who takes the Dream, Vision, and Purpose most seriously. So much so that he or she devotes her or his life to declaring them out loud, to realizing them, to manifesting them, and to making them come true. The Leader infuses the Dream, Vision, and Purpose with the energy needed to turn them from thoughts and ideas and notions into substance. The Leader infuses the heartfelt, but still premature, Dream with passion and soul, and gives it a life of its own, outside of the incubator—taking it beyond the idea. The Leader is on a Mission to turn the Dream, the Vision, and the Purpose into commitments, promises, and actions, charged with the earnest intent to touch the hearts of the people who are going to be needed to do the real work—and to believe you, not just in you. Those who will keep your promise. To take your promise seriously. And join you in the Mission. The Leader has a Mission. You’re the Leader.

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 1133-1145


The point of Client Acquisition is not to make a sale. The point of Client Acquisition is to make a true believer. And to make a true believer, you’ve got to address, communicate, share, and inspire an already overloaded audience to believe in something they don’t want to believe in. They are skeptical to the core. They are cynical—and for good reason. They’ve been lied to by everybody. Most of all, they’ve lied to themselves. So, they don’t believe in the other—the politician, the salesperson, the supposed leader, the judge, the jury, the cop, justice, the American Dream, the Priest, the Minister, the Rabbi, the Imam, and they don’t believe in themselves. So it’s going to take something irrefutably remarkable to help them switch gears. You are that gear switcher. If you’re going to grow, that is. And your Client Acquisition System is the lever you’re going to use to accomplish that.

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 1576-1585


At the heart of your Client Acquisition System is a Great Story. And that Great Story is what fueled the creation of your Client Fulfillment System. Understand that your Client Fulfillment System is both the genesis of your Client Acquisition System, and the outcome of your discovery of it. Your Client Fulfillment System is the product of your Dream, Vision, Purpose, and Mission. As is your Client Acquisition System. Meaning, while they appear to be two—Client Fulfillment, Client Acquisition—they are actually one. It’s that singular fact that takes you beyond the ordinary to be in a position to discover the extraordinary. And that’s what’s at the heart of a Great Story. The fact that it is one. A Great Growing Company is one.

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 1597-1606


The very best book I’ve ever read about the Story, Robert McKee’s, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, tells it most clearly. In his Introduction, McKee lays out, not rules—he doesn’t believe in rules—but principles. McKee says: “Story is about principles, not rules.” “Story is about eternal, universal forms, not formulas.” “Story is about archetypes, not stereotypes.” “Story is about thoroughness, not shortcuts.” “Story is about realities, not the mysteries of writing.” “Story is about mastering the art, not second-guessing the marketplace.” “Story is about respect, not disdain, for the audience.” “Story is about originality, not duplication.” If you’re truly serious about writing your Great Story, I would recommend you read McKee’s great book.

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 1671-1684


The mechanics of Client Acquisition are straightforward. First there’s Lead Generation. Then there’s Lead Conversion. You first want to attract folks to you. And then there’s the process of converting them into a Customer. Once you’ve converted them into a Customer, the mechanics of Client Fulfillment converts them into a lasting Client. There are, I think, a few important things to keep in mind when thinking about these systems, and I present them here with the suggestion that all, in combination, can lead to a more precise way of thinking about and subsequently building, launching, and growing your Client Acquisition System: Lead Generation has a distinct and definable beginning, middle, and end; it begins in your first efforts to identify your best customer—who they are, where they are, and what needs they hope to fill. Your Lead Generation System ends at the point at which a potential customer identifies themselves as such—they raise their hand, send an email inquiry, click for more information, make a phone call, walk into your shop and ask a question. They are, at that point, a generated lead. So it follows that all of your efforts in Lead Generation (and all of your measurements and quantifications to evaluate your system’s effectiveness) revolve around and are limited to those efforts that end in someone saying: “Tell me more.” Lead Conversion begins directly after that point of first attraction, is marked by all the specific, progressive steps that would follow (generally confirming the need and offering the solution), and ends, of course, with your interested prospect deciding to do business with you, placing an order for your product or service. Just as with Lead Generation, there are a number of benchmarks and measurements you’ll want to routinely capture (as part of your system) to be perpetually evaluating the effectiveness of your Lead Conversion efforts. Following Lead Conversion, of course, is Client Fulfillment—and your Client Fulfillment System was, you’ll recall, the very first system you developed. It should make increasing sense to you why that would have been the order of things; putting it bluntly, knowing with all of your heart and mind that you have in place an iron-clad ability to do what you’re promising, will, if nothing else (and there is much more), increase your connection with your client-to-be, in your being able to express your complete assurance and confidence in your ability to make and keep the promise they’re seeking. And before we leave this, let me say one more thing about this wonderful network of primary systems. And that is, that they are clearly interrelated and interdependent, and ought to be constantly synchronizing and recalibrating with one another; and that also, they should not be thought of as strictly linear. In other words, once the initial notice has been achieved by someone who thinks they might be interested in what you have, all of these three systems start working together, rather like a single organism, but with separate and distinct responsibilities—all leading to the same goal. Put simply, consider the fact that from the very first time your prospective customers get a whiff of awareness of your existence and, therefore, are systemically in your Lead Generation System, they are simultaneously having an experience of your Client Fulfillment System as well. Every impression, every action, every response, every exploratory click on your website or encounter with your answering system is a precursor to what they have every reason to believe will be their ultimate experience with your company.

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 1821-1853


A Business is an aggregate of up to seven turnkey Practices, plus a turnkey Management System!

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 2034-2035


To make the leap from a well-oiled Practice to a fully functioning Business made up of up to seven Practices, you are now called to create something new. This is something you haven’t really needed up to this point. You need a turnkey Management System. Because without a turnkey Management System, everything you’ve worked so hard to design, build, launch, and grow up to this point will all come tumbling down. Without a turnkey Management System, the core operating system upon which growth depends—comprised of Lead Generation, Lead Conversion, and Client Fulfillment—crumbles in disarray, just like almost every small company you walk into every single day. It is impossible to make too large a point of this: your turnkey Management System is the key to growth!

Michael E. Gerber, Beyond The E-Myth: The Evolution of an Enterprise: From a Company of One to a Company of 1,000!, loc. 2069-2076

[Richard Tubb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll say up front that Michael Gerbers work with the E-Myth concept has been life changing for me. I consider The E-Myth Revisited to be a bible for business, and have spent years recommending it to other small business owners. In short, I'm a huge fan.

Which made it so difficult to read this book and find it disappointing.

Gerber writes about building a business that is saleable. This, I understand. But how he delivers the advice on building a saleable business falls flat.

All the threads are there. Turnkey systems, legacy, vision, leadership, management. However the book seems to offer these as pure concepts rather than give any practical advice on how to create and build them.

I kept hoping the book would turn a corner, and the next chapter would offer something more concrete to get my teeth into. Instead, there were more monologues, thoughts and references to earlier books, but no practical guidance.

I wanted to love this book. There are the seeds of some great ideas here. But it's not a book I can recommend.

Read The E-Myth Revisited instead. It's a classic.

[Karen Hewitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Company of One" by Paul Jarvis is a refreshing and thought-provoking book that challenges the traditional notions of growth and expansion in business. With its emphasis on sustainable solopreneurship, the book provides valuable insights for entrepreneurs and small business owners seeking to build successful ventures on their own terms.

One of the notable strengths of this book is its emphasis on the idea that bigger isn't always better. Paul Jarvis argues that growth for the sake of growth may not align with the goals and values of every entrepreneur. Instead, he advocates for embracing the concept of a "company of one" - a business that remains intentionally small, agile, and focused on serving a niche market.

Moreover, "Company of One" offers practical strategies and real-life examples that demonstrate how entrepreneurs can thrive by maintaining a lean and flexible approach. Jarvis provides guidance on embracing specialization, building strong relationships with clients, and leveraging technology to maximize efficiency.

Additionally, the book encourages readers to prioritize work-life balance and well-being, debunking the myth that success must come at the expense of personal fulfillment. Jarvis emphasizes the importance of aligning one's business with personal values and goals to create a fulfilling and sustainable entrepreneurial journey.

Furthermore, "Company of One" challenges conventional notions of success and the need to constantly expand. It offers an alternative perspective for those who may feel overwhelmed by the pressure to scale their businesses, providing reassurance that staying small can be a conscious and valid choice.

However, some readers may find that certain sections of the book could benefit from more in-depth exploration. While the overall concept of solopreneurship is compelling, some may desire additional practical examples and strategies to implement in their own businesses.

In conclusion, "Company of One" is an empowering book that challenges the traditional notions of business growth and success. Paul Jarvis provides valuable insights and practical strategies for entrepreneurs seeking to build thriving ventures while maintaining their desired scale. The book's emphasis on work-life balance and personal fulfillment makes it a refreshing and necessary read for those seeking an alternative approach to entrepreneurship. Recommended for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and aspiring solopreneurs looking to build sustainable and purposeful businesses.

[Negar · Rating 5 out of 5]

انتشارات نگاه نوین منتشر کرد:
عمیقا معتقد به راهگشا بودن این کتاب از «مایکل گربر» در حوزه ی اداری کسب و کار هستم تا جایی که اگر کسی این کتاب را نخوانده باشد. به گمانم نمی تواند به درستی مفهوم اصلی کسب و کار و کارآفرینی را درک کند و در نهایت احتمال زیادی دارد که در این مسیر به بیراهه برود این کتاب به شما می گوید برای رهایی از برده داری مدرن (سخت کار کردن برای پول) چه اقداماتی باید انجام دهید و از این رهگذر، شما را با مفهوم شگفت «کوچک بودن» نه «کوچک ماندن» آشنا می کند.
با خواندن این کتاب شما می توانید روند درست جهانی شدن در برندهای معتبر را درک کنیده امروز بنیانگذار استارباکس صاحب کسب و کاری با بیش از سی و پنج هزار شعبه در سراسر جهان است یا والمارت مدیریت فروش چندین میلیون محصول را در بیش از ده هزار فروشگاه زنجیرهای پیش می برد و کتاب رشد ده هزار برابری، راوی تاثیرگذار این افسون مهم در کارآفرینی و اداری کسب و کارهای کوچک است.

متن فوق پشت جلد کتاب رشد ده هزار برابری در زبان فارسی از سایت ۳۰بوک است.
https://www.30book.com/book/130385/%D...

[William Brophy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational!

This book will let you know why you must pre-plan your business beyond a plan to show investors. You must also create the systems and instill the leadership that will lead your company to success (aka working on it) before you start working in it. I recommend reading this alongside "Awakening the Entrepreneur Within" and "The E-Myth Revisited".

[Andreas Kwiatkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Repetitive and dry, especially if you have read the E-Myth (revisited) before. What does Gerber have with stools? And why can an enterprise consist of up to 7 smaller units, exactly, justified with a brief "not more than 7 one could handle".

[Abdoul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

I’m angry at myself for not having found this book earlier and all the concepts in it!! I could not figure out how major companies can do it from 1 to 1000. now I know and I will implement the practices of this book , and there is no going back!

[Tumwine Prosper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Micheal Gerber is a storyteller like no other. But implementing his story is not easy

[Angela Lam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was debating between a 2 or 3* rating, and decided to be generous.

Compared to The E-Myth, E-Myth Revisited, E-Myth Mastery, this book is really thin in content, rather unstructured, with tons of repetition and self-promotion.

If you stepped back and mapped out the points, you'd find tons of gaps and "hmm, so what about that?".

Still, it's not a waste of time because:
1. It's really easy to read
2. There are some good points in there about re-building your company with a 2nd set of customers in mind (the ones that will buy your company, and not your products)
3. If you care about crafting your vision, purpose, story (which is kinda whee I'm at with my business), this book does give some perspectives.

In a nutshell, an okay overview book about building a scalable, saleable company (+ links together some of the points from previous E-Myth books without going into detail). But, it's more of a marketing piece for their Dreaming Room program, than a real how-to book.

Book summary at: http://readingraphics.com/book-summar...
I still MUCH prefer E-Myth Revisited:
http://readingraphics.com/book-summar...

[Rick Killian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Gerber’s penultimate book that every small business owner should read

Once again Michael Gerber takes the complexity of running a small business and boils it down to its most essential elements and then shows you how to develop those so that your business can be a success. The book is a quick read, but you will want to take it slowly to catch every practice and principle so that your business can grow into something that will not only be successful, but will also grow more valuable the longer you run it. Someday you will want to step back from it or do something different, and at that point, which would you rather do? Close the company or sell it? Mr. Gerber walks you through the essentials and mindset that will get you to the latter. This is a book that every small business owner, or anyone thinking of someday starting their own business, should read—and probably more than just once.

Disclaimer: I was given access to a temporary advanced digital copy for the purpose of doing a review. Now that I’ve read it, I bought a copy so I can read it again. :-)

[Mitch Russo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Geber started a revolution with his original publication of The E-Myth. Many years ago, I adopted many of the strategies he discussed and found them powerful. I have enjoyed his more recent work and read "Beyond" as a reminder of how a shift in thinking is sometimes all that's needed for powerful transformation.

[Xolani Phumlani Mahlangu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it... but…

Awesome book but you still need to do the thinking to fill some missing spaces. Recommended for the "not lazy" anytime.