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The E-Myth Enterprise: How to Turn a Great Idea into a Thriving Business
“This excellent book is a must-read for current and aspiring entrepreneurs.”
— Booklist
Discover how to turn a great idea into a thriving business with The E-Myth Enterprise, using the proven methods that bestselling author Michael E. Gerber has developed over the course of his more than forty years as an entrepreneur and coach. Michael E.Gerber is THE #1 name in small business and his company, E-Myth Worldwide, boasts more than 52,000 business clients in 145 countries. The E-Myth Enterprise shows readers how to get started—because simply coming up with a brilliant business idea is the easy part.
— Booklist
Discover how to turn a great idea into a thriving business with The E-Myth Enterprise, using the proven methods that bestselling author Michael E. Gerber has developed over the course of his more than forty years as an entrepreneur and coach. Michael E.Gerber is THE #1 name in small business and his company, E-Myth Worldwide, boasts more than 52,000 business clients in 145 countries. The E-Myth Enterprise shows readers how to get started—because simply coming up with a brilliant business idea is the easy part.
199 pages, Paperback
First published June 23, 2009
133 people are currently reading
2227 people want to read
About the author
Michael E. Gerber
112 books631 followersMichael E. Gerber is an American author and founder of Michael E. Gerber Companies, a business skills training company based in Carlsbad, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
October 11, 2013
For a "How to" book, this book does not deliver any useful information. And worst of all, for a book with a subtitle of "How to turn a great idea into a thriving business", it is a total waste of readers' time if they are sincerely looking for such information. So, here's my two words review - Skip it.
I agree with some of the other reviews that this book has lots of fluff, not really useful information and if the author were to remove the melodramatic stories, the useful bits can fit about a ten-page book (and I consider that to be a generous estimation).
To be fair, I stopped reading half-way so as not to further waste my time, but I did skim through the rest of the chapters and based on my personal judgement, did not deem it to be a worthwhile investment.
I agree with some of the other reviews that this book has lots of fluff, not really useful information and if the author were to remove the melodramatic stories, the useful bits can fit about a ten-page book (and I consider that to be a generous estimation).
To be fair, I stopped reading half-way so as not to further waste my time, but I did skim through the rest of the chapters and based on my personal judgement, did not deem it to be a worthwhile investment.
September 8, 2014
Sloppily edited stream of consciousness ranting. Least valuable business book I've ever read. I'm guessing the earlier E-Myth books must have had something interesting to say, but by the time the author reached this one, only the dregs of the idea were left.
January 30, 2017
É o primeiro livro sobre empreendedorismo que leio e o segundo em inglês. É um tipo de livro que nunca achei que leria, mas resolvi arriscar.
O livro dá uma série de dicas empresariais fantásticas além de definir muitos conceitos desse meio para quem se interessa em adentrar no mundo dos empreendedores ou entendê-lo melhor, mas é difícil pescar essa parte boa em meio a um oceano de coisas ruins. O livro todo é guiado no melhor estilo palestra motivacional Geração de Valor, o que eu já esperava, mas se fosse só isso era aceitável, afinal, se o conteúdo for excelente, pelo menos acima da média a obra deve ser, mas aí é que vem o pior. Essa parte boa do livro você precisa pescar em meio a toneladas da mais pura pseudagem, esoterismo e bordões de auto-ajuda misturado à cultura oriental, pegando apenas partes pertinentes dessa cultura e criando uma atmosfera do "sucesso zen" ou uma "astrologia homeopática empreendedora", seriam dois bons nomes. O cara consegue até abrir capítulos citando Chopra.
E a parte econômica e contábil praticamente não existe e quando existe está imersa em um monte de conversinha de senso comum que não te acrescenta muita coisa. Resumindo, para um livro de mais de 200 páginas, você consegue enxugar umas 10 de coisa boa, mas essas 10 valem à pena.
O livro dá uma série de dicas empresariais fantásticas além de definir muitos conceitos desse meio para quem se interessa em adentrar no mundo dos empreendedores ou entendê-lo melhor, mas é difícil pescar essa parte boa em meio a um oceano de coisas ruins. O livro todo é guiado no melhor estilo palestra motivacional Geração de Valor, o que eu já esperava, mas se fosse só isso era aceitável, afinal, se o conteúdo for excelente, pelo menos acima da média a obra deve ser, mas aí é que vem o pior. Essa parte boa do livro você precisa pescar em meio a toneladas da mais pura pseudagem, esoterismo e bordões de auto-ajuda misturado à cultura oriental, pegando apenas partes pertinentes dessa cultura e criando uma atmosfera do "sucesso zen" ou uma "astrologia homeopática empreendedora", seriam dois bons nomes. O cara consegue até abrir capítulos citando Chopra.
E a parte econômica e contábil praticamente não existe e quando existe está imersa em um monte de conversinha de senso comum que não te acrescenta muita coisa. Resumindo, para um livro de mais de 200 páginas, você consegue enxugar umas 10 de coisa boa, mas essas 10 valem à pena.
April 3, 2017
Like the best thinkers in any discipline, Michael E. Gerber has mastered the art of pointing out what any sane, intelligent person should have been able to discover on their own but rarely does. The E-Myth Enterprise, one of the titles in his ever-expanding E-Myth series, explains what anyone needs to make a successful business: the ability to understand better than the competition "how to satisfy the essential needs, unconscious expectations, and perceived preferences" of their employees, customers, suppliers, and financial institutions.
This involves mastering five skills (concentration, discrimination/judgement, organization, innovation, and communication) and putting them into the service of the four-point E-Myth Enterprise Matrix. This Matrix is comprised of four preferences that apply to the four sets of stakeholders mentioned above: visual preferences, emotional preferences, functional preferences, and financial preferences. Practically, this means a successful business cares about how it looks, is not content to stay stuck anywhere but always pushes the forward boundary, privileges good processes over hiring "good people," and is meticulously careful with money.
Each chapter includes stories of exemplars of these traits, is written in a fast-paced, witty and engaging style, and doesn't waste the readers's time. As anyone reading this book is likely to be very business looking after or starting a business of some kind, this is extremely valuable. Gerber focuses often on the entrepreneurial mindset, urging readers to reject the status quo, to tend their vision rather than trying to fit into existing business paradigms, and most of all to make the world a better place through implementing whatever their vision happens to be.
Unlike other books of its kind, The E-Myth Enterprise provides plenty of tangible ideas for entrepreneurs to ponder. For instance, in the chapter on visual preferences he doesn't just say, "Make your place of business look pretty!" Instead, he offers a spectrum of six components to help one evaluate their physical space: color, form, scale, order, detail, and information. He goes on to elaborate on each of these, explaining how successful companies have leveraged and implemented these ideas. Of course there are some "rah-rah!" moments of inspiration scattered throughout, but overall these are neither too plentiful nor obnoxious.
Perhaps best of all, Gerber stresses the importance of using your business as a means to helping others achieve self-betterment. He doesn't come off as smarmy in this, or as a New Age guru (a class of people to which he refers occasionally, usually to hilarious effect); rather, he comes off as a prophetic voice calling those moving about in the free market to not idolize money, to genuinely care about other people and not just use "human concern" as a talking point to drive sales, and to pay heed to and cultivate one's conscience even (especially!) in the boardroom.
This is a quick read, entertaining, insightful, and recommended.
This involves mastering five skills (concentration, discrimination/judgement, organization, innovation, and communication) and putting them into the service of the four-point E-Myth Enterprise Matrix. This Matrix is comprised of four preferences that apply to the four sets of stakeholders mentioned above: visual preferences, emotional preferences, functional preferences, and financial preferences. Practically, this means a successful business cares about how it looks, is not content to stay stuck anywhere but always pushes the forward boundary, privileges good processes over hiring "good people," and is meticulously careful with money.
Each chapter includes stories of exemplars of these traits, is written in a fast-paced, witty and engaging style, and doesn't waste the readers's time. As anyone reading this book is likely to be very business looking after or starting a business of some kind, this is extremely valuable. Gerber focuses often on the entrepreneurial mindset, urging readers to reject the status quo, to tend their vision rather than trying to fit into existing business paradigms, and most of all to make the world a better place through implementing whatever their vision happens to be.
Unlike other books of its kind, The E-Myth Enterprise provides plenty of tangible ideas for entrepreneurs to ponder. For instance, in the chapter on visual preferences he doesn't just say, "Make your place of business look pretty!" Instead, he offers a spectrum of six components to help one evaluate their physical space: color, form, scale, order, detail, and information. He goes on to elaborate on each of these, explaining how successful companies have leveraged and implemented these ideas. Of course there are some "rah-rah!" moments of inspiration scattered throughout, but overall these are neither too plentiful nor obnoxious.
Perhaps best of all, Gerber stresses the importance of using your business as a means to helping others achieve self-betterment. He doesn't come off as smarmy in this, or as a New Age guru (a class of people to which he refers occasionally, usually to hilarious effect); rather, he comes off as a prophetic voice calling those moving about in the free market to not idolize money, to genuinely care about other people and not just use "human concern" as a talking point to drive sales, and to pay heed to and cultivate one's conscience even (especially!) in the boardroom.
This is a quick read, entertaining, insightful, and recommended.
November 4, 2024
I like the premise, but there are some fundamental issues with this book:
1.) Every few pages, the entire page would fall cleanly out of the book, with minimal force applied. Not even a rip or tear -- just a clean break from the binding, as if glue/binding didn't exist. This made the book unreadable.
2.) The amount of storytelling and dramatization is overboard. When describing the importance of presentation and emotional buildup, Gerber spends an entire chapter -- 10 pages -- describing a "nondescript" neighbor John Anderson, and the doors unlocked and tarps pulled off a 1947 Ford Coupe. Sure, the scene is visceral and visual, but readers gain nothing from the time wasted. The payoff proves a point but the context -- 16-year-old Gerber, acquiring a used car, from a nondescript person -- doesn't carry over to online, digital, software businesses of today. The time and product are too different. The problem with this approach is that with so much time and pages spent on an irrelevant flashback, we lose valuable pages and time that could be spent getting to the point, or whirlwind-touring more case studies of more diverse types of businesses. Treat the reader's time with more respect.
3.) Flowery language, full of beating around the bush.
"Contrary to popular belief, there's an overwhelming poverty of the entrepreneurial spirit in this country."
Being "contrary" adds nothing to the statement or the lesson. Just state your point. "Entrepreneurial spirit" is another buzzword, a gust of wind that doesn't ground the lesson in anything tangible or actionable. These kinds of philosophical pontification permeates the pages and makes it difficult to extract the kernel of advice. 99% of the book is fluff that should be cut to make the kernel clearer and more actionable.
1.) Every few pages, the entire page would fall cleanly out of the book, with minimal force applied. Not even a rip or tear -- just a clean break from the binding, as if glue/binding didn't exist. This made the book unreadable.
2.) The amount of storytelling and dramatization is overboard. When describing the importance of presentation and emotional buildup, Gerber spends an entire chapter -- 10 pages -- describing a "nondescript" neighbor John Anderson, and the doors unlocked and tarps pulled off a 1947 Ford Coupe. Sure, the scene is visceral and visual, but readers gain nothing from the time wasted. The payoff proves a point but the context -- 16-year-old Gerber, acquiring a used car, from a nondescript person -- doesn't carry over to online, digital, software businesses of today. The time and product are too different. The problem with this approach is that with so much time and pages spent on an irrelevant flashback, we lose valuable pages and time that could be spent getting to the point, or whirlwind-touring more case studies of more diverse types of businesses. Treat the reader's time with more respect.
3.) Flowery language, full of beating around the bush.
"Contrary to popular belief, there's an overwhelming poverty of the entrepreneurial spirit in this country."
Being "contrary" adds nothing to the statement or the lesson. Just state your point. "Entrepreneurial spirit" is another buzzword, a gust of wind that doesn't ground the lesson in anything tangible or actionable. These kinds of philosophical pontification permeates the pages and makes it difficult to extract the kernel of advice. 99% of the book is fluff that should be cut to make the kernel clearer and more actionable.
October 30, 2019
Ridiculous. It's full of unclear, poetic ideals with no pragmatic value - and then he tries to persuade you that you shouldn't be driven by anything other than pragmatism. The very worst business book I've ever read.
I got one valuable lesson from the book, I'll share it here so you don't have to waste your time: Implement processes that actually produce so when do employee leaves, you haven't lost all of the value they added to the company.
I got one valuable lesson from the book, I'll share it here so you don't have to waste your time: Implement processes that actually produce so when do employee leaves, you haven't lost all of the value they added to the company.
July 11, 2024
What an erratic way of writing, so full of ramblings and repetitions. At times Michael Gerber reminded me of the pessimist Marcus Aurelius whose book "Thoughts" left me more depressed than spirited, although I rescued some good ideas about business management from this book, I cannot say at all that I liked it, the cost for those ideas was enduring chapters and more chapters of detours and banalities.
January 30, 2013
The book is simple, very very informative and really will inspire you to turn your idea into an "E-myth enterprise"! I highly recommend this book to any one who want to start a new business! Great Job Michael E.Gerber!
March 4, 2015
A few engaging stories mixed with basic information.
December 16, 2018
http://imeducatingmyself.com/the-e-my...
People who have lately thinking about starting their own business, but don’t have enough knowledge and want to start learning first before they went into business – I would suggest you to read this book. I do have to say that this will not be your complete ‘How to’ guide when it comes learning about how to start your own business, but it’s a good start. Also I would suggest this book to people who already had started business but the business is not doing well. You can learn some important skills that are required, and start working on how to apply some changes to your business and make it better.
Essential skills of this book and that everyone should learn are:
Concentration
Discrimination
Organization
Innovation
Communication
Another important aspect of your product and service that it’s important to customers and that need to be presented clearly to your customers, and those preferences are:
Visual preference
Functional preference
Emotional Preference
Financial Preference
Without going into depth explaining more about this book, I think it’s clear from above what are main subjects of this book and things you can learn. I would suggest to anyone who is interested in business to learn this book because it does offer good content and author have enough experience in this field. It’s important to be prepared when you starting your journey of starting your own business. Of course that you can’t prepare yourself for everything, but it’s good to have some basic knowledge on how things should work. I would suggest you to read another book from the same author which contains much more great insights about creating business system, the book is The E-Myth.
People who have lately thinking about starting their own business, but don’t have enough knowledge and want to start learning first before they went into business – I would suggest you to read this book. I do have to say that this will not be your complete ‘How to’ guide when it comes learning about how to start your own business, but it’s a good start. Also I would suggest this book to people who already had started business but the business is not doing well. You can learn some important skills that are required, and start working on how to apply some changes to your business and make it better.
Essential skills of this book and that everyone should learn are:
Concentration
Discrimination
Organization
Innovation
Communication
Another important aspect of your product and service that it’s important to customers and that need to be presented clearly to your customers, and those preferences are:
Visual preference
Functional preference
Emotional Preference
Financial Preference
Without going into depth explaining more about this book, I think it’s clear from above what are main subjects of this book and things you can learn. I would suggest to anyone who is interested in business to learn this book because it does offer good content and author have enough experience in this field. It’s important to be prepared when you starting your journey of starting your own business. Of course that you can’t prepare yourself for everything, but it’s good to have some basic knowledge on how things should work. I would suggest you to read another book from the same author which contains much more great insights about creating business system, the book is The E-Myth.
November 26, 2017
Being the owner of a very young enterprise (aka a small business) probably doesn’t qualify me to thoroughly evaluate the principals taught in this book. I can tell you though that I was inspired by Michael Herbert’s ideas about what a great entrepreneur might aspire to become.
He talks about the look, feel, function and financials of a business but it seemed that his true purpose was to say that people in general are walking around in a sort of sleep, not questioning themselves or their lives, doing most things if not everything unconsciously. The great entrepreneur he contends (though he cannot be fully awake) must want to be awake and objective.
It’s been a while since I’ve read Atlas Shrugged but this book seemed to echo the ideals of Ayn Rand’s protagonists that were “truly alive” because they believed in doing good work.
If you are looking for step by step instructions for enterprise building, this is not it. It did, however, make me want to be a better man and to make a better business.
He talks about the look, feel, function and financials of a business but it seemed that his true purpose was to say that people in general are walking around in a sort of sleep, not questioning themselves or their lives, doing most things if not everything unconsciously. The great entrepreneur he contends (though he cannot be fully awake) must want to be awake and objective.
It’s been a while since I’ve read Atlas Shrugged but this book seemed to echo the ideals of Ayn Rand’s protagonists that were “truly alive” because they believed in doing good work.
If you are looking for step by step instructions for enterprise building, this is not it. It did, however, make me want to be a better man and to make a better business.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2020
...you have to live so correctly that you can wake up in the morning and look out and say, "Today is a good day to die." - Jim Harrison's discussion on his novel, A Good Day to Die
It's the second book from Michael E. Gerber's E-Myth series. I haven't read the first one (Awakening the Entrepreneur within), yet I find this book essential for those wanting to build their own business.
What I like most about this book is that Michael explains each points with simple stories and writes the summary after every chapter. He elaborates the importance of the four primary influencers in business and the four categories of preference that must satisfy each primary influencers with a simple explanation and real life examples.
In summary, to build an E-Myth Enterprise, one must be interested in far more than just business. The only mission worthy of the name, is a business with conscience.
It's the second book from Michael E. Gerber's E-Myth series. I haven't read the first one (Awakening the Entrepreneur within), yet I find this book essential for those wanting to build their own business.
What I like most about this book is that Michael explains each points with simple stories and writes the summary after every chapter. He elaborates the importance of the four primary influencers in business and the four categories of preference that must satisfy each primary influencers with a simple explanation and real life examples.
In summary, to build an E-Myth Enterprise, one must be interested in far more than just business. The only mission worthy of the name, is a business with conscience.
May 11, 2017
If you're looking for a detailed how-to book on starting a business, you'll be disappointed, because this is not it.
But that's not what this book is supposed to be. Rather, it's about the mindset that is required for starting and running a successful enterprise. And, in this author's opinion, that's the most important thing.
I thought some parts of the book were profound, deeply inspiring, and affirming. Other parts I thought were fluffy and, frankly, felt like nonsense. (See last chapter especially.)
Still, the golden nuggets make this worthwhile reading for any aspiring CEO, I think.
I know I learned from it where some of my strengths are (yay! I can do this!), and where some of my weaknesses are (okay, I can work on that!). So, it was definitely worth reading just for that. :)
But that's not what this book is supposed to be. Rather, it's about the mindset that is required for starting and running a successful enterprise. And, in this author's opinion, that's the most important thing.
I thought some parts of the book were profound, deeply inspiring, and affirming. Other parts I thought were fluffy and, frankly, felt like nonsense. (See last chapter especially.)
Still, the golden nuggets make this worthwhile reading for any aspiring CEO, I think.
I know I learned from it where some of my strengths are (yay! I can do this!), and where some of my weaknesses are (okay, I can work on that!). So, it was definitely worth reading just for that. :)
March 29, 2018
Sir John Hargraves brought this up when I was reading “mindhack”. Only to realise that I am 10 years late to read this classic. It’s a relatively short book but sums up management and business ideology very precisely. Also comes with action points and concept that you can bring to your new business . True enough, every new sentence brought me to another “ oh damn my team should read this “ .
Better late than never .
Better late than never .
May 3, 2024
Did I enjoy this book?
Yes.
Did I learn a lot from my experience reading it?
I did, thank you.
Would I recommend it?
Maybe. I feel like this book, while invaluable in some respects, feels like a lot of advice you'd get in blogs and podcasts today. Gerber's wisdom is just that, wisdom, but as much as I gravitated to the next level thinking, I thought, how many YouTubers are out there saying the same thing?
Yes.
Did I learn a lot from my experience reading it?
I did, thank you.
Would I recommend it?
Maybe. I feel like this book, while invaluable in some respects, feels like a lot of advice you'd get in blogs and podcasts today. Gerber's wisdom is just that, wisdom, but as much as I gravitated to the next level thinking, I thought, how many YouTubers are out there saying the same thing?
January 3, 2018
Part business advice, part philosophy, and part poetry, this book has some good nuggets that would probably be better as a blog post with bullet points. Some of the author's points are endearing, but he makes them in such a roundabout way at times that you forget whether you're reading a business book or a meditation on Plato.
October 23, 2018
This book is a practical guide for anyone who has a business or wants to start one. It is one of those business books that you can practically apply to any part of your business and it will give you clarity to answer unanswered questions and questions that have lingered in your mind. Michale E. Gerber cuts to the chase and so do the principles in this book.
April 10, 2021
a good summary of what is required to succeed in making a business, product, idea successful, with well known examples as support. Provides good framework for strategic assessment and planning, but lacks next steps that move the knowledge of what needs to be done into the strategic process and action plans necessary to get it done.
October 31, 2023
Some good points on how business is a way of life.
There are four categories of preference that every business must satisfy in the minds and hearts of each of its for primary influences. Visual preferences, emotional, preferences, functional, preferences, financial preferences.
I enjoyed the education on, needing to possess skills, like concentration, and discrimination.
There are four categories of preference that every business must satisfy in the minds and hearts of each of its for primary influences. Visual preferences, emotional, preferences, functional, preferences, financial preferences.
I enjoyed the education on, needing to possess skills, like concentration, and discrimination.
January 6, 2022
Struggled to get the point across. Couldn't adapt the message to a digital business or content creation. Had high hopes and completely flopped. Read the first three chapters and skimmed through the rest. Zero takeaways.
July 29, 2023
In chapter 9, the last chapter, the author points out a big takeaway is to be conscious in thinking about your business goals, products, and customers. Be conscientious about what your business can do for the society and next generations.
October 7, 2018
Very inspiring and useful!
February 9, 2019
A great continuation to The Email.
March 13, 2019
Az első rész nagyon tetszett, viszont ez annál kevésbé. Főleg sztorizgatás, alig használható gyakorlati tippekkel. Nekem csalódás volt.
October 2, 2019
Excelente libro para nuevos emprendedores
Muy bueno, al punto y fácil de entender, las historias utilizadas por el escritor muy bien elaboradas, recomendado para emprendedores
Muy bueno, al punto y fácil de entender, las historias utilizadas por el escritor muy bien elaboradas, recomendado para emprendedores
February 3, 2020
Un libro con algunas ideas interesantes
Es el primero que leo de la saga E-myth pero no me parece el gran libro, pero sí con algunas ideas interesantes.
Es el primero que leo de la saga E-myth pero no me parece el gran libro, pero sí con algunas ideas interesantes.
March 7, 2020
About a quarter way through. This book did not have what I was looking for. Did not finish.
July 14, 2020
A guide book.
Some info are useful
Some are nvm. 👌😺
Some info are useful
Some are nvm. 👌😺
July 20, 2020
This was full of long lists where he just goes on and on and on. It was annoying. I wanted to finish it but it was hard.. Some good info but it was a hard listen (audiobook)
February 9, 2021
Great book
Great book to read. It has tools on hand kind of book to read. Read this each year and help you.
Great book to read. It has tools on hand kind of book to read. Read this each year and help you.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews