The Pinoy Entrepreneurs blog, if you still haven’t noticed, is about, among others, encouraging more Filipinos to become entrepreneurs. It’s about stepping out of one’s comfort zone and starting one’s own business.
You could even say it’s about stirring up the entrepreneurial spirit, focusing on the positive aspects of entrepreneurship, such that talking about negative matters, topics such as the “entrepreneurial myth,” would be a sin.
The entrepreneurial myth is the “myth that most people who start small business are entrepreneurs” or “the fatal assumption that an individual who understands the technical work of a business can successfully run a business that does that technical work.”
These are the definitions of entrepreneurial myth (“E-Myth”) in the book “The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It” (Michael E. Gerber; HarperCollins). Mr. Gerber attributes the root cause of most small business failures to this fatal assumption.
An employee understands the “technical work of a business.” A company accountant, for instance, is expected to know all about accounting. An expert computer technician naturally knows all about computers. We could go on giving illustrations, but the point is that an employee who performs a particular task in a business could become an expert in that field. That expertise could even be of such level that the business couldn’t survive without that employee.
Now, if that employee catches the entrepreneurial bug, perhaps he would think of starting his own business because he has gained expertise in that line of business.
So the company accountant resigns and starts his own accounting firm. The expert computer technician tenders his resignation and starts his own computer shop. Spirits run high. It feels refreshing to be the boss and to go to work anytime you want. No one will give you a show-cause notice, directing you to explain why you should not be disciplined for being late.
However, understanding the “technical work of a business” is totally different from understanding the “business that does that technical work.” Doing business involves capitalization, cash flow, marketing and a host of other factors. A technician-employee is concerned more of doing his job, leaving the problem of looking for clients and marketing to the manager. He receives his salary on a regular basis, leaving the problem of making profit to the manager or business owner (which, by the way, is one of the main reasons why many prefer the “security” of receiving a regular salary as an employee, rather than taking the risks of being an entrepreneur).
In the end, if the “entrepreneur” does not prepare himself for the business, he’ll end up owning a job, and not a business. This defeats the entire exercise of going into business, the purpose of which, as Mr. Gerber puts it, is “to get free of a job so you can create jobs for other people.”
The “technician” who intends to be an entrepreneur would, without understanding the “business that does that technical work,” most likely fail. This basic truth is oftentimes overlooked.
Talking about not-so-positive issues, such as the “entrepreneurial myth,” should never be construed as a “sin”. The entrepreneur, while having a positive outlook on business and life in general, acknowledges his weaknesses and other potential problems, then does something about them. The entrepreneur never disregards the dark side of the force, so to speak.
Now, are you ready to become an entrepreneur?
Related posts:
- Are Filipinos Ready to Become Entrepreneurs?
- The 3-fold Role of Entrepreneurs: Technician, Manager and Marketing Guru
- Entrepreneur vs. Employee: Why can’t everyone become Entrepreneurs?
- Poll: Are all Business People Entrepreneurs?
- Moving out of Comfort Zones and Starting your Own Business
- Starting a Business: Experience of a New Entrepreneur
- Fighting Work Burn-out
April 19th, 2010 at 6:46 pm
[...] The Technician. Some entrepreneurs started on their own because they believe they have the skills and expertise to deliver a good service or product. Some entrepreneurs started even with limited knowledge, but gaining more expertise once the business has started. Whatever the path taken on the way to the top, an entrepreneur gains success by being good – nay, the best – in what he/she does. Being a great Technician, however, does not guarantee success and, in fact, may be a reason for an entrepreneur’s downfall. This is the point in our discussion on e-myth. Read The E-Myth Revisited (Why Most Small Business Don’t Work and What to Do About It). [...]
April 19th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
[...] the article about the “entrepreneurial myth,” we noted Michael E. Gerber’s assertion that the e-myth is the “myth that most people who [...]
April 21st, 2010 at 11:41 pm
[...] is still a buzzword. But as had been pointed out here, and as many new entrepreneurs must have realized, entrepreneurship is not a walk in the park (or [...]
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:40 pm
[...] They have many of the traits of entrepreneurs (although they should be careful about the entrepreneurial myth and scams that prey on unsuspecting OFWs wanting to [...]
August 4th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
[...] There is the usual effort to distinguish between an entrepreneur and an employee, although the line is sometimes blurred. Some say an entrepreneur is a risk-taker. Others say that employees are resource-oriented, while entrepreneurs are opportunity-oriented, as we previously discussed. Still, a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or General Manager could be considered to have the traits of an entrepreneur, blazing the path of the company that he/she is managing, but it may happen that the CEO/CM does not own any shares in the company. Also, an entrepreneur may also be an employee of his own business. The Pinoy Entrepreneur is self-employed (though it’s always prudent to be mindful of the entrepreneurial myth). [...]
September 13th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
[...] The Technician. Some entrepreneurs started on their own because they believe they have the skills and expertise to deliver a good service or product. Some entrepreneurs started even with limited knowledge, but gaining more expertise once the business has started. Whatever the path taken on the way to the top, an entrepreneur gains success by being good – nay, the best – in what he/she does. Being a great Technician, however, does not guarantee success and, in fact, may be a reason for an entrepreneur’s downfall. This is the point in our discussion on e-myth. [...]
September 13th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
[...] They have many of the traits of entrepreneurs (although they should be careful about the entrepreneurial myth and scams that prey on unsuspecting OFWs wanting to [...]
January 17th, 2012 at 5:23 pm
Easy to read and understand, this book provides simple, yet profound, solutions to implement into your own business (and life). If you follow Michael Gerber’s guidelines, he will help you lay down a solid foundation for your business, assist you in defining your future (outside of the business), give you the ability to streamline your business’ processes so that your business can operate regardless of whether or not you are there, and much, much more. SIMPLY AMAZING.