Let’s dive deeper into each one:

1. The Entrepreneur is the visionary, the dreamer, the strategist. This is the part of you that thrives on change and lives in the future, constantly creating new ideas.
2. The Manager is the pragmatic planner. They bring order and consistency to your operation, living in the past by clinging to the status quo.
3. The Technician is the doer, or rather, the do-it-yourselfer. They live in the present and live for taking action now.

Balancing these 3 roles is critical for your business. Most new business owners lean heavily towards the Technician role, about 70% of the time, because they come from a technical background. Imagine a plumber who starts their own business – most of the time they’ll still be doing plumbing, rather than management, marketing, accounting, etc.

A related key concept is the 3 stages of business growth that each entrepreneur must pass through:

1. Infancy Stage. Here, the focus is on the Technician aspect, where doing the work is everything. It’s like having a very complicated and frustrating job. The goal must be to evolve beyond reliance on the individual owner’s technical skills.
2. Adolescence Stage. This is where the Manager’s role becomes vital, as the company begins scaling up. It often starts with hiring the first employee to manage tasks the owner can’t or doesn’t want to handle.
3. Maturity Stage. The business reaches a point of clear vision and purpose. The emphasis shifts from merely doing work to following a sustainable long-term strategy – making the business operate efficiently and effectively as a whole.

A great example of these stages in action is IBM. The founder, Tom Watson, had a clear vision for IBM from the beginning. He understood that a successful business is built on the right foundations, regardless of its size. He famously said, “A big business is simply a small business that did the right things.” This mindset was crucial in IBM’s rapid evolution from a small business into a global powerhouse. It illustrates the importance of not just starting a business but starting it with the vision and strategy of a mature, successful company.

🍔 3. Work on your business, not in it: Implementing systems for scalable success, like the McDonald’s franchise model

Ever wondered how Ray Kroc grew McDonald’s from a single outlet to a global empire? He didn’t do it by flipping more burgers. Kroc’s real secret sauce was this: Working on his business, not in it. This approach, my friends, is a game changer for any entrepreneur.

Back in 1952, Ray Kroc, a milkshake mixer salesman, saw something special in a small restaurant run by the McDonald brothers. They had already tried and failed to franchise it, but Kroc saw the potential for something much bigger.

Kroc’s vision was not about selling hamburgers; it was about selling a business model to franchisees. Fast forward 40 years, and McDonald’s had over 25,000 locations worldwide, each operating identically to deliver the same experience everywhere. This consistency and predictability were what set McDonald’s apart.

While 80% of independent businesses fail in the first five years, an astonishing 75% of franchises succeed.

Why this stark contrast? The answer lies in the power of systems. Franchises like McDonald’s thrive on a business model that is orderly, consistent, and predictable.

This is a testament to a powerful truth: “The system is the solution.” It’s not merely about the product or the people; it’s fundamentally about how the business operates, with systems being the cornerstone of success in the franchise world.

So, how can you apply this to your business?

Imagine your business as the prototype for the next 1,000 stores in a national franchise. This means building your business not as a one-off but as a model for an entire chain.

The franchise model teaches us to create systems that:

1. Deliver consistent, predictable value to customers.
2. Can be replicated thousands of times, even by employees that are not superstars. (Remember that any individual employees could leave, so do not make your business dependent on specific people with exceptional talent or skill.)

So, what’s the ultimate takeaway for small business owners? Step back from the day-to-day operations. Focus on working “on” your business — developing strategies and systems — rather than getting lost in the nitty-gritty of daily tasks. This shift from hands-on work to strategic thinking is what transforms a small business into a scalable, sustainable empire. In short, systemizing your operations is the key to turning your business into a success story like McDonald’s.

🧩 4. How to Build Systems: Creating systems and processes for every role, so you can get out of it

Ever dream of a business that runs smoothly without you micromanaging every detail? It’s not just a dream. In “The E-Myth Revisited,” there’s a blueprint for just that — systemizing each aspect of your business. And guess what? It’s a lot simpler than you might think…

Here’s a step-by-step overview of how to build systems:

1. Sketch an organizational chart. Picture your business in five years. What size is it? What roles are needed? Clarify your vision with this chart. (At first, your name might be in every slot, but the goal is to create systems so clear and effective that almost anyone could step in and achieve the desired results.)
2. Define responsibilities, standards, and procedures. Do this for every role or position on your chart, starting from the bottom up.
   • Responsibilities describe their specific tasks and roles.
   • Standards set the quality and performance benchmarks.
   • Procedures outline the step-by-step processes to be followed
3. Put together an Operations Manual. This will allow you to keep track of all these systems. Think of this manual as your business’s playbook, containing checklists, templates, and scripts. And here’s the golden rule: Follow your system exactly as it’s written down, every single time. This consistency is what will make your business efficient and effective.

There are 4 types of systems you’ll be making:

1. Your core operations. Basically, how you do what you do in your business. Think of it like a recipe book for your business. Like McDonald’s has a specific order that ingredients are put onto a burger.
2. Hiring and training people. The processes for recruiting and educating new team members, so they can use the core systems effectively and understand your company’s values from day one.
3. Monitoring and optimizing systems. Constantly review and refine your business processes, like a coach fine-tuning a team’s strategy, to improve efficiency and fix issues.
4. Business development systems. Strategies for growth and expansion, to scale your business by exploring new markets and opportunities. We’ll talk about this in the next section.

This approach isn’t just about getting tasks done. By implementing these systems, you create a culture of continuous improvement, transforming your business into a self-sufficient entity. In short, building systems building systems is about transforming your business into an entity that operates independently of any single person’s expertise, including yours. It’s your ticket to stepping back and watching your business run itself on autopilot.

🚀 5. Business Development Mastery: Creating a Process and Program to grow your business into new areas

Let’s dive into something that could be a game-changer for your business: mastering the phases of business development. This isn’t just about growing your business; it’s about making sure it aligns with your ultimate vision for how you want your life to look like.

Business Development Process

Michael Gerber breaks down the business development process into clear phases:

• Innovation: Testing new ideas to clarify the unique value proposition your business offers to customers. This involves experimenting constantly to find what resonates best with your customers. (Similar to The Lean Startup approach.)
• Quantification: This is where you dive into the numbers and metrics to understand what’s really working.
• Orchestration: Ensuring consistency by doing the same thing the same way every time. What people do in your business is dictated by the system, not their choice. This creates simplicity and order in business operations.

Business Development Program

But how do you turn these phases into a concrete program? This is why you should follow these steps to create a business development program:

1. Primary Aim: What’s your big vision? This is about you, your values, your aspirations. As Stephen Covey said, we must “begin with the end in mind.” We start with a vision for our ideal day, then we practice making it real every day.
2. Strategic Objective: What does your business need to achieve for you to realize your primary aim? This is like a blueprint of your future business, including profit goals and company size.
3. Organizational Strategy: Sketch out your organizational chart with clearly defined roles and relationships. It’s about building a business based on functions, not around people with unique talents.
4. Management Strategy: It’s not about having amazing managers but about having a system that produces reliable results. This includes an Operations Manual with checklists for each role.
5. People Strategy: It’s not just a few hours of training; it’s about immersing your employees in your vision. Making them feel part of something larger and creating a sense of community and purpose.
6. Marketing Strategy: Understand who your customers are and why they buy (demographics and psychographics) – what they want might be different from what you think.
7. Systems Strategy: Recognizing that everything in your business is part of a system. This includes hard systems (inanimate), soft systems (living), and information systems (interactions).

In summary, business development is about creating a holistic strategy that aligns every aspect of your business with your ultimate goals. It’s about building a business that not only works but allows you to thrive.

🖤 6. The Customer’s Viewpoint: Understanding the real definition of a successful business

If you think your business is just about the product or service you offer, think again. The real game-changer? Seeing your business through your customer’s eyes. This perspective shift isn’t just important; it’s crucial for creating a business model that resonates with your audience and stands out in the market.

Let’s talk about making your business BETTER, but here’s the catch: ‘better’ should be defined by your customers, not you. Implementing systems in your business can give your customers a sense of control and satisfaction they might not find elsewhere.

Remember, the real product you’re selling is the feeling customers come away with after doing business with you.

In his live talks, Michael Gerber likes to share the example of Disneyland in Anaheim. People often rave about its cleanliness, sometimes even more than the attractions like Mickey or Goofy. Why? Because of a meticulous system to steam clean the park every night. This attention to detail sets Disneyland apart in a way that deeply resonates with visitors.

So, what does this mean for your business? It’s about building a brand and customer experience that’s not just good, but remarkable. So people will actually remark to their friends later, “Wow you wouldn’t believe how clean Disney was!” This requires continuously striving to understand customer preferences and build your systems towards what they really value.

1. Task Audit: Review your daily tasks. Aim to reduce technical ones, shifting from technician to entrepreneur/manager.
2. Efficiency Hour: Each week, spend an hour refining processes. Brainstorm ways to speed things up, cut the fluff, or automate. Example: for better productivity, batch-check emails only 1-2 times per day.
3. Delegate or Automate: Offload one task this week to a team member, automation tool, or AI.
4. Streamline a Task: Grab a pen and paper. Write down the steps for a regular task, then tweak it to make it as simple as possible. This exercise is your stepping stone to creating streamlined procedures and training materials – crucial for scaling up.
5. Vision Statement: Spend 15 minutes today to draft a one-page vision statement. Where do you see your business a year from now?
6. Customer Feedback: Ask five customers for feedback this week and implement at least one suggestion. Remember, your business must deliver value from their perspective, not your own.