SteveWasiura wrote: I've only had about 2 hours of sleep last night (this morning), but let me see if I understand you:
You read the book over and over until the binding (edge) fell apart (because you read it so much). You kept reading until it made sense, or you understood it, or you memorized how to do it. You didn't take any courses nor hire a "coach". I did not hire a coach or take a course. I read it so often because the first time it spoke to me - I've had a couple of businesses and in each of them I've made mistakes that the book pointed out exactly.
You initially used a word processor program like Microsoft Word to create documents that the E-Myth talks about for creating processes to make your business run easier (because it becomes like a script that anyone who can read it can perform it) and forms to fill in to ensure that the work is getting done (i.e. like a checklist. Exactly right. I put together a series of checklists that covered every aspect of the business - from ordering stock to receiving it, to displaying it, maintenance, stocktake, opening and closing procudures - everything I could think of. I adopted a low tech approach with the checklists being printed out at the beginning of the week and each member of staff having a clipboard with the list on it. They had to tick off items as they had completed them according to standard. I hired a young girl to be the manager and she had the job of checking the checklists.
So the Entreprenuer has the dream and vision of what the business will do, the Manager makes the processes and checklists, and the Technician does the work as it is described in the process, then marks it off on the checklist, then the Manager can review the checklist to ensure the work is getting done correctly. Is that correct? This is what the e-myth teaches. In practice it does not work exactly like this, for instance as the entrepreneur I still had to work in the business (about 2,5 days per month) doing stuff that my staff just couldn't. Mainly preparing marketing material - because while it is easy to document a system to prepare and distribute marketing material consistently (to avoid the "feast or famine" problem faced by most of us small business owners) it required more than my staff had to actually write the stuff.
Since you purchased this existing business from someone else, you probably acted like the Entreprenuer, then you has existing employees working for you whom acted like the manager and technicians, is that right? I bought the nursery business as a turn-around operation. It had been run by a guy who was useless and eventually he was about to go under and gave up his lease on the place. The landlords lived in another country and didn't want the property anymore so I bought it and took over the business to fund the ownership of the land. I initially hired a father/son team who had worked as nursery managers previously but they just ended up costing me money without getting the necessary growth. They were all manager and no entrepreneur.
The law required I take on the existing employees and I also added more as we grew.
What drove you to use the E-Myth principles in a business that you purchased mostly just to get the land that it sat on?
I had made some money in real estate in the past and at the time I had 35 tenants in rented properties so that adding another one would not cause too much extra work.
Did you want the land for it's real estate value (i.e it was on a good corner, etc)? Why didn't you just buy the land and shutdown the business?
I could have shut the business down but then I would have had to pay for the land some other way. The land has potential to be used for other things.
Did you have the idea to turn the business around and sell it using the E-Myth principles from the beginning, or did you buy the business to get the land, then realize that it had potential, and you applied the E-Myth principles that way?
Not at all - I just saw the chance to get a piece of land for "free" and thought that it was a good idea! I only learned about the e-myth some months after first getting the place. I fired the managers after about 3 months and took over the management myself with my secretary in the office (at the time I was working full time in my sound hire business). Not knowing anything about, or enjoying the "technician" side of the business was an asset because i was able to concentrate solely on the manager and entrepreneur side and hire technicians.
How did you convince the existing employees and manager to adopt your ideas for the E-Myth way, or did you fire all existing employees and start fresh?
Managers got fired. Employees reacted in different ways. Some very resistant to change, some saw this as being more work and others saw the benefits.
It took several months to get a basic system in place, so that the pace of change was not too abrupt. Not knowing anything about the technical side I was obliged to be humble and seek the employees advice about that side of things.
Some of the employees were very negative about some of the things in my field of expertise - a simple example. I gave every employee the right to spend up to R500 (about $80) without having to refer to management to solve any customer problem. I also instituted a no questions asked 6 month warranty on plants. Most of my staff complained in the beginning that this would bankrupt us but of course it didn't. People loved the fact that there was never any confrontation and responded extremely well to both of these initiatives. I also continually shared the turnover, profit, number of feet through the door and other metrics with the employees so that they could see improvement. Also there was a profit linked bonus.
Sorry for the many questions, I am very interested to learn from someone who used the E-Myth principles by themselves without any coaching from the E-Myth company. I have been following their news for a while, but I was never really convinced that all that work up-front (taking the time to create the processes and forms) was really worth it. It appears that you have had success with it. If I had to offer any advice it would be to "pick the low hanging fruit first". Look at what you're struggling with at the moment and find ways of systemizing those areas of business. That will free up time to look at the rest. Don't systemize everything if you're planning on working in the business - the return on your time and effort drops off - you know the old 80/20 rule. I think it applies in this as well. 80% of the improvement in your business will come from 20% of your systems.
I can get you an amazon.com gift certificate or something in exchange for your time for answering these questions, etc. Thank you.
It is a pleasure. No payment required. Feel free to ask any other questions you feel comfortable discussing in public or contact me by email or on skype.
I am interested in seeing your web app when it is ready. So am I (coder driving me mad today) : ) Cheers
Pete
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