E-Myth Mastery: The Seven Essential Disciplines for Building a World-Class Company

I don't really understand the negativity of some of the other reviews. Mastery is a clear, concise, step by step plan for making your business a world class operation. It has many downloadable worksheets along with detailed instruction as to not only how to fill them out, but what you'll gain by doing so. Michael Gerber also asks very thought-provoking questions to get you thinking about what you'll write in the worksheets so you're not just going through the motions. While the "All About Pies" dialogue does get tedious, in my opinion it's not as bad as Revisited was. In the E-Myth Revisited Gerber hints at how to reinvent your business, but in Mastery all the techniques are revealed. If you're not convinced about the value of the book, I'd recommend you visit the E-Myth Mastery website first so you can see a list of the worksheets available to download. Overall I'm extremely glad that I ignored the negative reviews and purchased the book.

I am a former E-Myth client that became an E-Myth coach for awhile. I completed the E-Myth Mastery program a few years ago and implemented it in my business along the way. What is taught is basic stuff, but the hard part is implementation. This book isn't going to be an entertaining read as much as it is a book of tools. This book goes into more detail of "how to" than the first book. "The E-Myth Revisited" was basically about the "E-Myth Point-of-view". Great stuff. If you get that, then you can approach this book with the right attitude. What is in this book is some of what I received as a client. The good stuff was in the implementation of the concepts. The implementation takes discipline and persistence. It doesn't always work the way you'd like at first, but that is the point. Get the structure in place for continual improvement. It isn't sexy, but it works. The difference is, you implement it, not a consultant. If a consultant implements it, things go back to the way they were when the consultant is gone, and so do the results. I have a business degree, and I found the Mastery program to be more valuable (in the sense of getting results) than my college degree. The results don't come overnight, but at least I knew what to do to get ideas implemented. That is the value of the consulting program, having a coach that you can use for accountability in doing what you need to do to get results. I have the book, and use it for reference, along with my Mastery Consulting binders that come with the program. This stuff works if you know how to implement it. Once you learn that, you won't need any management consultants. Those who criticize this book are missing the point. It is the attitude they come with, that determines how good it is for them. Most people want someone else to get their results for them, and have some magic formula that doesn't exist. If you come to this with the right point-of-view, to be a learner, you will get far more than your money's worth. If you decide it isn't going to work, you'll make it come true. I paid thousands of dollars for the information that is published in this book. I still think it was worth it - much more than the sexy management consulting firms that courted me and promised results I knew they couldn't get, and charged as much as 10 times what the E-Myth Academy charged.

I had trouble finding the time to sit down and read E-Myth Revisited, but thanks to a long delay on a flight from Chicago, I started the journey and couldn't put it down until I was finished the next day. With a successful online business, my life has already changed in so many positive ways, yet Michael's incredibly insightful observations on turning your business into a World Class Company will turn my 1-person, dependent business into a system that I can finally plan to walk away from in the next 5-years. From a list of 5 different potential "next stage" projects, reading this book allowed me to clearly see that 1 approach would be much better than the others allowing me to take confident action towards turning my business into a World class Company. Whether your business is still a dream, big or small - you will benefit from the experiences, ideas and case studies Gerber shares in this fascinating book.

First off a definition that took me a while to find. The E-Myth is the entrepreneurial myth. This says that most businesses fail because they are not founded by entrepreneurs, but by technicians. A single example of many in the book: A cook decides to start a restaurant and then goes to work, cooking, cooking, cooking. This book says you should not spend your time working on doing the work of your business, you shouldn't be cooking, you should be working on your business to make it more succesful. This book has two main themes: Part One is about the almost religious concept Mr. Gerber has to seek out the entrepreneurial urge in almost anyone and get them to thinking of a business of their own. Part Two is more on the nuts and bolts of running your own business. This part has a great deal about the standard big seven disciplines: Leadership, Marketing, Finance, Management, Client Fulfillment, Lead Conversion, Lead Generation. The Big 7 (other writers use more or fewer) are not covered in detail, but in general. Kind of a this is the way to think about these areas. That way they can cover a broader range of businesses.

Two days ago I bought "the e-myth mastery". The first part of that book totally blew my mind. It was as if someone had tapped into the actual thoughts I have been thinking. So many things now fit together. One thing I realized is that real estate investors are by nature, technicians. Therefore my business is the result of an entreprenurial seizure. I spend too much time IN my business because it makes me feel needed. Writing action plans was just a way to continue that addiction while employees were doing their work. My wife and I are both intelligent people. As a result we experienced some real difficulties in the past. Today we talked about the book and realized that our conflicts were the result of two technicians trying to outperform each other. We have both been at the top scholastically and in sales. However that did not make us happy. For the first time in months we were happy just talking about creating. We have been freed from the opinions of our peers about what life and work looks like. Technicians can be very intimidating to newbies. Today we have taken a step in a very uncertain direction but one that no longer involves doing anything. Our lives belong to us now. From what I understand the whole concept of mastery is to direct ones passions towards creativity rather than activity. Freedom is clarity of vision. I can see that as a owner of my company because other people will find inspiration in a clear vision. That is what was missing for my employees - my vision for the enterprise. They deserve a strong leader who will say "This is what we are here to do". All the damage control was sucking the life from me while I clung to it like a drowning man. Somehow I created that chaos from the desire to be needed. Now its time to create. Every other business coach has taught how to bring out my productivity through goals. This is the first time a business coach has made the case for me to be less productive by not doing it. But the truth of the e-myth approach is undeniable. Rather than burying myself in goals and more doing it the magic has come back. I can see the business doing better and thriving with no employee problems. The part of me that was small wanted to prevent my creative self from making something bigger than I could understand. But creating without purpose is its own reward. I can learn to let go. To conclude, the e-myth mastery rocked my world. I am now completely terrified of a life where the business has no need of me. As a smart person (ie - technician) I have never imagined what a life without doing something productive looks like. The next challenge is to learn what having a life looks like. This is the most amazing experience I have ever had. Thank you for leading me to a whole new understanding of life. This is incredible!