The E Myth Revisited
By Michael E. Gerber
Harper Business, New York, 1995
ISBN: 0887307280
www.harpercollins.com
Before you can fully appreciate this book, you need to understand the E Myth concept. According to Michael Gerber, the E Myth (or myth of the entrepreneur) is that contrary to popular belief most small businesses are not started by entrepreneurs. Instead, they are started by people who are tired of working for other people. Most small businesses are started by people who possess technical skills but not business skills. According to Mr. Gerber, the potential small business owner makes the "Fatal Assumption," which is, "if you understand the technical work of a business, you understand a business that does the technical work."
So what does this mean the average optometrist? It means you must understand the business of optometry, not just the practice of optometry, to be successful in an optometric practice. And how do you do this? According to Mr. Gerber, you do this by creating a franchise prototype for your practice. This can be accomplished using the following steps in the business development process:
Innovation
Innovation involves creating new ways for your practice to do business. By using the franchise prototype model, you realize the entire process of doing business is a marketing tool. Each part of the business process presents an opportunity to differentiate your practice from the competition.
Quantification
Quantification is the process by which we assess the effectiveness of our innovations. We need to quantify everything associated with our practices. Some examples of quantification include: How many patients do you see a day? What is the average gross and net income per eye exam? What is the average frame sale? What is the average interval between eye exams?
Orchestration
Orchestration, according to Michael Gerber, is the "elimination of discretion." Without orchestration, we create chaos in the business. Orchestration is the key to producing consistent, predictable results. The goal is to create a proprietary way of doing business that differentiates your business from everyone else.
Summary
This is a very readable book that takes you step by step through the business development process so that you can create your own franchise prototype. I have read a number of "how-to" small business guides and think this is one of the best. By following the franchise prototype model, I think you can prevent many of the common problems encountered in running a small business.
Reviewed by: Chris Woodruff, O.D., M.B.A.