When Technical Knowledge Becomes a Trap for Founders
An excerpt from the classic business book ‘The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It’
Where were you before you started your business? (Or, if you’re thinking about going into business, where are you now?)
If you’re like most of the people I’ve known, you were working for somebody else. What were you doing? Probably technical work, like almost everybody who goes into business. You were a bookkeeper or a poodle clipper; a draftsperson or a hairdresser; a barber or a computer programmer; a doctor or a technical writer; a graphic artist or an accountant; an interior designer or a plumber or a salesperson. But whatever you were, you were doing technical work. And you were probably damn good at it. But you were doing it for somebody else.
Then, one day, for no apparent reason, something happened. It might have been the paycheck you received on a Friday afternoon, or a feeling that your boss didn’t really appreciate your contribution to the success of his business. It could have been anything; it doesn’t matter what. But one day, you were suddenly stricken with what I call an “entrepreneurial seizure.” Inside your mind, it sounded something like this: “What am I doing this for? Why am I…
