The Pinoy Entrepreneur

Come to think of it, it was not my first time to encounter this idea.  A few years back, my sister told me of a friend who was actually aiming to do this.  She said that after her friend successfully established a business, her friend was able to sell it for millions!  Now, her friend is putting up another one looking to sell it in the future as well.  Giving it a deeper thought, this idea actually doesn't sound so bad.  However, the question is, how do you establish your business to make it worth so much, how do you make it so that you can sell it for millions?  Just like what my sister's friend did.

Michael Gerber, the author of the E-Myth books, provides us with a simple answer.  He said that the key is for entrepreneurs to treat their business as the product itself and not think of the items they are selling or the services they are providing as their product.  In treating the business as the product itself, the entrepreneur works on improving the business itself and as a consequence at the same time satisfying the needs of the customers as well.

He said that it is important to build a system that is independent of the capabilities of the person doing it so that the same process can be replicated else where.  It is also important to build a system so that the customer is treated to the same experience every time he/she patronizes your business.  This is what the author referred to as the Franchise Prototype.  Particularly, the author is referring to Business Format Franchising where in a system is built to run the business and people are only needed to run the system.  This, he says, gives the business a higher chance of success.

All along, the author was actually introducing to us the concept of franchising.  He explained why developing the system to run our businesses is very important.  This way we can open up branches of our businesses else where and give it a higher chance of success.  He didn't really say that you have to sell your business but in case you want to sell it some time in the future then doing without a system on how to run things will definitely not benefit you.  Furthermore, having a system is actually beneficial for the entrepreneur because it allows him to be not working in it but still earning from it.  This way your business doesn't have to be your life.   

It was truly an inspiring read.  I must say that I agree with the author.  Especially for small businesses, setting job descriptions, writing operations manuals, and other seemingly insignificant system processes are oftentimes skipped or totally ignored.  Although the success of a business is also dependent on so many other factors, developing a business format will definitely increase its sustainability.  This is why I think a lot of family businesses don't last through generations because the business format is not passed on properly from one generation to the next.

Michael Gerber wrote that most small businesses aren't actually started by entrepreneurs.  In fact, he wrote that most small business owners actually are technicians.  He defined technicians as people capable of doing the technical work involved in the business.  These are individuals who started working for somebody else until one day they decided to start their own business.  According to Gerber, the problem with this setup is that these individuals tend to assume that if they understand the technical work of a business, they also understand a business that does that technical work.  When in fact, the technical work of a business and a business that does that technical work are two totally different things. 

I definitely agree.  Knowing how to do something to start a business is totally different from running that business.  The author then presented that there are actually three types of individuals involved in a business and that these personalities are present in each one of us.  These are:

1. The Entrepreneur

2. The Manager

3. The Technician

An Entrepreneur is the visionary in us, the dreamer.  He turns the most trivial condition into an exceptional opportunity.  He lives in the future and constructs images of "what-if" and "if when."  He pushes for change which the manager and the technicians might not necessarily agree with.

The manager is the one that plans and brings order and predictability in the organization.  Where the Entrepreneur sees the opportunity in events, the Manager sees the problems.  His main focus and drive is to bring order to the organization.

The Technician is the doer.  He is happy as long as he is working.  He is not so much interested in ideas as  in learning "how to do it."  Trying new things that probably doesn't need to be done at all can frustrate and annoy him.   

Given the presence of these three conflicting personalities in us, it is therefore crucial  for us to  control each personality and attain balance so that our businesses can continue growing and be successful.