“Once you recognize that the purpose of your life is not to serve your business, but the primary purpose of your business is to serve your life, you can then go to work on your business, rather than in it, with a full understanding of why it is absolutely necessary for you to do so.”
This is an excerpt taken from the book The E-Myth Revisited by Michael G. Gerber, a book that I believe every person should read that is either thinking of starting their own business or who already owns a business and is wondering if it’s all worth it. As a partner in two small businesses, Darby Inventory and Pineapple Interiors, I take at least a few minutes each week to reflect on how much I am working on my businesses versus how much I am working in them and how I can make adjustments where necessary. Again, quoting from the book, I ask myself these questions:
- How can I get my business to work, but without me?
- How can I systematize my business so that it could be replicated 5000 times if I wanted to?
- How can I own my own business, and still be free of it?
- How can I spend my time doing the work I love to do rather than the work I have to do?
It is so easy for small business owners to get caught up in the day-to-day of their business and then suddenly wonder where they went wrong. It’s never too late to start improving the way you are running your business–and more importantly your life! Do you have ideas to share on how you have improved your business? I would love to hear your comments and suggestions.
[...] you have not already read the first post in this series, I encourage you to take a minute or two to do that. Today I would like to talk a [...]
Thank you so much for the post about how my business is not my life. I have to remind myself of that everyday so this was very timely for me to read. I agree 100% that, although it’s hard to do–it’s just not possible to do everything you by yourself if you are going to be successful AND sane. I learned the hard way for 9 years but have hired assistants for the past 2 years and should probably think about getting even more help. Thanks again! Can’t wait to read more posts.