E-Myth Business Blog

Revisiting The E-Myth

One of my Mastery Impact! clients, a veterinarian, recently questioned me about an article he’d found on the Internet written by a business coach (not affiliated with E-Myth in any way). This article implied that the E-Myth perspective mandates that the Technicians of the world: the plumbers, the doctors, the contractors, the designers…shouldn’t be doing any technical work at all.

The article posed the question: what if you’re a baker who just likes to bake pies? Well the answer to that is simple, but it’s an answer that’s often misinterpreted.

As with every successful concept, book or enterprise, we have both emulators and detractors. Not surprising since no one person or entity has all the perfect answers to every question. However, in the spirit of clarifying some of the misconceptions regarding the E-Myth, let’s take a look at two often misquoted and misinterpreted aspects of the E-Myth approach:

Misconception #1: The business owner should never do the technical work of the business

A fear that often arises from a misunderstanding of the E-Myth concept is that to be a “successful” business owner, one must abandon the role of The Technician completely, thus abandoning the very work that many of these business owners love most — their catalyst for going into business in the first place. My veterinarian client for example, loves being a vet and doesn't want to give up that role so we've worked on creating a business that is structured in such a way that he can continue in that role as long as he wants it.

The truth is that many business owners choose to remain a technician to some degree. The more obvious examples might be physicians or marketing consultants, individuals who derive their joy and fulfillment in life from the actual work they love to do.

Nowhere in the E-Myth Point of View does it say that the business owner can never again be in the role of The Technician. You do however, need to find a balance between the three business personalities within you: The Entrepreneur, The Technician, and The Manager.

So the answer to the baker who just wants to bake pies? You can bake pies all day long but if you don't work on the business, you're not really building a business asset, you're just baking pies.

If your ultimate desire is to bake pies profitably, to share what you love to do with the world, then create a business that runs like a fine-tuned machine in all areas so that you're free to do what you love — bake pies, be a veterinarian, play golf, relax on a beach... whatever you want. It's about building a business that serves your life... and it's absolutely possible.

An E-Myth'd business is an asset that does not rely on you

Let's go back to my veterinarian example to illustrate a very important point: What if (heaven forbid) the vet can suddenly no longer work? What if the vet decides that he no longer wants to? What happens to the business?

Many business owners don't ever think about this point because they're so busy working in their business they haven't even thought about their eventual exit strategy.

And herein lies the heart of it: If the business is built around the skills of the individual technician, what happens to the business if something happens to the technician?

An E-Myth'd business is an asset that does not rely on you. It's a systems-dependent not people-dependent business. It's a business with a documented and repeatable unique and proprietary way of doing business.

If my veterinarian client decided to work only part time, he could... and his business would not suffer. He could bring on another qualified veterinarian to take over because he has every process — every client touch point — documented in such a way that the clients would still receive the same level of service they've come to expect from the business.

If he wanted to sell the business completely, he could. Often when practitioners sell their businesses, they end up merely selling their client lists. But because my client has an E-Myth'd business — a true asset with repeatable, reliable systems in place — he can sell his business for top dollar. The buyer would be able to come in and run things in the same profitable way right from the beginning. The transition would be seamless for all parties... employees, vendors, customers and everybody in between.

Misconception #2: Every business should be franchised

We often talk about the franchise prototype model, about creating a turnkey business. But let us be clear: You do not have to franchise your business to be successful! The franchise prototype is just that: a model. It's a guide for building a business.

For some businesses, franchising with multiple locations or branch offices is the most feasible growth strategy. For some, franchising doesn't make sense, nor does it fit their goals for the business.

What the E-Myth advocates is building your business as a franchise prototype regardless of whether you intend to franchise or not. The value and benefit of creating a franchise prototype comes from the efficiency and structure it provides. It is the creation of solid systems and processes that are documented and fully integrated that sets an "E-Myth'd" business apart from others.

A franchise prototype is inherently more valuable by nature of the fact that it is not people-dependent. You could walk away from the business tomorrow. You could sell it or hand it over to somebody else (your family successor, an employee, a buyer) and they could run it just as well as you do because all the systems are in place that allow them to do so.

One of my clients, a car dealer, came to E-Myth specifically because he realized that building his business into a franchise prototype would get him more money when he decided to sell it. His wake up call? When he tried to sell his dealership and the prospective buyer asked to see the business's operation manual. He didn't have one. To which the buyer said, "Great! Let's look at your inventory then because that's all I'll be willing to pay for."

In the end, The E-Myth approach is a formula that's based on more than 30 years experience working with small business owners. For those who truly embrace it and put it to work in their lives, amazing things can happen. I know this is true, because I've seen it happen time and again. I've seen the "ah ha" moments that change people's lives. I've watched entrepreneurs realize their dreams by creating businesses with real value... businesses that support their lives.

E-Myth in USA Today

In Monday's USA Today, Steve Strauss a lawyer, author and speaker who specializes in small business and entrepreneurship, responds to a reader who wants some advice about "staying afloat and even getting ahead in this tough recession."

Strauss makes a lot of good points including being smart about money, surrounding yourself with people who can help and even cites E-Myth and the concept of working on your business not in it.

One of the smartest things you can do is to 'use your time on things that make you money, and to the extent possible outsource or automate the other stuff.'

Read the full article Ask an Expert: Do this to ride out the recession online at USAToday.com.

Hiring Your First Employee

Hiring your first employee is one of the most exciting decisions any entrepreneur will make. It can also be one of the scariest. Think about it: that first employee doubles the head count of your company! In many ways this makes it the most important hire you'll ever make. Every year thousands of business owners make this first hire decision and each one faces all the same questions and anxieties such a big step can create.

Is this the right time to hire someone?
Can I afford to hire/can I afford not to hire?
How do I recruit?
How do I interview?
What if business falls off?
What if they don't care about my business like I do?
What if they prove unmanageable?
What if I train them and then they decide to move on?

In many instances, your business growth is determined by the people you hire, so you can't afford to make mistakes.

The Right Timing

One of the mistakes entrepreneurs make with a first hire is not doing it soon enough. Consumed with survival, many solo business owners miss key opportunities. Engulfed by the technical work, (doing it, doing it doing it) they fail to innovate and become obsolete in the face of more nimble competitors. Waiting too long may also force you into a hurried hire which greatly increases the likelihood of ending up with the wrong person.

So what signals the right time to bring on that first employee? It could be that you're suddenly having to turn away customers, or that you find you're spending too much time on lower-level administrative work instead of concentrating on the strategic activities required for business growth. It might be spurred by the absolute necessity of gaining expertise in an area that you don't possess. Or perhaps you've simply realized that it takes a team to satisfy your target market.

Whatever the cues, you need to back away from the business a bit and look at it objectively. Ask questions. Quantify. Do whatever it takes to determine whether adding your first employee will remove the current frustrations... not add to them. For example, if you're a contractor feeling overwhelmed with the amount of work on your plate, your first instinct may be to hire another contractor to help you do that technical work. But upon closer examination, your business may in fact be better served by bringing on a part-time administrative assistant.

Think the decision through carefully and consider the exact results you expect to achieve by doubling your head count overnight. How will adding this person help you make more revenue or better serve the customer?

Remember, even if clients don't pay on time, your employee expects to be paid. Taking on an employee is a commitment of your time, your money and other resources. Double check your basic premise surrounding this new hire. How quick do you need to see sustainable results? What type of training needs to be involved? How will their coming on board further your sales effort, handle a critical area of the company or free you up to focus on generating more income? If you can't ask and answer a series of questions like these, then maybe it's not the right time for you.

The Right Fit

Besides the timing and finance issues, another source of anxiety in hiring is how to choose the right person.

First, create a position agreement for the new hire and be absolutely certain you can afford to pay them while you're waiting for the results of their position to ramp up. You might consider starting them out as a contractor since it's easier to extricate yourself from a contractor relationship than an employee if things go sour. In keeping with the E-Myth perspective, your first priority shouldn't necessarily focus on a particular skill but rather on identifying the right attitude. Are they passionate about the business you're in? Do they have that certain knack for responding to customers? Do they have a high energy level coupled with a good equilibrium to handle the rapid changes in a small business? Remember skills can be learned, attitude rarely can.

Recruitment and hiring decisions are surely some of the most important ones you'll make in growing your business. Don't rush it. You may have friends, family or acquaintances that fit the job requirements, but don't settle too early on a particular candidate. Cast a wide net in your recruitment efforts by thoroughly understanding where the best candidates search for work and communicate what you're looking for and why you're a great opportunity for a lucky first employee.

One valuable tip: besides the position agreement, develop a ‘behind the scenes' ideal candidate profile listing all the qualities and skills you're seeking so you know precisely what you want in that first employee. Then gear your interview questions to determining if they fit your profile.

The Right Decision

Many solo entrepreneurs break out into a nervous sweat as they attempt to make the right decision about hiring their first employee. But as you've seen, this decision requires a combination of art and science, working through the numbers and the necessary tasks and deciding it's the right time.

Once you decide to make that first offer, on the first day as you greet your new employee on the job, be intentional about the one fact that changes with your first hire: you're now a manager. If you're not used to wearing the Manager's hat, along with that of the Technician and Entrepreneur then commit yourself to learning about management and realizing that your new hire needs your support and guidance as much as you need their energy and skills. If you begin engaging with the managerial part of yourself with that first hire and adopt strong management systems, you'll be that much further on your way towards creating a world class company, one team member at a time.

Share Your Story

Tell us about your first hire. What did you learn? What would you do differently? Post a comment and tell us about it.

1-800-Got-Junk? CEO talks E-Myth

Looking for a little entrepreneurial inspiration?

You'll find it in Brian Scudamore, CEO of the amazingly successful 1-800-GOT-JUNK? franchise.

In the "Brand In Brilliant Disguise" article on The Seamless Brand blog by Gair Maxwell, E-Myth advocate Scudamore talks about how he got his start and how he used E-Myth principles to build his company into an international success.

If you want to grow your business beyond being the person who does all of the day-to-day work, the E-Myth is the easiest way. It's about stepping back and taking a look at ways to build repeatable and profitable business systems that everyday people can operate...

Read the full article.

You can also see Scudamore in our own interview with him here.

Systemic vs. Systematic

When was the last time you thought about why your business does what it does? Every business exists to produce a certain result — a service or a product — but have you ever asked yourself, "Why do we do it this way?" That question is the essence of strategic thinking. And strategic thinking is the result of having a systemic perspective of your business that accomplishes what it does in a systematic way.

More Than Mere Semantics

So what is the distinction between systemic and systematic? From the E-Myth Point of View one would define systemic as the holistic, or integrative, and interdependent nature of each part of a business. If you consider your business as being a "system of systems" then having a systemic perspective allows you to see how each part influences and interacts with the whole.

Systematic, on the other hand, refers to following a clearly defined and organized process. It is about having processes, or systems, that are repeatable and predictable — that produce the same result each time, every time. One could go on to say that where a systematic view focuses on results, a systemic view focuses on interrelatedness.

So why is it important to know the difference? In light of the question, "Why do we do it this way?" is one view more critical than the other? We would argue that both views are critical, both are essential, but they do not always exist in many businesses.

Strategy and Tactics

If we go beyond definitions and look at these two perspectives in a more practical way we might talk about them in terms of business strategy and business tactics. Although this analogy can only be stretched so far, one could argue that business strategy represents systemic thinking in action while business tactics are systems at work. Both are needed to make a business function well and effectively. But the relationship goes much deeper than that.

The tendency among business owners when faced with a problem is to look immediately to solutions that are close by. Typically they look to actions that produce improvements in a relatively short amount time, but this can often involve significant costs down the road. An example is cutting back on marketing activities and advertising costs in order to achieve cost savings benefits when times are tough. At first, the impact on new business and lead generation may be negligible, but the longer term impact can be crippling. This is the result of taking a tactical approach to a problem without considering the larger strategic concerns of the business. The danger of thinking and reacting from a strictly systematic perspective can be costly.

On the other hand it is quite possible for business owners or managers to make strategic decisions while failing to take into consideration specific systems or tactics which impact the whole. An example is the manager tasked with decreasing costs of production in a small factory. He notes that the assembly line produces an average of 100 widgets each month, yet they maintain raw materials for 150. Reasonably, he determines that the company could streamline and reduce overhead by only stocking materials for the 100 that are being made. Over the next six months it becomes apparent that the net production has dropped. The manager assumes productivity is suddenly lacking on the part of the assembly workers. What the manager failed to take into account, however, was the fact that the assembly line would produce between 50 to 150 widgets on any given month for an average of 100 widgets monthly. By limiting the raw materials at hand each month the manager inadvertently reduced their capacity.

Doing the Right Things vs. Doing Things Right

The systemic viewpoint, then, is focused on the "big picture" and the long-range view. The systematic viewpoint is focused on the task at hand and the immediate view. Both are needed, both are critical, and both must be cultivated by the owner and managers of a business if they want to be truly successful and effective. This is what Peter Drucker had in mind regarding business innovation when he said:

You can't do carpentry if you only have a saw, or only a hammer, or you never heard of a pair of pliers. It's when you put all those tools into one kit that you invent.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for business owners is developing the ability to see the "big picture" in their particular business and to make sense of all the various parts that have to be developed, maintained and orchestrated. It is easy to get caught up in focusing more on systems — doing things right — at the expense of understanding whether they are doing the right things.

Every business, including yours, exists for a singular purpose and to produce a specific result. The systematic view allows you to see how each and every function within your business is performed — efficiently and effectively. The systemic view allows you to see and orchestrate the optimum interaction of these various systems to accomplish the purpose of your business and to effectively produce its intended result.

Share Your Story

Are you stronger in systemic or systematic thinking?

Post a comment and tell us about your experience using the systemic and systematic perspective in your business.

The Self-Employment Myth

Are you building a business, or are you simply self-employed? Do you understand and recognize the differences? And are you intentional about which path you're on? If you presently have a job but want to strike out on your own, do you want to be self-employed or realize the benefits of true business ownership? Asking and answering this question can make a real difference in your business development and overall strategic direction.

The E-Myth Point of View is quite clear on the advantages of creating a true business. We're all about building a systematized operation that can function successfully without you, one that can scale to multiple locations and truly support your life in a way that self-employment can't. Indeed, the very word self-employment belies the reality: self-employment depends upon you, and only you, to keep the whole enterprise going... and this quite naturally has limitations.

If your business depends on you, you don't own a business-you have a job. And it's the worst job in the world because you're working for a lunatic... You can't close it when you want to, because if it's closed you don't get paid. You can't leave it when you want to, because if you leave there's nobody there to do the work. You can't sell it when you want to, because who wants to buy a job?

—Michael Gerber

In other words, in most instances self-employment involves "doing it, doing it, doing it," until you really can't do it any more.

Self-Employment or the Path to a True Business?

Many technicians begin as self-employed practitioners. This is the very premise behind the E-Myth: that technicians, suffering from an Entrepreneurial Seizure, break away from their employer and begin their journey of business ownership by creating a job for themselves. Many never make it beyond infancy. Some do, but then they fall back. Most technicians suffering from this seizure don't begin to understand the truth about business creation until it's either too late or they have such a backlog of mistakes to clear up that it takes longer than necessary to embrace a real business model.

But what if you knew from the beginning what you wanted? What if you understood the value and life sustaining possibilities that founding a real business can create and you started out with that idea in mind, even if you begin as a self-employed technician?

Intentionality is a powerful force and if you begin with the intention of true business creation rather than self-employment, you will approach nearly every aspect of its development differently. You'll ask and answer many questions concerning the ultimate objective of your business.

Do you want to sell it eventually? If so, perhaps you want to come up with another name for your business instead of Joe's Auto Supply. Do you plan on using your personal credit, or are you pursuing business credit so the business can truly exist outside of you? Do you set things up as a sole proprietor or an S-Corporation? Do you engage in a social networking strategy under your business name or your personal one? Are you prepared from the beginning to observe, analyze and document business processes so they can be easily followed by others?

You may be self-employed when you first start out but if you begin with the total intention of founding a company that can be turn-keyed, operated by another, passed down to children or sold, then you begin with that end in mind and develop the entire enterprise accordingly.

The Self-Employment Myth

As much as the E-Myth exists, there is a similar myth about being self-employed. Maybe you have no intention of starting a true business. Perhaps you really want to be an independent consultant, a lone artisan, or a self-employed accountant. But even if you plan on staying in what we call the infancy business stage, to be successful you still must develop yourself and your business beyond the essentials of your technical discipline.

Even if you never want to hire your first employee, you'll still need to orchestrate your efforts along the model of the Seven Centers of Management Attention. For even the solo entrepreneur needs to have a mature Money, Marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Conversion and Client Fulfillment center to stay the course... to survive and flourish. But be clear: if you never intend to move from infancy (self-employment) to a mature business, then in most instances you are forgoing an eventual sale or passing on the business to other family members unless you find some way to create value outside of yourself.

Let me share a story of how this manifests. We had an HR Consultant attend one of our Leadership Intensive Seminars a few years ago. She'd struck out on her own after many years working for others. But she was burnt out. She'd been running her business as a technician. She had to do the marketing to generate leads, network three nights a week, attend conferences, meetings and interviews with potential clients, and then she had to actually deliver her services, do the invoicing, etc... It was a vicious cycle of work.

It wasn't until she attended the E-Myth seminar that she realized how many hats she was wearing in the business. She was introduced to the Seven Centers of Management Attention business model and that helped her understand that not only did she need the skills to consult with clients on their human resources strategy and organizational development practices, she also needed to grasp and understand all the work that goes into running her business.

She realized that in her effort to be self-employed, she'd created a never-ending job! Armed with new tools to organize the work of her business, she changed her approach and began to think of her consulting practice as a business. Since attending the event, she has hired her first employee. She no longer books her own appointments or sends invoices. And now she's in the process of recruiting a second consultant so that she can spend more time focused on generating new clients, freeing herself from the actual delivery of her consulting services.

A True Business Is Not Dependent On Anyone

The ultimate goal for most entrepreneurs is to have a business that can carry on without them. A business with real value. A business that becomes a living organism within the total economy. A business that can be sold or gifted. A business that supports you to live a truly enviable life.

In order to achieve this goal, strategic business development is required. You must master the various components of the business. You must create a synergy that makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

Every aspiring and current business owner should understand the difference between self-employment and building a business.

Share Your Story

Can you relate? Is this the story of your business? Have you successfully transitioned from self-employment to true business ownership? Post a comment and tell us about it.

Management with a Partner

I've read The E-Myth Revisited and I've heard Michael Gerber speak, but I have a business partner who has not and will not. I believe in my entrepreneurial vision for our company, but my partner is not convinced. He prefers doing technical work (which other employees should do) and he swears by the adage "If you want it done properly, then do it yourself." His attitude is definitely holding back our growth plans. Any suggestions?

Partnerships present challenges as well as opportunities. A partnership can potentially have profound impacts on your business, your role in the business and in your life. Entering into a partnership should not be done without careful forethought and attention to detail.

There is wisdom in the old business adage: "He who has a partner has a master." This may not be true in your case, but it highlights the point that in a partnership, some business questions will always require mutual evaluation before decisions can be made.

First and foremost, it is critically important that you and your partner agree on a single strategic objective for the business. (see Chapter 13 of The E-Myth Revisited for more on defining a strategic objective). Until you both are 100% committed to a single vision for the business, you will be working at cross-purposes. At best, it will be difficult to achieve your goals. At worst, you will end up distrusting one another and nothing will be accomplished. Make very sure that all partners are committed to a shared vision for the business, and that they agree on the direction in which the business should go.

Also important is definition of your individual roles in the company. Define these roles and their differing responsibilies as specifically as you can. Include in these job descriptions the sorts of decisions and actions each partner may take individually, and which decisions and actions will require agreement of the other partner. In general, strategic decisions that affect the business as a whole will require partner agreements, while tactical decisions within individual areas of accountability may be made alone.

If you and your business partner disagree on the shared vision or clear role definitions, then you will need to negotiate until either agreement is reached on these key points, or you agree to dissolve your partnership. Does this seem too harsh a choice? ...not when compared to working for years at cross-purposes, towards different objectives, with opposing management methods and different definitions of progress. Imagine the chaos that could erupt if you and your partner made separate, incompatible decisions regarding an employee or a customer. Multiply that disruptive potential by the number of your employees, the number of your customers, and the number of business cycles per year. This potential for trouble is reduced greatly if partners agree to work towards a single strategic objective for the company.

It's also important to get professional advice when constructing (or re-modeling) a partnership. We recommend you meet with a skilled corporate merger attorney and solicit his or her advice on the legal structure of the business. You will want a business structured to shield the partners from inappropriate liability, has maximum tax benefits, and with clearly-defined stipulations should one partner wish to sell their interest in the business. Defining important points clearly and comprehensively will minimize your exposure to unforeseen legal, financial and personal events.

Family Business Succession

A family business is any business in which a majority of the ownership or control lies within a single family and there are two or more family members directly involved. We've also heard it summed up in one word: complicated.

This is especially true during the time of transition when the next generation, or successor, is being groomed for the eventual hand off. Having worked with thousands of family businesses over the years, we have a lot of experience in this area. Many of our Mastery Impact! clients come to us because they seek outside guidance during this transitional period.

There are a myriad of issues to consider with succession, but one that is often ignored until too late is the impact succession has on the organization as a whole. While owners are struggling to give up control, and the next generation successor is busy trying to figure out how to move the old company into something that fits their new vision; employees, clients, partners and vendors are also feeling the impact.

If you're in a family business and you're thinking about bringing your child or another family member into the fold, here are some tips about how to do this in a way that has the rest of your organization on board.

Hire them because they're qualified.

In any family business, the fear of nepotism can lurk under the surface. The best way to avoid that should come as no surprise. Hire the family member because they're actually qualified for the position. Don't hire them simply because they're your kid or your sister's kid. Don't hire them only because they can't find work on their own. For the good of the company, its employees, yourself and everyone else involved, treat this hire like you would any other. Ask yourself: If he weren't my son, would I still hire him for this job? (Conversely, if you're the child thinking about taking over your parents company be sure to ask yourself the same kind of thing: Is this really the company I want to work for?)

Honor the organizational structure.

If your daughter is hired as a mail clerk and the next week you promote her to vice president over other qualified individuals, you're likely to run into some validity issues with your team. In an E-Myth'd business, your organization chart provides every person with a clearly-defined role to play in your business. It defines the precise results that you want your managers and their direct reports to achieve. When you bring your successor on board, make sure they (and everybody else) understand where the new person belongs in the organizational structure and what they're accountable for.

Empower your successor.

Many business owners have trouble letting go of responsibilities. It's the classic case of the Technician not being able to give up the technical work of the business. We see it all the time. But when you couple that with the natural child/parent relationship, you can end up with a world of trouble. Often, the parent will appoint the child to a position of authority without actually letting the child exercise that authority. The parent ends up "getting involved" and this can undermine the child's role in the company — especially with other employees. The best advice I give my clients is: Stand behind, not between. Don't get in the middle, let your successor do their job.

Have a common vision.

An E-Myth'd business is an organism that works in concert for a common objective. If there's overlap in the transition process, a time that you both will be working in the business, it's important that you and your successor are on the same page.

At E-Myth, we refer to your business vision as the "Strategic Objective." Developing your Strategic Objective is an entrepreneurial exercise that forces the leader to describe with clarity and conviction what their business is all about. When you introduce a new leader to the organization, it's important to be clear about where the business is going and what the destination will be like. Customers, investors, partners, and employees require this level of clarity if they are going to commit to going there with the new leader.

When a business has been around for a long time and you have employees who've been there with you, introducing a new leader — especially a family member — can instigate some resistance from your team. It's important to approach the transition with forethought, to organize it in such a way that your whole team understands the vision and how the business will realize that vision with a new leader.

Share Your Story

Do you have a family business that suffered or triumphed during a time of leadership transition? Post a comment and tell us about it.

Your Financial Strategy

If you're like most small business owners, you started your business because you wanted more personal freedom and you possessed valuable knowledge and skills in a specific industry or profession. You didn't however start with a clear picture of the business you were going to create. Instead, you went out and did what you were good at and the business was built around you. As your business has grown, your responsibilities and job functions have grown as well. You are no longer only a programmer, electrician, or chef you are now also a financial manager, recruiter, motivator and customer service representative.

At this point you must respond to the changing dynamics of the business with effective strategies that set you on the right path. You've achieved your first goal: you are no longer working for somebody else. You are your own boss. Now you should focus on growing the value of the business.

Value is primarily dependent on the long-term profitability of the company; to achieve this you need a set of strategies that focus on sustainability and value-added business systems.

Two Sides of The Coin

It's important to recognize that you have two different roles to fulfill in the business: you are the owner and you are also the chief executive officer (CEO). From the financial perspective, the owner's role is much like an investor; you want to receive a positive return on the money, time and effort you've invested in the business. As the CEO, you have a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders to profitably grow the business.

While both roles are interested in the overall success of the business there is a possibility for conflict. If the owner/investor gets impatient, they will want to extract more money from the business as a return on their investment. As the money goes out to pay investors, it leaves less money to grow and expand the business.

It's very important to recognize the two roles and make choices that take both perspectives into account, but most importantly, you must recognize that both roles ultimately have the same objective: to maximize the company's value.

Set the Course for Maximum Business Value

Maximizing the value of the company is your main goal because it serves everyone's needs... from employees, partners, customers (indirectly) and investors. To achieve this result you must develop and execute strategies based on the following objectives:

Optimize the Owner's Investment: You've made a tangible investment in your business, how do you achieve the highest return on your money? Think about this issue as if you had no connection to the business.

Optimize Revenues: How can you create new revenue opportunities or improve the profitability of your current revenue streams? While more sales is an obvious response, it does not fully address the result you are trying to achieve. Think about improving the balance between revenue and profits. How can you earn more profit from each dollar of revenue?

Optimize Borrowing: Debt financing can be an excellent option for raising needed capitol for a business. As opposed to selling equity (ownership) in your business, borrowing money does not dilute your ownership stake. Additionally if you already have debt in the form of small loans and credit cards balances, there may be a significant cost savings advantage to refinancing and consolidating the debt.

Maximize Value Added from Business Systems: Creating systems to effectively manage and grow your business has more value than just operational efficiency and consistency. These systems are an important aspect of the value an investor, buyer, or lender attributes to your business. Business systems also improve the customer experience providing a competitive advantage. By investing in the development, training, and implementation of new systems and processes you can positively impact the overall value of the company.

Minimize Expenses: A simple idea, but often overlooked from the strategic perspective. Every dollar of expense reduction flows directly to your bottom line. Finding cost saving methods of producing, distributing, advertising, and servicing your customer's needs greatly impacts a company's ability to grow profits.

Minimize Taxes: Great accountants do far more than prepare tax returns; they help you understand the tax impact of your business decisions and assist you in reducing your overall exposure to taxes. It's important to set this expectation with your accountant and consult them before making decisions so that they can provide guidance. While the decisions are always yours to make, looking at them from all angles greatly improve your ability to choose wisely.

Minimize Vulnerability to "Wild Cards": Small businesses face an extraordinary amount of risk from unforeseen events. Making contingency plans, disaster plans, and having the right amount of insurance and emergency funds can significantly minimize the possibility that such an event would wipe out the business.

As the business owner and CEO it is your job to maximize the value of the business. Thinking beyond the old adage of "I need more sales, or I need better employees," and focusing on the many factors that determine a company's value will help you build a strong and resilient business. Using the topics above as guidelines for thinking about increasing the value of your business, you can create effective strategies for long term growth and prosperity.

Share Your Story

How have you maximized the value of your business? What strategies and tips can you share with the E-Myth small business community?

The Managerial Perspective

At the core of the E-Myth approach is that every small business owner plays three roles in their business: the Entrepreneur, the Manager and the Technician. Defining the business is entrepreneurial work, doing the hands-on work is technical work, and managerial work is the bridge between the two. For many of the business owner clients that we work with in our coaching program, it's the role of the Entrepreneur and the Technician that dominate. The role of the Manager is often a weak point or missing. It's important to remember though, to create and maintain a successful business requires the contributions of all three roles.

Remember, when we speak of these three roles, we're describing you, the one person you believe yourself to be, acting out your relationship with yourself and the organization of which you are a part, through these three distinctly unique internal personalities, or points of view."
–Michael Gerber

While we usually talk about these roles in the context of the business owner, they also apply to other positions in the organization. Take managers for example. Managers are a very important part of any organization; they have the authority to manifest the owner's vision in the operation of the business. In a business with only a few employees (or if you're going at it solo), the position of manager may be one of the (many) positions you occupy. Or if you're company is big enough, you may have a whole team of managers. What's important to realize is that just as the business owner exhibits traits of the Entrepreneur, the Manager and the Technician, so does a manager. And the manager must also learn to discriminate between the appropriate type of work and find the right balance to perform their function in the business.

Let's take a look at how the three roles apply in the position of a manager; how they can trip you up; and simple ways you can start finding some balance if you're leaning too far into one role.

The Technician

If you're the kind of manager who is fixated on work, on the "doing" of your job, then you're living in the world of the Technician. If work is a drug that keeps you tied to your computer, your PDA, your phone... then you are a Technician. If you are constantly doing tasks yourself because you don't think anybody can do the job better than you, then you are a technician.

So what's a Technician to do? Stop. Even if for only one day, force yourself to do no technical work at all. Delegate the day-to-day busy work that you typically do. Have somebody else answer the phone, deal with a customer, attend a meeting. As Michael Gerber says in The E-Myth Manager, "Replace your compulsion to do with a compulsion to be." Consciously free your schedule to work on the bigger picture. We call it taking the helicopter view and when you're deep in the role of the Technician, you can't possibly rise above the work to see what's really going on.

The Manager

You may be the kind of manager who loves to Manage. If you consider yourself "a people person" and can spend all day in development meetings with your staff, you're living in the world of the Manager. If your main goal is to create and cultivate relationships with every employee, you're a Manager. Now, there's nothing wrong with caring for your employees, that's not what we're saying. But keep in mind that in a world-class organization, Managers do not manage people, they manage systems.

What's a Manager to do? Stop the schmoozing! It might be hard at first. After all, if you have a people-person persona, you thrive on interaction with others. But make an effort to pull back, to not interfere; to let your team do their jobs. You'll likely gain a healthy new respect for your team's ability to take on the responsibility of managing themselves.

The Entrepreneur

Are you a dreamer? Are you consumed with the "big picture" to the point that you rarely get ideas off the drawing board? Are you constantly planning and never implementing? Then you're living in the world of the Entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are attracted to ideas not necessarily knowing what it takes to make it happen in the real world.

What's an Entrepreneur to do? Do the work! Take an idea from planning to fruition, all the way through. Recognize every component of the work, organize the process or system, implement, monitor, and improve it. Make it happen. Do whatever the idea needs you to do to become a result, or prove that the idea wasn't such a good one after all. This process will help you understand and appreciate how much of a commitment and how much energy ideas can consume from everyone in the organization.

Share Your Story

Do you have a tendency to manage from one of the roles or perspectives we've discussed? Do you recognize yourself in one of these three roles? Post a comment and tell us about it.

The Power of Referrals

It is a well known truism that the best customer is a happy customer. It follows that the best leads are referrals from happy customers. Referral leads are almost always the best prospects because a recommendation from one customer to another provides credibility, a positive impression and reduces doubt in the prospect's mind. And a bonus for you is that is an incredibly cost-effective means of generating new business!

Some common misconceptions about referrals that I've heard from my clients:

Customers don't want to give referrals.
You can't plan or influence referral business - it just happens on its own.
Advertising and sales requires too much of our attention; there aren't enough resources for a referral process.

The truth is that customers do want to give you referrals. They like to see themselves as an authority, a helper or someone "in the know." And you can plan and influence the amount of referrals in much the same way you do traditional leads. Once you realize the value of referrals, you won't want to take a passive approach.

From the E-Myth Point of View, generating a referral is a Lead Generation activity that occurs at the end of your Lead Conversion process.And, since referral leads are typically highly-qualified leads, the process will be simpler and probably more cost-effective than your traditional Lead Generation methods.

Don't Be Shy

You'll never get referrals unless you ask. Yes, it can be that simple. In fact, asking for referrals can be a natural part of the sales process.

Often the best time to ask is right after you've delivered your product, service or solution and your customer has experienced the value they were expecting — and more. For example, one of my clients simply asked for a referral in the signature line of their confirmation e-mail.

Referrals are important to us. If you know of anyone who would benefit from our services, please contact me. We would appreciate the opportunity to work with them.

By asking your customer for a referral, you are not asking them to take a risk. Instead you are asking them for a factual observation. You're not asking them to qualify or pre-sell the referral; you're simply asking them if they know someone who could benefit like they have.

Treat Them Like Gold

Another key to a continued and successful referral process is to thank and reward those who refer you. Everyone wants to feel acknowledged and appreciated. How you do this depends on your type of business, the image you want to project with your business and the value of each prospect. Many service providers use small cash rewards as a token of appreciation incentive to drive referrals. An alternative could be a bonus such as free additional services, a small gift or a gift certificate to a local restaurant or theater. Remember, generosity needn't always be monetary, be creative in your approach.

The referral, too, needs to be acknowledged and appreciated since they too have the potential to be a ready source of referrals for you. Reciprocating the generosity of referrals is key to keeping the cycle going and building the goodwill and relationships that will help your ongoing Lead Conversions. Your Lead Conversion approach for referrals should be tailored for them.

Get Them Talking

Satisfied and delighted customers are your unpaid sales force. Along with these you can include family, friends, old classmates and faculty, vendors, suppliers and other service providers who share your target market. Educate these potential advocates about your products and services by providing them with information and news about your business. Encourage them to talk about you and to "spread the word."

Expanding awareness of your company is easier and less expensive today than ever thanks to the Internet and the ever-growing variety of online tools. But don't overlook the power of simple "word-of-mouth." The goal is to get people talking about their wonderful experience with you and your company — and to actively and intentionally send people your way!

Share Your Story

How have you implemented a referral system into your Lead Conversion process? What worked, what didn't? Post a comment and tell us about it.

Follow E-Myth on Twitter

The E-Myth Twitter contest is now over.

Thank you to everyone who entered our contest. We'll post the winners soon.

What's Twitter all About?

CNN, FOX, NBC are talking about it. Jon Stewart is shaking his fist at it. Ashton Kutcher has made it his mission to have more followers than anyone else (and it seems to be working). And now even Oprah is on board.

If you're not already using it, it may seem like yet another Internet fad. But the truth is, some Internet fads turn out to be very powerful business tools; if you know how to leverage them.

Bottom line: You just can't escape Twitter. And neither can we.

So there's no drum roll necessary when we announce that E-Myth is now on Twitter! That's right; we've taken the plunge into the world of Tweets and we invite you to join us. Through Twitter, we offer daily advice, strategic reminders, announcements... All in 140 characters or less! Check us out: www.twitter.com/emyth.

Getting Started with Twitter

Accounts on Twitter are free and easy to set up. It takes about five minutes to get started. Sign up on www.twitter.com. Twitter offers a fantastic video tutorial on their site; just click the red Watch a video! button on the top right of the Twitter homepage.

You can also check out this helpful Social Media Starter Kit from Altitude Branding.

Using Twitter for Business

Remember, E-Myth recommends using Lead Generation channels that attract your ideal customers. If your target market consistently uses Twitter, it's a great idea to get on there. But remember, the key is to know your target market and what channels they use in order to generate qualified leads before jumping into different social media sites. Here are a few resources we recommend:

Free Duct Tape Marketing webinar on Twitter for Small Business.
Chris Brogan wrote a very informative post containing 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Businesses.
16 Examples of Huge Brands Using Twitter for Business from Search Engine Journal.

Recession-Proof Thinking

Many small business owners are feeling the economic pinch right now. We get a lot of questions from business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs about creating businesses that can weather any storm. While the specific steps your business should take will depend on your situation, there is a common denominator — one of E-Myth's Five Core Principles — that can guide you:

How you think about business is how you do business.

Bottom line, if you think of your business as a job, it will be, and your actions will forever keep it that way. If you think about your business as an entity outside of yourself — or, as we see it, "A vehicle for your life" — you'll approach your business with the intention of making it just such a vehicle. Everything you do will be done with that goal in mind. It's a mind shift — a change in thinking — which can have a profound impact on how you do business.

As you shift your perspective, let's look at three key points that will help you recession-proof your business.

Focus on your core competencies

You're no doubt familiar with the whole flight or fight response. In challenging times, it's easy to choose "flight": chasing minor opportunities, grasping at straws, running off in multiple directions, trying to be all things to all people. Very often these panic-based responses are at the cost of what the business is set up to do best. Businesses that try to be all things for all people don't survive.

There is always going to be another business out there that does something better than you do. If you lose your focus and stretch your resources and capabilities too thin, you're unable to capture the attention of any particular market segment because your best target market segments can't relate to you anymore. The trick is to not allow your core competencies to become so diluted that you lose the competitive edge that makes you unique.

Re-evaluate and be flexible

Once you turn your focus to what you do best, you may find that it's time to innovate: to do what you do better. Seize the opportunity to strengthen your ability to deliver your product or service better than your competition.

At the same time, you must be ready to adjust. Don't be so rigid that you are blind to the messages that may be coming in from your target market that their needs and preferences have changed. Quantify what is selling and what is not selling. Listen to your customers. Trust your customers. I continually remind my clients that their customers know better than they do about what their needs are. Keep your eyes, ears and mind open to what they're telling you, and be nimble enough to adjust.

As the news from Wall Street and the financial sectors in general heated up earlier this year, I found myself calmed by a group of my clients who are financial advisors. People in an industry that, I thought, would be the most panicked and reactive were tired, but also the most calm. They were spending their days reaching out to their clients — reassuring, hand-holding, making investment adjustments when needed — but more than anything else, reducing personal panic.

As we moved into the spring together, they reflected on that earlier time and begin to reevaluate what it is that they actually do for their clients — and more importantly, how they express that to them. They understood more clearly than ever before that people were not coming to them for "investment opportunities." People became their clients because they were the whitewater guides through the shifting rapids; they'd been down this river before and knew where the rocks were. And without ever promising that they might not get wet, could assure them that they would likely not drown.

Think long term

Whatever is happening out there right now is not the way it's going to be forever. As Heraclites, the Greek philosopher pointed out around 500 B.C.: change is the only constant. For some people, that can be really exciting, for others it's a frightening concept; it all depends on how you react to the unknown.

The most successful business owners I work with every day are not engaging me in frantic conversations about how bad it is or how bad it's going to be. They're not afraid of change. In fact, they understand that in business (as in life) change is one of the only things we can count on... so we might as well welcome it!

To be positioned to take advantage of change, you need to take an objective view, or what we like to call, the "helicopter view" of your business. When you look at the long-range perspective, your current view changes. You're no longer trapped in today's busyness and reactionary mode, but can see your business from a higher elevation and realize that the landscape is constantly shifting.

My clients who do this are not engaged in reactive, short-term panic-induced moves. They're focusing their attention on their employees, making them feel as secure and valued as they possibly can. They're focused on their operations, and redoubling their efforts to weed out inefficiencies and duplicated efforts. They're experimenting with systematizing wherever they can. And they do all of this with an eye towards not only meeting their customers' immediate needs, but to position themselves to be the best in their fields a year from now.

Because when the turnaround comes, they want to be there. They want their vision to match their actions, to have their business so finely tuned that they have no trouble demonstrating to that anxious and willing consumer that they are the company to do business with.

I like to point out to my clients that whatever changes occur, there are some fundamentals you can count on: people are still going to desire things. And that means they'll need to buy products and services from somebody... Why shouldn't it be from you?

Share Your Story

What changes have you made to the way you think about your business in response to this economy? Post a comment and tell us about it.

10 Steps to Effective Negotiation

One of the essential skills for any entrepreneur is negotiation. How well you can negotiate a favorable agreement or deal for your business can often spell the difference between failure and success. Negotiation can occur between you and your employees, your vendors, your customers, or even your investors. Despite the possible sense of intimidation or distaste many business owners might have around negotiating, it is a productive skill that will enable you to build your business in positive ways — and it does not have to be approached as an adversarial tactic to be endured!

What's Your Price?

One of the fundamental keys to successful negotiation is to be certain of what you want to achieve and what you are willing to settle for. In their 1981 bestseller, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Without Giving In, Roger Fisher and William Ury state,

The reason you negotiate is to produce something better than the results you can obtain without negotiating. What are those results? What is that alternative? What is your BATNA — your Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement? That is the standard against which any proposed agreement should be measured.

The other key is to know, as best you can, what the other party's true needs and objectives are. In negotiating salary increase requests from employees, for example, it is essential to solicit the employee's perspective — and to be able to accurately assess what may not be said aloud. With vendors or suppliers, knowing their break points — the bottom line they are willing to go to — as well as your own leveraging strengths with them, is critical to negotiating deals that are mutually acceptable.

Ten Basic Steps

Entire books and business school curriculum's have been written on negotiating and negotiation skills. While we cannot provide everything you might possibly want or need to know, here are some basic steps for effectively negotiating a favorable deal or agreement:

Decide on your starting position and your "bottom line," or lowest point you will accept in the deal.
Consider the objectives and emotional motivation of the other party.
Plan your sequence of proposals and possible counter-proposals. Open at the most you can reasonably ask for as this gives you room to negotiate.
Prepare for the meeting by determining your own motives and objectives: Why are you negotiating? What do you expect to gain and why is it important to you? What do you think you will have to offer to achieve this?
Be prepared with information, facts, comparable prices or costs, etc. Avoid going into any negotiation and coming across as either uninformed or unreasonably aggressive.
If the other party makes the first offer or proposal, this can allow you to gauge your response and set the parameters of the negotiation to your advantage. Though some experts suggest that your proposal be the first one on the table, this tactic can allow the other party to open at a point that is more favorable to you than you may have anticipated.
Start by discussing a mutually agreed upon point of the negotiation — something both parties will readily say yes to.
When do propose a deal or an offer phrase as "I will do such-and-such for you, and you will do this for me." This establishes a position of confidence and authority.
Make your arguments and proposals incrementally and strategically. Avoid going immediately to your lowest point of acceptance, or bottom-line.
Know when it is time to close or break off discussion. If the other party is ready to close the deal, and it is acceptable to you, make it easy for them to do as little as possible by having everything ready to sign, etc.

Remember: your objective is what you want to achieve — your bottom line is what you absolutely have to achieve. These are not the same thing when you are negotiating!

Everybody Wins With Effective Negotiation

The ultimate goal of business negotiations is to produce two satisfied parties and to have paved the way for future negotiations when and where necessary. Having successfully completed negotiations it is tempting to think that it's all over once you and the other party have said, "Yes!" However, it isn't really "over" until it's over. That is, proper and effective closure is key to sealing a deal successfully.

Thomas Noble, an attorney, says this regarding the "rules of closure", as he calls them:

Master Negotiators know how to close. They consider every element of closure: when, where, documentation, pending issues. Novices either rush the end game or delay it interminably, with equally bad results. Rushing the end game usually means slapping a contract together with little time or thought; its ambiguities and deficiencies inevitably result in disputes. Delaying the end game means failing to ‘strike when the iron is hot' if you wait long enough, something will happen to prevent closure. Time kills deals.

As with any business leadership skill negotiation is learned in the doing. Knowing the fundamentals before going into any negotiations is essential for successfully securing your objectives while preserving strategic relationships with employees, customers or clients, vendors, or investors.

Share Your Negotiating Story

How have you developed your negotiation skills? Any tips you want to share with the E-Myth community? Post a comment and tell us about it.

Suggest a Topic

This article was written at the request of one of our community members. Remember, you can "Suggest a Topic" for us to write about on the right side of the blog.

Don't Forget the Training

Training is an ongoing, routine part of business. It's not something done once when a new hire is brought on. It's a process of employee development that will help in the creation of a world-class organization.

Here's an example. Let's say you are enrolled in our Mastery Impact! coaching program. You're being exposed to a whole new way of thinking about your business. You're excited and full of ideas. You have new techniques and tools that you're ready to implement. But when you present those ideas to your staff, they look at you and say, "E-Myth who? What on earth are you talking about, boss?"

If you expect your employees to be on board with your vision; to get excited about new direction, concepts or practices, you must introduce them to these ideas through regular training sessions. Whether you bring in outside trainers, do in-house sessions, or a combination of both like we offer with E-Myth's Virtual Training Seminars, we can not stress enough the importance of continual training. It will keep your staff learning, growing and inspired.

Finding the Time and Resources for Training

At its heart, this can be broken down into two separate issues: time management and resource allocation.

Time Management

Time is an irreplaceable resource. Effective use of your time, more than any other habit, will increase your productivity and your effectiveness as a leader.

There are only 24 hours in a day. This is a universal truth. Yet some people accomplish a great deal more in that day than others. Although most people rarely think of it this way, "time" is simply another word for "life." When you think of it this way, isn't it easy to see why good time management is so critical?

You wouldn't let your employees, clients, vendors, and friends shorten the days of your life, would you? So why do you let them steal your time? Time is your single most precious resource, and it's one that only you can protect. The good news, however, is that learning to manage your time is like any other skill. All it takes is a little practice and a willingness to develop some new habits.

The first step is to understand how much of your time is spent on productive activities that directly contribute to the results you want, and how much of your time is spent unproductively. Start by tracking your time. How do you spend each minute of your day? How long do you spend writing emails, making telephone calls, doing the technical work, and so on? Sometimes, just being aware of how you're spending your time can help you become more efficient in the way you use your time.

You may find that you have to step up your time management skills. You can start this process by tracking and analyzing the way you spend your time - objectively looking at your habits and deliberately choosing more productive habits. By doing this, you can create an ideal daily routine. The ideal daily routine is a daily objective - the way you want your day to unfold. It's a guideline, not an inflexible template.

We hear all the time from business owners who track their time and establish an ideal daily schedule, only to find themselves pulled off their schedule and unable to complete all five of their most important "to do" items. When this happens, begin by acknowledging how many of your five most important "to do" items you actually did accomplish. If you did get some of them done, pat yourself on the back!

Then take a closer look at your ideal daily routine. Did you remember to schedule any buffer time in your day to deal with the unexpected emergencies that are always cropping up, no matter what you do? If it happens every day, first give yourself the time to deal with those issues by putting it on your schedule. Second, give yourself the time to find out why those things came up in the first place. Pay attention to what got in your way. Is there a pattern there? What could you do next time so that disruption won't happen again? Establish a system to deal with those issues.

Developing these skills takes time... and you know just how precious time is. So, as silly as it sounds, what you have to do is schedule time to develop these time management skills. If you don't schedule it, you probably won't get to it. It will get put on a back burner. Eventually, you'll look back and wonder why you never did it. Get in the habit of scheduling time to schedule time.

Once you've gotten good at your time management, you can schedule time to tackle your training systems.

Need help with time management? A good place to start is our online introductory program, E-Myth Essentials™, we offer templates, educational material and a live workshop on Effective Time Management.

So now let's look at finding the resources you need for training.

Resource Allocation

The second issue, resource allocation, is a bit trickier. First identify the necessary resources to provide the training. Do you need a conference room for your training? How many supplies will you need? How many people are involved? What is their time worth? How will this training contribute to the overall goals of the company? Will you conduct the training yourself, or have an outside resource provide the training?

In order to determine what resources you want to devote to training, you will have to determine how much this training is worth to the company. Pay attention to your return on investment. How many sales will you have to make, just to pay for the cost of the training? How many more sales will you have to make to cover the time and materials to conduct the training? What benefit will this training have on your bottom line? How will this training contribute to your overall goals and objectives for the company as a whole? Is it, in a nutshell, worth it?

Armed with this information, you can make an informed decision about the resources you want to devote to your training programs. It's a lot to consider, but the additional time spent thinking and planning will pay off big time. Keep asking questions, analyze the possible results, and carefully evaluate the risks versus the rewards. These are the entrepreneurial traits that move you forward!

Share Your Story

Post a comment below and share your story with us.

E-Myth Business Blog

Revisiting The E-Myth

Misconception #1: The business owner should never do the technical work of the business

An E-Myth'd business is an asset that does not rely on you

Misconception #2: Every business should be franchised

E-Myth in USA Today

Hiring Your First Employee

The Right Timing

The Right Fit

The Right Decision

Further Reading

Share Your Story

1-800-Got-Junk? CEO talks E-Myth

Looking for a little entrepreneurial inspiration?

Systemic vs. Systematic

More Than Mere Semantics

Strategy and Tactics

Doing the Right Things vs. Doing Things Right

Share Your Story

The Self-Employment Myth

Self-Employment or the Path to a True Business?

The Self-Employment Myth

A True Business Is Not Dependent On Anyone

Share Your Story

Management with a Partner

Further Reading

Family Business Succession

Hire them because they're qualified.

Honor the organizational structure.

Empower your successor.

Have a common vision.

Share Your Story

Further Reading

Your Financial Strategy

Two Sides of The Coin

Set the Course for Maximum Business Value

Share Your Story

The Managerial Perspective

The Technician

The Manager

The Entrepreneur

Share Your Story

Further Reading

The Power of Referrals

Don't Be Shy

Treat Them Like Gold

Get Them Talking

Share Your Story

Follow E-Myth on Twitter

The E-Myth Twitter contest is now over.

What's Twitter all About?

Getting Started with Twitter

Using Twitter for Business

Recession-Proof Thinking

Focus on your core competencies

Re-evaluate and be flexible

Think long term

Share Your Story

Further Reading

10 Steps to Effective Negotiation

What's Your Price?

Ten Basic Steps

Everybody Wins With Effective Negotiation

Share Your Negotiating Story

Suggest a Topic

Don't Forget the Training

Finding the Time and Resources for Training

Time Management

Resource Allocation

Share Your Story