The E-Myth Revisited

I've seen this book recommended all over the web. The Amazon reviews are mostly gushing and glowing. I'll give you the link just in case you want it, but I'd suggest saving your money. This is really bad.

First of all, it's mostly fluff. Something that you or I might say in three sentences turns into a long chapter here, I could sum up everything he has to say in a couple of pages. I could almost do it in a few sentence fragments: you need business skills to run a business, as your business grows you can't be a perfectionist, franchising is the path to your success. There, now you don't need to read page after page of annoying conversations between Michael Gerber and the Sad Sarah Pie Maker.

This is one of those books where I'd snort "Wrong!" and "Sez you!" every few pages. Not that there's nothing of value here, but there sure as hell is nothing of value that you can't get elsewhere far more concisely and without having to listen to Sarah fawn over Michael's supposed wisdom.

And when he's wrong, he's oh so very wrong. His most amazing assertion is that sole proprietor businesses can't survive. Really? I know a lot that have, including my own. As to his love affair with franchising (that is, turning your business into a franchise), well, that's his opinion, but not every business can or even should be a franchise.

So why is E-Myth so popular? Well, you know the answer: most people are idiots. We went to the movies last night and both my wife and I commented later on how the crowd had laughed uproariously at parts that really weren't that funny. Broad and crude slapstick elicited waves of belly laughs and guffaws. Stupid people, plain and simple. That's the major explanation. Oh, them and the few people who imagine themselves pontificating to Sarah or perhaps see themselves as Sarah, soaking up wisdom from the Great Master. Add to that the folks who should franchise their ideas: if they can put up with Sarah, I suppose they'd have reason to read this.

The rest of us can safely ignore it.

Worst book I've read this year. Period.