Kristin Savage

As a self-employed tradesman, have you ever wondered if being out on your own is all worth it?

It’d be worth a read of these books. The E-Myth / The E-Myth Revisited.

In it, the author Gerber, says… “For most business owners, You start working for someone else. Then, you decide you could do better. So, you set up on your own. But, you get caught up in the technical work and forget the dream.”

So, is it all worth it? Being out on your own that is. The Government surely enjoy all the regulatory costs you pass their way for being out on your own.

“….Fatal assumption: If you understand the technical work of a business, you understand a business that does the technical work. The technical work of a business and a business that does technical work are two totally different things. To the technician, the business is not a business but a place to go to work. The carpenter stays a carpenter.“

How’s that? Gerber even uses a carpenter as an example.

So, how to escape the grind? Gerber says “…Pretend that your business will be the prototype for 5,000 more exactly like it. The true product of the business is the business itself - sell the business, not the product. Discipline, standardization and order are the keys. Eliminate discretion.

The best and most exciting part about being out on your own then is surely that you can scale! You can scale the business beyond your team of 3, 5, 10, to whatever the market will allow. So the decision would be to either a) work for wages, and if you’re good, demand higher wages and be paid what you’re worth or b) scale to the point where being out on your own is worth all the hassle compliance.

This obviously has far reaching implications for the trade industry. But, it’d be pretty cool if your business was the one that lasted, because its processes and systems enabled you to develop the business beyond your personal time constraints.