In The E-Myth Revisited, Michael Gerber summarized the three phases of any business: Infancy, Adolescence, and Maturity. Here’s the gist of each:
- Infancy: The business-owner is the business. Every aspect of the company is ran by its founder, including production work, marketing, business planning, and everything else. If the owner isn’t there, the business doesn’t exist.
- Adolescence: Business is picking up, and the owner becomes overwhelmed with the amount of work to be done. She hires somebody to do the dirty work she doesn’t want to do, whether it’s bookkeeping, inventory, sales, or other necessary duties. The owner is still wrapped up in the business, though.
- Maturity: Many businesses, from UPS to McDonald’s, began at a Mature level. The founders started right off with a plan to create something more than themselves, an organism that would work without their presence. Gerber calls this “working on your business, not in your business.” In other words, creating a company built on systems and processes that doesn’t involve your work frees you to build the business and eventually leave it to run on its own.
Even with those thoughts in mind, I’m still leaning toward starting with an Infant business. Sure, it’s high-work, uphill to start, but I think it’ll be rewarding — especially if I can make it to that amazing Adolescent stage on my own. Once I have that awful problem of having customers knocking down my door, I’ll think about changing it to a Mature business. Until then, I’m ready to enjoy the ride!
What phase is your business in? What do you want it to eventually become? How do you plan to get there?
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