Book · 1995
The E-Myth Revisited
by Michael E. Gerber
Michael Gerber argues most small-business owners are technicians who mistake liking the craft for knowing how to run the company around it.
What does Reddit think of The E-Myth Revisited?
The E-Myth Revisited splits along an unusually clean line: work ON the business versus work IN it. A 155-upvote r/Entrepreneur comment calls the book old but says the systems-and-processes mindset is "still a valuable mindset for anyone not wanting to be the business" — the core thesis holding decades after publication. A smallbusiness reader (↑164) recommends it flatly, pointing straight to the ISBN. The most interesting data point runs longer: a commenter approaching their tenth year in business frames their reply as "a counterpoint" (↑137), describing how they read the E-Myth around year three, acted on it, moved out of hands-on roles into leadership, then layered Traction's principles on top afterward. That's the book working as a starting point, not a complete answer, which the "counterpoint" framing half-admits. r/Entrepreneur's 65 mentions net out neutral overall; r/smallbusiness runs warmer. The book gets cited here, not just listed.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Working ON the business instead of IN it, as the book's central thesis
- · A starting framework that gets layered with other systems later, like Traction
- · Multi-year follow-up accounts rather than first-read reactions
- · Split reception: neutral on r/Entrepreneur, warmer on r/smallbusiness
Common praise
- + r/Entrepreneur's clearest endorsement (↑155) says the core mindset is "still valuable" decades after publication, not just relevant for its own era.
- + A 164-upvote r/smallbusiness comment recommends it flatly enough to just drop the ISBN — no hedging required.
- + The ten-years-in follow-up (↑137) actually reports on using the advice rather than just having read it, and the outcome — moving out of hands-on roles into leadership — reads as a win.
Common criticism
- − That same ten-year follow-up frames itself as "a counterpoint," meaning at least one other voice in that thread was pushing back on the book's advice — agreement here isn't universal.
- − The advice reads as a starting mindset that needed Traction layered on top later; on its own, at least one account suggests it wasn't sufficient.
Who it's for
You started a business because you were good at the craft, not because you wanted to run a company — that's the exact gap r/Entrepreneur's top comment (↑155) says the book still addresses. Read it around year two or three if you want the timeline that worked for at least one small-business owner here, who paired it with Traction afterward instead of treating either book as the whole system. Looking for something that gets uncritical praise across the board?
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for The E-Myth Revisited?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“I highly recommend reading the E myth. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It It will help you truly understand if a business is built correctly it can work, but other…
“**The E-Myth Revisited** by Michael Gerber. It's a pretty old book but the idea of thinking about building business systems / processes is still a valuable mindset for anyone not wanting to be the business.
“As I approach my 10th year in business, I'd like to offer this counterpoint. I read the E-Myth around year 3 and took its advice, and shifted out of roles where I had spent my career into areas of leadership and management. I also read Traction and followed some of those principles. What I've learn…
“The E-Myth: Michael E. Gerber
“The book The E-Myth covers this kinda thing. If you're one person running a business then you're sort of no different than a self employed tradesman like a plumber or electrician. Not a bad thing, and certainly doesn't mean you can't have incredible earnings. My personal experience as a solopreneur …
“Congratulations. This frustration you're feeling right now is very important. It sounds like you're a Technician. Check out The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber for the full explanation. Essentially there are 3 business personalities: the Technician, the Manager, and the Entrepreneur. The T…
“The e-myth revisited: why most small businesses don’t work
“I own a grilled cheese business. We’ve been open 8 years. The biggest year of growth we had was the year after I read “The E-Myth Revisited” It’s the story of a business consultant helping a baking company grow. It’s like 113 pages. After that read “Never Split the Difference” Good luck out there…
“Read "The E-Myth, Revisited" as soon as possible. It will help you understand the delineation between being the technician doing the work, the manager, and the Entrepreneur that you want to be. Running your own business means you have to be thinking several steps ahead.
“E myth revisited. It’s cited in so many other books for good reason. It’s just an amazing book You do have to keep in mind it’s old to the point where the presentation may seem a bit quaint (and the title is confusing in a modern context) but the underlying premise is as relevant as ever.
“Might be worth reading *The E Myth Revisited*. You'll recognize yourself as the pie baker. It's a good resource and might help you think about your business differently or help you with the decision of whether you'd be happier doing something else.
“You should read The E-Myth. While I don’t follow it wholesale, I think you need to have someone help you see that being an Owner is different than being a Worker/Employee, and the mindset needs to be different. You are not doing a good job of managing your employees, and you’re getting poor work. Se…
“Read and apply ‘The E-Myth’ I created 7 fig. business that takes about 4h/month to manage with 1.5 FTE’s who do daily tasks. Outsource all repetitive tasks; support, website maintenance, ads,… Create automated evergreen lead magnets to fill your funnels. Create evergreen email funnels ( mssgs …
“I've been listening to the "E-myth Revisited" and it lines up with what you're saying. Skills required for an entrepreneur (according to my observations): - Accounting - Networking - Sales - Management - Long term planning - Risk assessment - And of course whatever technical skill required to pro…
“Read the E-Myth Revisited (The E stands for Entrepreneur not for Electronic like in E-mail.) Many people start a company because they’re good at their job and wonder why they would let their boss profit from their hard work. What they forget is that running a software business is nothing like codi…
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Readers also mention
Books that share discussion threads with The E-Myth Revisited — counted from the comments, not curated.
Guides featuring The E-Myth Revisited
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
The E-Myth Revisited — frequently asked
Does The E-Myth Revisited's advice actually work in practice?+
One long-term account (↑137) says yes, with nuance. A commenter nearing ten years in business describes reading it around year three, acting on it, and moving out of hands-on roles into leadership, then adding Traction's principles on top. It's framed explicitly as "a counterpoint," suggesting the thread wasn't unanimous going in.
What's the core idea of The E-Myth Revisited?+
Working ON your business instead of IN it. An r/Entrepreneur comment (↑155) puts it plainly: the book is old, but "the idea of thinking about building business systems/processes is still a valuable mindset for anyone not wanting to be the business." That framing recurs across the smallbusiness mentions too.
Is The E-Myth Revisited more popular on r/Entrepreneur or r/smallbusiness?+
By raw count, r/Entrepreneur, with 65 mentions to smallbusiness's 39. By tone, smallbusiness runs warmer — its scored sentiment lands positive where r/Entrepreneur nets out neutral, despite containing some of the strongest individual endorsements in the dataset.
Should I read The E-Myth Revisited before or after Traction?+
The one displayed account that tried both (↑137) read the E-Myth first, around year three of running a business, then layered Traction's principles on afterward. That's a single data point, not a rule, but it's the only sequencing the data actually shows.