The E-Myth: The Entrepreneur, The Manager, and the Technician

So I read this fantastic book that should be read by all entrepreneurs, called The E-myth by Michael E. Gerber

One of the earliest points in the book depicted how as soon as you get the Entrepreneurial "Seizure", you form your own business and make a job for yourself. Well, the last thing any of us wants is a job. With WORK. What do I mean by this?

Well, let's back up: why do most small businesses fail? It's because inside of every entrepreneur there are three personalities: The Entrepreneur, The Manager, and The Technician. Liken this to your inner Fat Guy and Skinny Guy: You live like Fat Guy, eating when you're hungry, exercising when you want. Then, one day, you are watching TV and a new weight-loss solution graces your sight, and Skinny Guy comes. Skinny Guy tells you how lazy you've been, so you start dieting and working out, watching your weight every day.

BUT, on the first day you don't lose weight, Fat Guy comes back, reasoning that even though you've been working your ass off, there haven't been any visible benefits. Yes, we've all been there.

The Entrepreneur is the visionary. She sees into the future, is coming up with innovative solutions and how she can make her business better. The Technician does the work, knows how to do their work and to do it right. She doesn't like restrictions or skimping on quality - most technicians decide to work for themselves, but all they do is give themselves a job. The Manager keeps everything running smoothly: has things meeting deadlines, keeps things clean.

The Entrepreneur drives the Technician and the Manager crazy, because she always wants to change things to make them better. The Manager pisses the Technician off, because the Manager doesn't understand the care and consideration that goes into making the product.

Are you picking up on a theme here? How do you create a business, when you have these three portions of your personality that you can't even get to agree? The goal is to reconcile all these personalities with the Entrepreneur: you want to be continuously improving, and be adaptable enough so that The Manager and The Technician will go along with the ride.

I HIGHLY recommend reading this book. Or re-reading it. Your venture shouldn't be just another job - you should be able to run your business, but it should also be able to live without you.

Turning Unhappy Customers into Elated Ones

This trick of the trade is a very essential trait that any small business owner should have, and that I apply to my big-girl-job as well in dealing with clients.

A client sends you an email, extremely dissatisfied and making you feel sad. What do you do?!

In fact, your next steps are pretty important and indicative of your client-relations skills. When working in a small business, it's important to be creative in turning your bad experience into positive ones.


a) Set the tone - don't argue back, and apologize, but not profusely. People make mistakes, these things can happen.

b) Distance yourself, take a breath - it's easy to take these complaints personal. It can feel that a customer is directly insulting you when they insult your product or service. So take a minute and step away from the email or phone call: this will help you cool down, and come up with great ideas for the next part.

c) Ask what can be done to make it right: or, make a generous offer on how you can make it right. I guarantee that not only will your customer be delighted with your response, but will rave about you to all of their friends = positive PR!

d) Proof your response, and listen to it/read it as if you were a client. If you were in their position, is this what you would want to hear? Is there any way it could be misinterpreted? Do you feel good after reading it?

e) Check in again after they have responded and some time has passed. Customers appreciate a follow up, and they will feel like a priority if you follow-through.

Take this advice and go, young grasshopper.

1940s Movie Star Blank Handmade Notecards

Announcing the newest item to my etsy shop: 1940s Movie Star Cards!

If you've been following along, you understand my fascination with Film Noir. Well, I was in Papa's cellar a few months back, and found a collection of autographed movie stars on cardboard that he must of collected - all in a plastic ziploc bag. I just loved the images and the style of the pictures, that I wanted to do something with them.

What I did first was create a book for my bookmaking class. I made photocopies of the cards and using a Blender Pen, I transferred the images onto paper for the insides of the book. It was a really cool, ghostly effect: and I titled the book "Stars and Ghosts".

Then I was at Michael's buying jewelry supplies and came across a kit of ivory blank cards and picked them up. Sure enough, the images look GREAT on these cards, and they feel really cool, but then again I'm a freak when it comes to that stuff.


So I've got them available for individual sale, 1 for $3.50 and I'm also going to do them in packs of 6 for $10.00. They've been a hit on the site and I'm going to bring them to my shows and the Sidewalk Sale in April, so we'll see what happens!