In my parents homeland of Trinidad and Tobago, there is a popular street food called Doubles. It’s made by using two pieces of barra (flour based like naan or pita). In between you spread curry and chickpeas seasoned to perfection.
Everywhere you go throughout Trinidad, it seems that everyone has a Doubles stand or food truck, usually run informally by a family. They often pre-make the food, and when they run out, that’s it for the day.
There is no continuous production, no formal operations, and revenue is limited to that day’s supply.
Now imagine having a Doubles stand or food truck in the middle of the summer. You are probably excited to bring some feeling of the islands to your local area and show off your skills.
You’re pumped, pushing your cart to your corner sales spot for the day while listening to caribbean music.
But as the day rolls on, you’re stuck in the heat, running out of inventory, and managing every little detail by yourself. The fun starts to fade.
A book by Michael Gerber, The E-Myth Revisited, is here to help you turn the feelings of burnout and overwhelm into a cool, refreshing restart.
In his book, he talks about the reasons most small business owners fail.
The lesson I took away was that many of us don’t graduate from:
–> acting and thinking like an employee in our business to
–> acting and thinking like a manager in our business to
–> acting and thinking like a CEO of our business
Here is what each phase looks like…
Thinking Like an Employee
When you act and think like an employee, your focus is on getting work done, satisfying the client and most of all your boss.
Financially, you want to make sure you get your paycheck on time and your boss values your contribution to the business.
Thinking Like a Manager
When you act and think like a manager you put people in place to take care of the day to day operations. That frees you up to oversee the operations and figure out how to make improvements.
As a manager you also put systems in place and automate repetitive tasks, such as taking orders and printing receipts. You’re also running the operations, which includes managing the work schedule and making sure customers are satisfied.
Thinking Like a CEO
When you act and think like a CEO, you’re thinking about how to make the business profitable, how to generate enough cash flow to pay people, cover day to day operations and pay down any debt. Most importantly, you’re ideating how to strategically grow from one Doubles stand or truck, to a fleet.
Gerber’s message is clear: To survive the long haul as a business owner, stop thinking like an employee sweating it out in the sun, and start thinking like a manager—building systems and processes that keep you slinging the Doubles.
Then, transition your mindset from the manager to the CEO to set yourself up for a profitable and thriving business—and have an endless supply of Doubles whenever you want.
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