Passion Trap: The Entrepreneur Myth
In The E-Myth Revisited, Michael Gerber describes a baker who quits her office job to start a business out of passion but gets overwhelmed by doing all the work—baking, managing, and handling customer service. Although she loves baking, she dislikes and struggles with managing people and creating business strategies.
Blindly following her passion turned out to be a very costly mistake for her. What went wrong?
Three Roles
Gerber emphasizes that running a successful business requires a balance of all three roles: Technician, Manager, and Visionary.
Technician performs the technical work of delivering a service (i.e. an eye exam) or creating a product (i.e. baking).
Manager oversees the day-to-day operations such as checking inventory and managing staff.
Visionary focuses on the bigger picture and sets the direction for the continued growth of the business.
Many people follow their passion for a technical skill and start a small business, only to realize that running a business requires significant managerial and entrepreneurial skillsets.
A True Entrepreneur
Recently, I had dinner with a fellow optometrist, Dr. Ronald Nhan. He spoke of expanding his successful optometry office into a bigger location. Having read E-Myth Revisited, I was struck by how passionate he was in all 3 roles of an entrepreneur.
Ronald clearly loves the technical work of optometry. "I'd be on vacation, and after a few days, I feel this itch to be back in the office and seeing patients," he says. Having been in practice for over a decade now, he spoke of the joy of getting to know more of his patients and their growing families.
Ronald also spoke of the immense benefit of making sure every staff member has an opportunity to express their ideas in meetings. Through great management, staff improved their performance, leading to a better patient experience.
When asked what keeps him going, he said this:
"All through optometry school, I kept dreaming of creating a great clinic that I would love to work in. Now, I get to work in it every day."
If you are looking for the highest quality of eyecare, check out Dr. Ronald Nhan's new office, Fairlawn Eye Care!
Avoiding The Passion Trap
Remember that following your passion for a technical role is not enough to run a successful business. Are you passionate about managing people and creating business plans? Do you feel motivated to grow such skill sets? Asking the right questions can help you avoid the passion trap.
Further Reading
Click below to see why passion does NOT lead to your dream job. 🙌
Fred H Cho
Do you feel like there's a big gap between your ideal and current life? That's how I felt for years until I took action. Since leaving my full-time job, I've built a career I feel deeply passionate about, made more time for my loved ones, and began pursuing passion projects (like this blog!).
I created a practical guide filled with actionable, research-backed ideas to help you build the life you want – many of which helped me on my own journey.
The guide is free for members—and signing up is free! Join now to get your copy.
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