In his best selling book, The E-Myth Revisited, Michael Gerber said that most people fall victim to the most disastrous assumption anyone can make about going into business. He calls it 'The Fatal Assumption'.
That Fatal Assumption is: if you understand the technical work of a business, you understand a business that does that technical work.
In other words, don't assume that if you know how to bake pies (technical work of a business), it means you know how to successfully run a business that sells pies (business that does that technical work). Besides this fatal assumption, I've discovered there's another false assumption (I won't call it fatal though) made by many want to-be entrepreneurs.
That False Assumption is: if you can't perform the technical work of a business, you can't successfully run a business that does that technical work.
In other words, don't assume that if you don't know how to cook (technical work of a business), it means you can't successfully run a food business (business that does that technical work).
I don't know about elsewhere in the world, but in Singapore, many people are interested in the food business. But a common question I often hear people ask is: "How can I run a food business if I can't cook?"
Typically, the main concern of these people is that, if they can't cook, they would potentially be held captive by the chef since they can't go without a chef for their food business.
In fact, the concern of being held captive by the 'Executive Technician' is a common one among many aspiring entrepreneurs no matter what the field they want to get into. Be it the salon business, the interior design business, or the advertising business and so on.
Nevertheless, this concern just seems to be more pervasive among people who want to start a food business. However, I would say that's an unwarranted worry because the truth is, even if you can't perform the technical work of a business, you CAN still successfully run a business that does that technical work.
Let me dispel that assumption with two fine examples. These are two success stories hailed from Singapore.
Success Story One: IndoChine Group of Restaurants
The founder of the IndoChine Group of Restaurants, Michael Ma, was a commodities trader before he founded the group. He had no prior experience in the restaurant business, and he certainly did not possess any culinary skill before he started his very first restaurant.
Inspired by his passion for food, entertaining and design, Michael Ma saw a potential market for Tum Som Papaya Salad and the likes of other traditional Vietnamese and Laotian dishes that were previously not available in Singapore.
Packed with the fire in him, he went ahead to set up his first restaurant with his aunt being the main chef in the kitchen.
Through his creative and out-of-the-box ideas coupled with his sheer determination, he has since turned the single restaurant into a chic and upscale international chain of 26 restaurants, bars, cafes and clubs.
Michael Ma and the IndoChine Group have also since been a significant influence in the Singapore F&B industry and remain a force to be reckoned with.
Success Story Two: Singapore Medical Group
Dr. Cheryl Baumann, the founder of the Singapore Medical Group, is not exactly a doctor.
She is a holder of a PhD in law and had almost 20 years of experience in the legal sector before she decided to move into the medical field.
Born in Beijing, China, currently a German citizen, Dr. Baumann came to Singapore in 2005 wanting to set up a law practice.
However, that proved to be difficult because she was not trained in Singapore. After some discussions with her Singaporean husband, they decided to venture into the healthcare industry as they knew that the Singapore government was trying hard to promote Singapore as a medical hub for the region.
The husband and wife team then proceeded to enter the healthcare market through their first clinic, The Lasik Surgery Clinic (LSC).
After 3 years in the business, the Group has currently expanded to include nine subsidiaries which involve Sports Medicine, Cosmetic Dentistry, Weight Management, and Dermatology Treatment. A Cancer Centre is coming up in July 2009.
Even without any medical skillset and experience, Dr. Baumann and her husband had successfully built a medical empire starting from an 800 sqft clinic to a group of clinics occupying a total of 27,000 sqft at two of Singapore's very upscale medical centres, employing about 100 staff.
The abovementioned entrepreneurs have successfully proved that you do not need to have background knowledge of the technical work to run a business that does the technical work.
Don't let your lack of knowledge in the technical work of the business stop you from pursuing your dream. What you need to do is simply to hire the 'technician' to work for you or partner with a 'technician' to start the business with you.
If you're worried that the 'technician' would play you out, then protect yourself with a contract. Hire a good attorney to draft the contract for you. Don't scrimp on the legal fees. It'll be money well spent.
Anyway, that's not what matters most, though the contract could act as a good protective measure. In business, you could be played out by just about anyone - your vendors, your staff, your bankers, your partners and even your most loyal customers - no matter how close they are to you.
So, what matters most in business is how you deal with people. Dealing with people is almost always the most challenging part of any business.
Kwek Leng Beng, Singapore's 3rd richest man (according to Forbes) and a prominent developer, once said that, after 40 years in business, he still finds that the most challenging task in business is dealing with people.
Hence, you've got to learn how to handle people well. If you could and you would offer great terms to the 'technician' (be it your partner or employee), show great leadership, treat him/her well with respect, why would he/she want to play you out?
Simply give him/her absolutely no reason to play you out in the first place (without ridiculously compromising your own terms of course). And if you've done whatever you could to the best of your abilities and that still happens, well... deal with it!
Sometimes this is just how life throws challenges at you to test your faith and perseverance. You don't have to succumb to it and allow it to blow your dream. The most important thing is you've got to know what you really want, have the passion and the burning desire in you to succeed, and then act fearlessly to achieve what you've set your mind to achieve.
Adam Khoo, one of my mentors, ever said that, "When you are committed and resourceful enough, there is always a way."
Cheers~
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