Wearing All the Hats — The Trap Every Business Owner Falls Into

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Entrepreneurs wear many hats.”
That’s true — but it’s also the biggest reason most business owners feel overwhelmed.

One day you’re the visionary.
The next, you’re the manager, the salesperson, the bookkeeper, and the technician.

Somewhere along the way, you find yourself asking — just like the character in the film The Stepfather —

“Wait a minute. Who am I here?”

That moment of confusion isn’t madness. It’s the E-Myth dilemma.

The E-Myth Reality: You Can’t Wear All the Hats

Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth Revisited explains that every business has three distinct roles:

1. The Entrepreneur — creates the vision.
2. The Manager — builds the systems.
3. The Technician — delivers the results.

In the early stages, all three roles belong to you. But as your business grows, you must discriminate — choosing which hat fits you best and delegating the rest.

That’s how you move from exhaustion to expansion.

What the E-Myth Manager Really Does

Gerber’s follow-up, The E-Myth Manager, dives deep into why most companies fail to scale.
The problem isn’t people — it’s lack of systems.

A great manager doesn’t “manage people.”
They manage systems that enable people to manage themselves.

“People are unmanageable. Systems are not.” — Michael Gerber

When you build systems aligned with your company’s vision, your team stops reacting and starts performing.
They understand the rhythm, rules, and expectations — and your culture becomes predictable, scalable, and sustainable.

The Entrepreneur, Manager, and Technician in Action

Think of your business like a relay team:

• The Entrepreneur sets direction — the “why” and “where.”
• The Manager builds the systems that make that direction achievable — the “how.”
• The Technician executes with precision — the “what.”

When these three roles are clearly defined and working in harmony, your business gains momentum.
When one person tries to run all three legs, the baton gets dropped.

How to Know When It’s Time to Pass a Hat

Ask yourself:

• Are you still involved in every decision?
• Are you solving the same problems over and over?
• Are you working in the business instead of on it?

If so, it’s time to step back into your primary role — the visionary leader — and build systems and managers who can carry your vision forward.

Scaling a business isn’t about doing more.
It’s about doing less, better — and building the people and processes that make that possible.

Final Thought

The secret to growth isn’t working harder — it’s working smarter through systems.

Stop wearing every hat.
Start leading the orchestra.

Want help building systems and leadership capacity so your business runs without you wearing every hat?

Contact me at tedb@strategyandexecution.com.au to schedule a free 30-minute discovery meeting.