A Great Offer From Sam Carpenter

Do you know who Sam Carpenter is?  If not, you should.  Especially if you are practicing the art of lifestyle design.

Sam Carpenter is the author of the book Work the System.  To me, the very popular book The E-Myth (and E-Myth Revisted) by Michael Gerber was the tip of the iceberg.  Work the System is the rest of the iceberg.

I read The E-Myth when I was first starting out in business for myself.   I thought it was tremendous.  It spoke to my beliefs in the way that a small business should be run. 

In case you haven’t read it, The E-Myth encourages systemitizing procedures in a small business.  It advocates running a business through systems rather than people.  People are still required to run the systems, but the business isn’t at the mercy of a specific person.  Instead, the business is run by systems and the people can be plugged in and out as needed.

The E-Myth was terrific as far as it went, but to my mind, it was more conceptual than practical.  I bought in to the concepts Gerber talked about in the book.  I wanted to implement systems in my business.  That’s where The E-Myth fell flat.  It was strong on concepts, but weak on how-tos.

Sam Carpenter’s Work the System is very strong on how-tos.  If you’ve ever wanted to understand the nature of systems (in business as well as in life) and know specfically how to implement them, Work the System is the book for you.  And if you”re in the market for the book, you’re in luck.  For a very limited time (offer ends on September 2, 2010), Carpenter is giving away the pdf version of his book.

To get the book for free, visit Sam’s website.  All you have to do is enter your email address and you’ll have access to the book, no charge.

While you’re on Sam’s site, check out the information about the Work the System Workshop he is holding at his home in Bend, Oregon on September 18.  The workshop is informal and is only $150.  All proceeds from the workshop go toward the school that Sam and his wife Linda are building in Kashmir.

In addition to talking about the systems mindset, Sam will be talking about a range of other issues.  Most interesting to me is Sam’s belief that there is a gold mine available in buying and systemitizing small brick and mortar businesses.  For instance, the dry cleaner down the street that is struggling with his business would probably happily sell his business for a reasonable price.  When you take over, you can improve management by implementing systems that boost the bottom line and make it unnecessary for you to be involved in the day-to-day details of the business.

I love this idea and it makes me want to pursue it.  I hate ever passing up an opportunity.  I’ve made it clear over the past few weeks what my priority is right now in life.  But if I wasn’t so hellbent on following my own passion, I would be following Sam’s advice.

At last check, there were only eight seats available for Sam’s workshop.  Check it out.  It may be exactly what you’re looking for.