Whether you’re thinking about starting a new business or growing an existing one, Ready, Fire, Aim has what you need to succeed in your entrepreneurial endeavors. In it, self-made multimillionaire and bestselling author Masterson shares the knowledge he has gained from creating and expanding numerous businesses and outlines a focused strategy for guiding a small business through the four stages of entrepreneurial growth. Along the way, Masterson teaches you the different skills needed in order to excel in this dynamic environment.

Michael Masterson has developed a loyal following of more than 250,000 subscribers with Early to Rise (www.EarlyToRise.com), an e-newsletter published by Agora, Inc. Throughout his remarkably successful business career, Masterson has been a partner in two businesses that grew beyond $100 million, two more that exceeded $50 million, and at least a dozen that surpassed the $10 million mark. He is also the author of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon.com bestsellers Seven Years to Seven Figures, Automatic Wealth, and Automatic Wealth for Grads . . . and Anyone Else Just Starting Out (all from Wiley), and Confessions of a Self-Made Multimillionaire. Subscribe to Michael Masterson's daily e-zine at www.EarlyToRise.com.

Foreword xi

Acknowledgments xiii

About the Author xv

PART ONE Being All That You Can Be 1

INTRODUCTION The Very Best Job in the World 3

CHAPTER 1 Getting to the Next Level 13

CHAPTER 2 Why Employee Size Matters: A Different Way of Measuring the Four Stages 23

CHAPTER 3 Becoming a Five-Star Business Genius 31

PART TWO Stage One: Infancy 41

CHAPTER 4 The Supremacy of Selling 43

CHAPTER 5 Your Optimum Selling Strategy and the Four Fundamental Secrets of Selling Your First Product 67

CHAPTER 6 Mastering the Copy Side of Selling 91

CHAPTER 7 Secondary—Yet Important—Priorities for Stage One Businesses 109

CHAPTER 8 A Quick Review of the Problems, Challenges, and Opportunities Faced by the Stage One Entrepreneur 121

PART THREE Stage Two: Childhood 129

CHAPTER 9 From $1 Million to $10 Million and Beyond: How to Break through the One-Product-Company Syndrome 131

CHAPTER 10 Innovation—the Key to Second-Stage Growth 147

CHAPTER 11 Speed: Putting Ready, Fire, Aim into Your Business 167

CHAPTER 12 Getting Ready 181

CHAPTER 13 What Are You Waiting For? Start Firing Already! 195

CHAPTER 14 Aiming the Product 205

CHAPTER 15 Aiming the Marketing, Part 1: A Quick Crash Course 219

CHAPTER 16 Aiming the Marketing, Part 2: Understanding the Buying Frenzy 239

CHAPTER 17 Ready, Fire, Aim in Action 259

CHAPTER 18 A Quick Review of the Problems, Challenges, and Opportunities Faced by the Stage Two Entrepreneur 271

PART FOUR Stage Three: Adolescence 279

CHAPTER 19 Making the Stage Three Transformation 281

CHAPTER 20 Changing into a Corporate Leader 295

CHAPTER 21 Filling Your Stage Three Business with Stars and Superstars 307

CHAPTER 22 Bottlenecks, Bureaucracy, and Politics 321

CHAPTER 23 A Quick Review of the Problems, Challenges, and Opportunities Faced by the Stage Three Entrepreneur 333

PART FIVE Stage Four: Adulthood 339

CHAPTER 24 The Last Big Change 341

CHAPTER 25 Acting as Your Company's Main Investor 349

Afterword 357

Notes 361

Index 365