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.
Cuprins
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
Despre autor
Michael Masterson has developed a loyal following of more than 250, 000 subscribers with Early to Rise (www.Early To Rise.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.Early To Rise.com.