Ready, Fire, Aim

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 xiAcknowledgments xiiiAbout the Author xvPART ONE Being All That You Can Be 1INTRODUCTION The Very Best Job in the World 3CHAPTER 1 Getting to the Next Level 13CHAPTER 2 Why Employee Size Matters: A Different Way of Measuring the Four Stages 23CHAPTER 3 Becoming a Five-Star Business Genius 31PART TWO Stage One: Infancy 41CHAPTER 4 The Supremacy of Selling 43CHAPTER 5 Your Optimum Selling Strategy and the Four Fundamental Secrets of Selling Your First Product 67CHAPTER 6 Mastering the Copy Side of Selling 91CHAPTER 7 Secondary—Yet Important—Priorities for Stage One Businesses 109CHAPTER 8 A Quick Review of the Problems, Challenges, and Opportunities Faced by the Stage One Entrepreneur 121PART THREE Stage Two: Childhood 129CHAPTER 9 From $1 Million to $10 Million and Beyond: How to Break through the One-Product-Company Syndrome 131CHAPTER 10 Innovation—the Key to Second-Stage Growth 147CHAPTER 11 Speed: Putting Ready, Fire, Aim into Your Business 167CHAPTER 12 Getting Ready 181CHAPTER 13 What Are You Waiting For? Start Firing Already! 195CHAPTER 14 Aiming the Product 205CHAPTER 15 Aiming the Marketing, Part 1: A Quick Crash Course 219CHAPTER 16 Aiming the Marketing, Part 2: Understanding the Buying Frenzy 239CHAPTER 17 Ready, Fire, Aim in Action 259CHAPTER 18 A Quick Review of the Problems, Challenges, and Opportunities Faced by the Stage Two Entrepreneur 271PART FOUR Stage Three: Adolescence 279CHAPTER 19 Making the Stage Three Transformation 281CHAPTER 20 Changing into a Corporate Leader 295CHAPTER 21 Filling Your Stage Three Business with Stars and Superstars 307CHAPTER 22 Bottlenecks, Bureaucracy, and Politics 321CHAPTER 23 A Quick Review of the Problems, Challenges, and Opportunities Faced by the Stage Three Entrepreneur 333PART FIVE Stage Four: Adulthood 339CHAPTER 24 The Last Big Change 341CHAPTER 25 Acting as Your Company's Main Investor 349Afterword 357Notes 361Index 365