Summary to Ready, Fire, Aim | Michael Masterson

Ready, Fire, Aim aims to teach entrepreneurs and business owners to take action before having all the details completely figured out. The book challenges the conventional wisdom of meticulous planning before launching a business venture. Masterson argues that the opportunities for failure are greater in analysis paralysis than from launching with an imperfect plan that can be improved through fast learning.

The core message is that entrepreneurs waste too much time planning and analyzing instead of testing ideas in the market. Masterson advocates for minimum viable products and rapid experimentation to quickly gather customer feedback to iterate business models. He shares lessons from his experience building up companies to demonstrate how real-world learning outweighs theoretical planning. Stories from other entrepreneurs who succeeded validate his message that execution trumps excessive preparation.

Ready, Fire, Aim walks through Masterson’s five-step process called PIE (Profit First, Idea validation, Experts support, Rapid prototyping) to structure how entrepreneurs can get started without overplanning. Readers learn techniques for rapid market testing, minimizing risks, gathering actionable feedback, and rapidly improving based on lessons. The “ready, fire, aim” approach debunks some entrepreneurial myths and helps unleash creativity through doing rather than just thinking.

Masterson’s writing style keeps the book engaging and easily digestible for busy entrepreneurs. Anecdotes and examples bring strategies to life. While some concepts seem contrarian to traditional small business advice, the book makes a compelling case that imperfect action creates more opportunity than endless deliberation. Ready, Fire, Aim challenges complacency and inspires entrepreneurs to trust their instincts by learning from the market.

In summary, Ready, Fire, Aim encourages entrepreneurs to take action before overplanning through Michael Masterson’s approach of rapid experimentation and customer feedback. Call to action: Continue reading to learn how to structure your entrepreneurial ideas using Masterson’s PIE framework for rapid prototyping and market validation.

Genres

Money, Investments, Entrepreneurship, Management, Leadership, Career Success, Business, Self-help, Non-fiction, Marketing, Strategy, Finances, Creativity, Innovation, Inspiration, Change, Productivity, Motivation

Recommendation

As a fabulously successful businessman and author, millionaire Michael Masterson certainly qualifies to advise budding entrepreneurs. You can’t help but be impressed by his accomplishments, and his enthusiasm and energy are contagious. Masterson’s basic premise makes a lot of sense: don’t wait until you’ve fine-tuned your product or service. Shoot from the hip. Fire before you aim. Don’t worry about being perfect – just get it on the market. Masterson explains that early in his career, he spent too much time tweaking newsletters instead of focusing on selling them. He uses his experiences to provide instructive lessons for the reader throughout the book. The problem is that Masterson – or anyone else, for that matter – can’t give you talent or motivation. If you have the ability and drive, however, We believes that he can help you squeeze every ounce of potential from your business venture.

Take-Aways

• Successful entrepreneurial businesses typically progress through four stages: “Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence and Adulthood.”
• Launching a business will require you to concentrate 80% of your efforts on sales.
• Regardless of your convictions, customers will ultimately decide the value of your product or service.
• Seek an “optimum selling strategy” for your product or service.
• Don’t wait until everything is perfect. Fire away!
• Treat every customer cordially, but save the royal treatment for your “big spenders.”
• You can turn outstanding employees into superstars.
• Try to know more about sales and marketing than anyone else in your firm.
• Innovation and brainstorming go hand in hand.
• Understand the difference between customers’ “wants” and “needs.”

Ready, Fire, Aim (2007) reveals proven business-building methods for achieving success fast. It also shows how you can duplicate winning strategies across multiple lucrative ventures so you never have to rely on just one. Learn essential entrepreneurial skills and strategies to vastly improve any business endeavor while positioning yourself to enjoy financial freedom.

Introduction: From startup to empire in four stages

Want to grow your business fast? This summary breaks down the four stages every company goes through, from scrappy startup to corporate giant. You’ll get priceless tips from a multi-millionaire entrepreneur on how to evolve your mindset and strategy as you blast through revenue milestones.

Learn when to fire fast and when to aim carefully. Master the art of rapid innovation to constantly pump out new offerings. Discover how to hire a winning team and develop killer management skills. And get clear on the distinct challenges and opportunities each growth stage brings.

Dive in and you’ll learn a wealth of practical advice to help you rapidly grow your business. It’s like having a master entrepreneur coach you one-on-one. Whether you’re a solopreneur or scaling a seven figure company, this summary will equip you with a roadmap to your first $100 million.

The four stages of entrepreneurial businesses

Around the year 2,000, the author Michael Masterson had achieved a thirty-year career as a successful entrepreneur and multimillionaire. He didn’t need more money, but he was inspired by an ego contest. He noticed many “experts” with less experience and success selling high-ticket reservations to business seminars. Michael decided to see if he could run his own seminar and charge double the price of his competitors.

Michael knew the format of the seminar and the general subject matter, and he knew his audience – entrepreneurs of businesses with annual revenues under $500 million.

Essentially, Michael had the framework of a product figured out. But where most people would pause to develop their seminar and build out their PowerPoint presentations, he jumped straight into sales, with a goal of selling 30 tickets at $10,000 each.

It was only after he made his sales goal that he stepped back to actually develop the product he’d just sold.

If this makes you nervous, you’re not alone. But take it from a man who has repeatedly achieved entrepreneurial success: sometimes you have to fire before you aim.

Michael worked with some colleagues to research the struggles that business owners deal with when scaling. What they found across a wide range of businesses were four unique challenges that corresponded to four specific stages of business. From this finding, they developed a seminar to provide roadmaps to entrepreneurial success through each of these challenges. In the next sections, we’ll dive into each stage, one by one.

Remember, whenever your business feels stuck, it’s because what got you to where you are can’t take you to the next level. Growth means change, and these sections will describe just what kind of change is required.

Stage 1: From zero to $1 million in revenue

Meet Alex, a college student who has a tuition payment coming up. Alex needs to make $40,000 fast. So he turns to the Internet to do what many people are already doing – selling advertising space. But instead of selling space by preset sizes of banner ads and images, he decides to sell by the pixel.

There are a million things that need to be done to make his website perfect, but Alex opts for 48 hours of work and a website that’s“good enough.” He then gets to work selling, and the business far exceeds his goals.

Alex’s story highlights the key mindset and strategy needed for success in the early stages of launching a business. At this point, you may not fully grasp everything required to perfectly execute your idea. But don’t let that stop you! The most important thing is to make those first, profitable sales happen.

Many new entrepreneurs stall because they prioritize planning and perfecting over getting out there and selling. Their logic is that their offering will sell itself once all the kinks are worked out. But nothing happens without sales!

Instead, take Alex’s lead and embrace the ready, fire, aim mentality. Get your minimum viable product to a “good enough” point. Start selling it. And let customer feedback guide how you refine things from there.

When constructing your optimum sales strategy, there are four key questions you need to ask yourself. The first question is, where’s my crowd? Find successful marketing from your competitors to locate your audience. Next you’ll need to ask, what’s my minimum viable product? Resist over-engineering at first. Just get something to the point where it can sell. The third question is, what’s my price point? Balance profit and volume. Cover costs easily but don’t price yourself out. Finally ask yourself, how will I market this? Tap creative talent to make persuasive pitches to your audience.

In the beginning, sales velocity is key – not perfection. By firing before you have everything figured out, you’ll gain key insights to aim your next efforts correctly.

Stage 2: From $1 million to $10 million in revenue

In stage one, we focused on selling. Now in stage two, it’s time to shift gears a bit and focus on quickly creating multiple profitable products. We’re talking about getting from $1 million to $10 million in revenue.

At this point, you’re likely breaking even or possibly losing money. The main challenge here is ramping up cash flow by innovating new offerings at a rapid clip. This stage is all about developing skills around speed and idea generation.

One of the most important things you can teach your team is that 80% of growth happens in direct proportion to how fast you innovate. So it’s time to evolve that scrappy startup culture into one obsessed with creativity.

You’ll still be selling and marketing like crazy, but you’ll also need to expand your offerings with both front-end and back-end products. This prevents overreliance on one offering and creates opportunities to maximize revenue per customer.

To spur a flow of game-changing ideas, adopt the following four best practices for brainstorming.

First you need to limit your group to between three and eight people. Less than three and you risk getting stuck. More than eight and you lose efficiency. Put a time limit and rules of engagement around your brainstorming session to keep everyone focused and on the right track. Secondly, define clear goals upfront and create a way to record and store ideas that don’t apply to your current goal. Third, nurture creativity and recognize that great ideas can come from anywhere. And fourth, when inspiration strikes, take action within 24 hours by jotting down the idea or drafting some test marketing copy. Otherwise, you risk losing momentum.

Now it’s time to ready, fire, aim. When evaluating new offerings, run through these ‘Ready’ questions. Is the new offering a good idea? Does it feel promising? Is it economically feasible? Can we afford testing? Do we understand execution needs? Do we have the right team? And is there an exit strategy?

If you can answer yes to all these questions, move to the ‘Fire’ phase and launch fast. Don’t let perfectionism or procrastination prevent shipping. You can correct your course later. And once you’ve launched your product, it’s time to ‘Aim’ by paying close attention to market response. Calibrate your efforts – double down if traction is strong or change course if needed.

In this second stage of business growth, as you move from $1 million to $10 million in revenue, speed is key. Innovate constantly and convert ideas into new offerings at a rapid pace. Act on inspiration quickly, and keep churning out minimum viable products.

Stage two may last a while as you establish a fertile innovation environment. But the time spent honing creativity muscles will pay off big time. With multiple cash flow offerings, you’ll gain stability and optionality, and you’ll be preparing yourself for the next stage of growth.

Stage 3: From $10 million to $50 million in revenue

The transition from stage two to three can feel subtle, but you’ll know you’re ready for it around the $10 million revenue mark. At this point, processes start breaking and customers may express dissatisfaction – clear signals that it’s time to shift from scrappiness to scalability.

Stage three is all about instilling order amidst the chaos and learning to put robust systems and procedures in place. You’re effectively moving from startup mode into becoming a corporate leader.

To support expansion, you’ll need to establish an additional layer or two of management underneath you. Ideally, you’ll have been nurturing leaders from your early hires who can now become your executives.

Making this transition successfully requires developing six key skills:

First, you’ll need to get a handle on operations by structuring your organization for growth. While you started off getting excellent at marketing, you now have to make sure your business has the systems and processes in place needed to support maximum growth.

Second, you’ll need to empower a capable COO to manage your management team so you don’t get bogged down in the operations side of things.

Because you’re the lead visionary in the company, the third skill you’ll need is to be able to communicate your vision consistently across all levels so everyone works towards shared goals.

A fourth essential skill for transitioning to stage three is networking for joint ventures and partnerships that will accelerate growth. Continued growth at this stage truly requires outside-the-box thinking and partnering with people and organizations that can expand your business.

The fifth skill you’ll need here is negotiating. You have to become adept at putting together win-win deals that allow for flexibility and fairness.

Finally, the sixth skill you’ll need for stage three is becoming skilled at hiring leadership as you’ll now be selecting leaders rather than doers.

By this point in your business growth, both you and your organization will function very differently from the early startup days. Your role as founder evolves into being the primary visionary and marketing leader. You’ll spend less time in the weeds of product development and more time charting strategy, branding, and partnerships.

Meanwhile, your trusted COO and executive team will handle day-to-day operations. With robust systems in place and strong leaders at the helm of each function, you’re bound to crack that $50 million revenue milestone.

Stage four is challenging because it requires you to transition from maker to manager. But resisting these natural organizational growing pains will only stunt your potential. By developing key leadership abilities and empowering others, you can evolve from a business starter into an empire builder.

Stage 4: From $50 million to $100 million in revenue

Congratulations, you’ve made it to stage four. Now the adventure really begins, as you get to chart your own path forward. With revenues slowing or stalling out around the $50 million mark, you have some big choices to make.

Do you want to keep actively growing the business? Or are you ready to step back into a minimal or advisory role? Would you rather invest your wealth or sell your company to retire comfortably? The possibilities are wide open.

If seeking continual growth, your main challenge is rediscovering the scrappy, entrepreneurial mindset from early stages. The opportunity lies in guiding your company to run itself smoothly without you.

You have three solid options for this stage. Option one is to sell your business privately. Option two is to take your company public. And option three is to become chairman of the board. Whatever you choose, start viewing your company as an asset and shift your focus away from revenue creation to wealth building. Define the role you want going forward – from passive to active involvement.

As a primary investor, you can be an advisor to the leadership team. You can help guide investment decisions and make acquisitions to expand the business. You can also take the company public or sell privately for maximum profit.

The world is your oyster. During stages one to three, you’ve ready, fired, and aimed,  positioning yourself for total flexibility – both in business and life.

While few make it this far, choosing the right times to prepare, launch quickly and recalibrate has put this level of success within reach. So pat yourself on the back for making it to the founder’s promised land!

Now the fun really starts as you chart the future of your company while also exploring what kind of lifestyle you want for yourself. Whether you sell and retire or stay active in a chairman role, enjoy the fruits of your labor knowing you’ve built something bigger than yourself. The possibilities are endless – the choice is yours.

Summary

Building Your Business in Stages

Entrepreneurial businesses – regardless of the products or services they offer – experience four distinct growth periods. Each stage – “Infancy (zero to $1 million in revenue), Childhood ($1 million to $10 million), Adolescence ($10 million to $50 million) and Adulthood ($50 million to $100 million and beyond)” – has its own difficulties, challenges and possibilities. The hard part is recognizing what stage your business is in, what it needs to do to progress to the next level and how to make that leap.

“Stage One: Infancy”

Your offering may be the greatest product or service in the world, but if you don’t get it to market, it won’t matter. Many entrepreneurs commit a fatal error by not focusing their energy on developing an effective sales program. Spend at least 80% of your time on selling. Forget fancy logos and silver-trimmed business cards. Don’t worry if your product isn’t perfect – you’ll have plenty of time for tweaking and adjusting. The secret is getting it out there in front of the buying public. What you think about your product isn’t important; what really matters is whether your potential customers will buy it.

“If you fill your working life with really good people, the problems that usually hamper and plague a business at every stage of its growth will be easy to solve and will eventually seem to disappear.”

Many entrepreneurs – particularly those who are new and naive – envision themselves as CEOs who can’t be bothered with the mundane task of selling. They figure that their products will sell themselves. They are usually wrong. Approach a handful of people to see how they react to your product. Or, set up a table at a flea market, or host a party for close friends and neighbors. Establish early on whether your business has a chance.

“You don’t need a preponderance of natural skills to start or grow a successful business. What you need is a little knowledge and a handful of tricks.”

The following factors will determine your “optimum selling strategy”:

• Customer base – Are you targeting the man and woman on the street, individuals who shop at Wal-Mart or those who read The Wall Street Journal? How are you going to reach them? Until you establish your own niche, follow the lead of the industry leaders – advertise where they advertise and market where they market.
• What’s for sale? – Avoid the temptation to be a one-trick pony. Don’t allow only one product or idea to determine your fate. If you fall flat on your face, be prepared to make modifications. Sure, a few lucky souls strike gold with a single product, but many more entrepreneurs fail with that approach.
• How much? – Prevailing market prices are a good jumping-off point. Sell your hubcap polish for $5.95 if that’s your competitor’s price. Initially, you may be able to attract customers with lower prices, but in the long run that strategy will reduce your profits. Conversely, you can lose customers if your prices are too high. Aim for the middle ground; make some money but don’t undersell or overvalue your product.
• The message – First determine the best way to reach the consumer. Whether it’s direct mail or a comprehensive advertising campaign, you need sharply written material that is concise, accurate and lively. A proven professional copywriter can turn your ideas about your product’s strengths and benefits into effective advertising copy. Dare to be different. Figure out exactly what makes your product or service unique and more attractive to the consumer. Even if your hubcap polish is essentially the same as your competitor’s, try to make it seem special.

“As an entrepreneur, you have to become your company’s number one salesperson – even if you fear or hate the very idea of selling.”

Although discovering your optimum selling strategy is vitally important, don’t overlook other pivotal components in launching a business. Find a mentor who can share his or her good or bad business experiences. You flatter people when you ask for their advice or opinions. The valuable nuggets of wisdom you pick up can be priceless.

“Stage Two: Childhood”

Many entrepreneurs are comfortable remaining in Stage One. Their businesses are moderately successful, they make a nice living and the stress is minimal. These entrepreneurs aren’t willing to make any modifications in their stagnant businesses because that would be too disruptive and uncomfortable. However, you must embrace change to move forward.

“The best locations for your competitors will probably be the best locations for you, too.”

The crucial step in moving past the $1 million mark is developing, introducing and selling new products. Although attracting new customers is vital, your growth depends on stimulating your existing customers. Give them reasons to buy your new products, and continue to make their buying experiences pleasant.

“Getting a business (or new product) started is like moving a stopped train. It takes a lot of energy to break it free from its stationary physics, but once it is put in motion it accelerates with relative ease.”

Innovation is not a job for one person. Brainstorming requires at least three people and no more than eight. Set a time limit – three hours maximum – for a brainstorming session and specify your goals. Decide how many ideas you want to generate. Focus on intelligent, practical suggestions. Allow for a free exchange. Avoid criticizing other people’s ideas. Don’t allow inventive ideas to die. Turn concepts into reality by insisting that individuals follow through with a product design or marketing plan. Indicate that you expect to see progress when you reconvene.

“The best way to spur growth is through innovation.”

You’ll probably have to convince your employees that change is positive. Most people will resist it because change means stress. Explain that growth is impossible without change and that everyone will benefit in the long run. Encourage input from all of your employees. Make everyone feel important.

“The price you charge for your product has a major impact on sales – an impact that is third only to the media you use and the appeal of the product itself.”

Execute new ideas quickly. Pull the trigger with confidence, knowing that you can work out the details later. Even if your new idea fails, you’ll save time and money by acting with speed. An existing customer base is a big advantage in testing a product or concept. Immediate feedback from trusted customers is enormously beneficial.

“Getting things going quickly is more important than planning them perfectly.”

When you consider a new product, always weigh the following factors:

• Will it work in your marketplace and be good for the customer?
• Are you being realistic about product costs and sales targets?
• Can you test the product?
• Do you have the right employees to execute the idea?
• Do you have an alternate plan? Are you prepared to bail out if you don’t meet certain numbers within a specific time period?

“Your goal should be to have only two kinds of employees: stars and superstars.”

Resist the urge to chase a lost cause. You’re better off dumping a poor seller and starting over than trying to fix the problem. Always strive to improve your products, even if nothing is wrong. Spend money to get better instead of trying to reduce costs. Keep your customers satisfied – they’re your best salespeople.

“To bring in new customers in a competitive market, ordinary products won’t do.”

Successful entrepreneurs understand the distinction between customers’ wants and needs. Except for life’s necessities – food, clothing, fuel and shelter – almost every purchase people make is discretionary. Consumers want a stimulating, rewarding buying experience. Give it to them.

$10 Million or Bust

Stage Two acceleration depends on the effectiveness of your sales and marketing strategy. Follow these basic tenets and your business will increase:

• The customer is king – Treat all your buyers with respect whether they spend $5,000 or $5. The foundation of your business is built on repeat customers. Keep them satisfied. Solicit their opinions. Make an extra effort to build relationships with the big spenders; they account for 80% of your sales. Big spenders want to feel special. Don’t disappoint them.
• Bad news is good – Although customer complaints may be unpleasant, they help you improve your products and services. Don’t take criticism personally. Encourage and appreciate feedback.
• Create product distinction – To stand out from the competition, every product should have a unique marketing identity. Market the differences as advantages and benefits.
• Maintain your advantages – Effective marketing requires constant monitoring. Bolster strong advertising campaigns and dump the weak ones. Marketing sustains and stimulates business. You can’t afford to get complacent.

“Deep down, it’s not about the features or even the superficial benefits of your products. It’s about what the buying and ownership experience does for your customers.”

Every great businessperson understands the psychology of buying. People with money – the ones who account for 80% of your profits – make purchases because they can afford to and because it feels good. As a smart entrepreneur, your job is to create desire in your customers. No one really needs a $20,000 Rolex. A $20 watch from the mall kiosk tells time just as well. But an expensive watch made of gold and diamonds makes big spenders feel great. Create a stimulating purchasing experience for the customer. That feeling can be addicting, and can impel customers to return for additional purchases. Keep your high-end customers engaged. Make them feel special.

“Stage Three: Adolescence”

Rapid growth is exciting and rewarding, but it creates additional headaches. Increasing your company’s revenue from $10 million to $50 million will require you to enforce stricter controls. In the previous stages of development, you probably felt more in control. You established a close relationship with a core group of employees who shared your vision. As the company grew, you most likely had a direct hand in hiring people. But now you miss the personal touch. Your operation is much more complex. Managers bring in additional employees without your knowledge. You don’t recognize half the people you see when you walk through the production department. Perhaps the quality of your products is slipping.

“Starting and owning your own business is – and always will be – the best job in the world. Don’t settle for any other.”

Entrepreneurship attracted you partly because you railed against corporate culture. But your business could unravel unless you begin to treat it as a corporate entity. Hiring experienced managers can help you streamline your operations and find solutions to problems. Conservative by nature, corporate executives tend to keep a close eye on the bottom line, and to value consistency and efficiency – the perfect yin to your yang.

You may want to design an organizational structure that enables your corporate managers to assume the bulk of your administrative responsibilities. Allow them to run their departments and respect their expertise. You’ll probably want to meet with each manager once a week, except for the person in charge of marketing. Since sales and marketing is your specialty, you should always be intimately involved in that aspect of the business.

As CEO, you will have to read reports. Keeping tabs on a $50 million business is impossible without information. If your managers go to the trouble of researching and writing reports, the least you can do is read them. Failing to extend that courtesy sends a negative message and can alienate important managers from whom you expect maximum effort and performance.

Besides sales and marketing, a CEO’s biggest responsibility is hiring the right people. Consider the financial benefits of having good employees and the financial liabilities of having poor ones. The difference to your company can be thousands – or millions – of dollars. Finding superstars is a problem – they’re already employed. But turning really good employees into superstars is not that difficult. Star employees don’t require coddling; they are self-motivated, take pride in their work and constantly look for challenges. They appreciate recognition.

“Stage Four: Adulthood”

Only a tiny percentage of entrepreneurial businesses generate revenues of $50 million. As a proud member of this exclusive club, you now have several unique options. You can remain CEO while drastically reducing the number of hours you spend in the office. Or you can step down and take on the role of adviser, sharing your expertise with your company’s executives.

Of course, you always have the option of selling the business, taking it public or using the company’s wealth to acquire other businesses. At this stage, you’ve earned the right to call your own shots. You can work as little or as much as you want. Then again, as an entrepreneur, your next challenge may be right around the corner.

Conclusion

There are four stages to growing a successful business.

Stage one involves getting to market quickly with a “good enough” product and relentlessly focusing on sales. Perfectionism will only slow you down – be ready to launch an MVP and refine based on customer feedback.

Stage two is all about rapid innovation. Brainstorm new offerings constantly and have the agility to take action on ideas within 24 hours. Use the method of ready, fire, aim to test concepts quickly without over-analyzing.

In stage three it’s time to instill order and build scalable systems and procedures. Hire professional managers and transition from startup founder into a corporate leader focused on communicating vision.

Finally, in stage four, either actively grow your business further by returning to entrepreneurial roots, take the company public, become chairman of the board, or sell the now-valuable asset for maximum wealth. By firing before we have perfect aim, we gain insights to recalibrate our efforts and accelerate growth through every stage of our business success.

About the Author

Michael Masterson, a successful entrepreneur, is the founder of an e-mail newsletter with more than 250,000 subscribers. He has written books on wealth creation.