Free Resources & Courses to Scale Your Established Business Beyond $10 Million to $100M or More
Exclusive Resources for CEOs & Entrepreneurs in Stage #4 (below)
We know that scaling a business requires more than just ambition. It takes strategic tools, proven frameworks, and expert insights to drive sustainable growth. To help you elevate your business, we’ve carefully curated high-impact resources designed to empower CEOs and founders like you.
Click on Your Company's Stage of Development Below Using this Boat Size Metaphor
Click on your stage company's below to learn more and get free resources for your current needs.
STAGE 1:
Raw Startup - No Revenue yet
Just a couple crew members. Ideation stage and developing a product or service.
STAGE 2:
Early Revenue But Under $1M Annually
3 to 7 crew members. Some traction with paying customers.
STAGE 3:
Established - 7+ employees
Typically, $1M to $10M in Annual Sales but growing slowly.
STAGE 4:
Growth Expansion - Usually 25+ Employees
Sales typically over $2M+ and seeking to grow at 30%+ annually.
Each stage has very different needs and a different management style. You must "shift gears," giving up what worked before at each previous stage. This is why many founders are replaced by "professional managers and CEOs." They do not adapt. And why more than 99.75% of founders get stuck between $1M and $10M in sales?
Reaching Stage #4 is rarefied air.
Less than 5% will make it here.
Only one in four hundred companies ever reaches $10M in sales. The proper systemization of management and leadership is explained in the video at right. If you got here, you are doing very well and also must be ready to change more than you ever have to scale rapidly. Now growing 50% means millions in new sales, not hundreds of thousands.
To achieve rapid scaling (> 30% CAGR), you must do all the things listed below well. Many are easy to say and very hard to do. Although all these things can be labeled under the umbrella term of “culture,” it also means systemization and leadership disciplines in every area. And not giving up the ability to innovate and be nimble. We call the ideal culture a Darwinian Meritocracy (TM). Below is a specific checklist.
We exist to train, coach, and consult with top 10% companies and get them to be top 1% and to their next stage of development as rapidly as possible. Many of the required steps are mentioned in the previous three resource pages for stages 1-3. These are foundational and cannot be skipped. A company that does all these things can grow sustainably at 50%+ CAGR and create true stability and wealth for the employees and owners. And it will also create jobs and impact the standard of living of all people with the ripple effect.
Throwing out what worked in the last stage is required. Your entire team must grow, delegate, systematize, and expand their strategic thinking and time planning horizons. And the CEO and senior executives must become “Level 5” leaders.
Few companies lack the discipline and ability to grow rapidly because it requires a diverse set of skills and also “shifting gears” in management style at least three times.
How many of these things has your company completed? Honestly?
- Build a team of 5 executive-level people with 15+ years of experience, each in charge of each major department and function. These senior leaders must have high IQ, high EQ, and some creativity too. They must be real leaders that develop their staff, not ego-driven, controlling, or political. And an average person will likely only be able to hire average people, not great people who will not work for average people.
- Have structure and cadence around all leadership and management functions; see our Six Systems here. This allows managers to all work to improve the business, not get stuck in the day-to-day operations.
- Document all processes, SOPs, and systems for each of these areas also to both preserve institutional knowledge and constantly improve (Kaizen) and to train new hires. Have total ownership of each process (by title) and use this for training and optimization.
4. Have a formal strategic plan with at least a three-year product roadmap, services, org chart, expansion strategies like partnering, new channels, M&A, new markets, new products, etc.
5. Have a system to train and develop managers internally and grow your staff. No company can grow rapidly without promoting internally, as this will dilute institutional knowledge and cause turnover of your best people. Hiring all new people for senior positions will destroy morale, not motivate existing staff to achieve more.
6. Have internal feedback loops in every major business process and department to positively verify results. This means not just dashboards with KPIs but also a culture of Kaizen and transparency to prevent bureaucratic distortion of information. This is why Jeff Bezos at Amazon requires all executives to listen to some customer calls monthly.
These courses are normally $29 to $199 each. For a limited time, we are making them available at no cost. You must complete each course within 14 days. Then you can start another.
Select a free course to take now, or review more advanced, paid options below. We have over 55 courses and The CEO Boot Camp as a complete curriculum for CEOs and founders. We recommend taking only one at a time and returning to register for more - bookmark this page now.
1. How to Raise Millions
Only 1 in 400 companies ever reaches $10 million in sales. And 1 in 6,300 reach $100 million. The main reason for this is that scaling a company is one of the rarest skills on Earth (for the very reason just stated). Most people that do this become so wealthy they retire, travel the world, or try it again with a different company.
Learn the strategies that top entrepreneurs have used to raise billions in capital. 90% seeking funds will not get outside investors. Understanding why they failed will ensure you are not wasting your time.
Learn to target the best investors for your situation and what they need to see and hear to get excited about your deal in your pitch.
Learn what team quality level you need at each level of investment targeted – An objective test.
Learn how to find and approach the right investors. There are many false beliefs about this that can prevent you from being successful.
See examples of the best pitch deck slides that will make you stand out from the rest.
Learn how to get the highest valuation possible, so the Founders do not end up owning less than 20% when you exit. This can translate into millions more for your founding team.
Toolkit for raising capital including documents for taking money from angels, other articles on raising capital, Bob’s eBook The Top8 Reasons Companies Fail to Raise Funds, and 10 other valuable tools.
2. Introduction to Dashboards
If you’re looking to grow your company and scale your team effectively, understanding how to leverage dashboards is a vital step. Dashboards frame focus, success, and alignment of teams; improve accountability; and enhance communication.
This course will show you how dashboards can transform departments, teams, and entire companies. It is designed for CEOs, entrepreneurs, C-level executives, and managers.
As your business grows, so does the complexity of managing people, processes, and performance. Dashboards enable you to “run the business by the numbers,” monitor progress in real time, identify improvement opportunities, and anticipate what’s ahead—helping you stay ahead of the competition.
Any business with more than 10 employees should have at least one company-wide dashboard, while departments with more than five or six team members should also develop their own.
This free course is divided into six digestible segments, making it easy to absorb at your own pace. It will answer many questions like:
- What Should Be in a Dashboard
Why Dashboards Are Magic When Designed Well
Key Benefits of Dashboards and How to Leverage Them
What Dashboards Are Not (and Common Mistakes to Avoid)
Example: Sales and Marketing Dashboards
3. The 26 Processes Every Company Needs Before Scaling
Scaling a business successfully requires more than just vision and leadership—it demands a strong foundation of well-defined processes that can support rapid growth. The 26 Standard Processes Required to Scale is a roadmap designed for CEOs and senior teams at companies with $1M to $30M in annual revenue who want to systematize their operations and build a scalable infrastructure in any industry.
You will learn about the processes that every scaling business must implement to achieve and maintain operational excellence. From lead generation and sales to financial controls and employee development, this is a comprehensive guide to preparing to scale. In addition to the list of 26 processes and what is needed for each, we will cover categories like
- Proper Management Meeting Cycles and Cadence
- Marketing & Lead Generation
- Sales Processes and Funnel Management
Financial Controls and Budgeting processes
Employee Development and Feedback Loops
Operations, Onboarding and Customer Success
Strategic Planning and Adjustments
- R&D, Innovation and New Product/Service Vetting
And you will learn basic business process management (BPM) skills to document and optimize processes.
By the end of this class, you will be better equipped with the knowledge and tools to build a process-driven organization capable of sustaining rapid growth while maintaining operational excellence.
12 Free Growth and Scaling Webinar Sample Replays - This is under 50% of each session and 6 of 12 sessions. Plus a new bonus session has been added on using AI.
About Your Instructor, Bob Norton, Serial Entrepreneur and Top Expert in Scaling Companies
- A founder of six companies, with four exits and two still in development.
- As a CEO since 1989, Bob has grown two startups to $100M and $156M in sales within five years each and returned over $1 billion in profits to his investors (a 25X ROI). An average of $71M per year of equity value was created.
- Thomson-Reuters, where he was a founder, alone generates $14 billion per year today. Others have merged into other companies like Prudential, and so figures on their sales are not available.
- Creator of AirTight Management, world’s first modular, and most comprehensive Management Operating System (MOS)
- His companies have generated tens of billions in sales and continue to generate over $1 billion per year today in revenue
- As a Management Consultant and Chief Adviser to CEOs since 2002, he has helped over 200 clients increase their growth rates, sales, and company valuations.
- He has raised over $40 million in startup capital for his own companies and helped clients raise nearly $1 billion. Helped clients exit at values as high as $780M.
- Founded six companies, four of which have disrupted industries. Two others are still growing.
- Author of four books: The Startup Manual & Leadership, co-written with Warren Bennis, “The Father of Leadership” and 4 eBooks.
- Over 200 published articles and 360+ studio-produced training videos.
- Creator of The CEO & Boot Camp and variations for teams and stages of development, which has graduated thousands of CEOs and entrepreneurs from over 40 countries.
EXCLUSIVE PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION - GSP
Video Testimonials From Clients
These testimonials show the depth and breath of our experience helping companies of all sizes get to their next level of development, no matter what they need. We take 7-figure companies to 8-figures, and 8-figure companies to 9-figures.
Free E-Books by Bob Norton. Send an email to info @ AirtightMgt dot com with the title you want and we will email a PDF copy.
This e-book will show you how to position your company for sustainable growth, attract investors, and successfully raise outside capital through proven strategies. Only a tiny percentage of companies succeed at raising venture capital from professional investors.
Bob has raised over $40,000,000 for his own startups (returning over 25X ROI). Bob has helped raise over $1 billion for clients.
With over 80% of startups and 90% of products failing, this e-book provides essential guidance to help you navigate challenges and position yourself in the top 5% that succeed big. Based on postmortem startup research, like 43% of companies fail because there is no demand for their product. Increase your odds by understanding the most common fails.
Bob launched over 60 of his own products and hundreds helping others.
This e-book will teach you how to become a more effective, resilient, and visionary leader by leveraging proven leadership principles and real-world lessons from top leaders.
Cowritten with The Father of Leadership, Dr. Warren Bennis.
For More Details on Our Coaching, Consulting and Scaling Services
Call (619) SCALE06
Did not see what you need today? Go back to the top and select another stage of development to see 9 more free courses, and/or register below to get access to many other resources that literally every startup CEO and senior team needs.
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New free ebook coming soon on filing provisional versus standard patents. When each is best.