The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field

by Mike Michalowicz

Overview

 Each year Americans start one million new businesses, nearly 80 percent of which fail within the first five years. Under such pressure to stay alive—let alone grow—it’s easy for entrepreneurs to get caught up in a never-ending cycle of “sell it—do it, sell it—do it” that leaves them exhausted, frustrated, and unable to get ahead no matter how hard they try.

This is the exact situation Mike Michalowicz found himself in when he was trying to grow his first company. Although it was making steady money, there was never very much left over and he was chasing customers left and right, putting in twenty-eight-hour days, eight days a week. The punishing grind never let up. His company was alive but stunted, and he was barely breathing. That’s when he discovered an unlikely source of inspiration—pumpkin farmers.

After reading an article about a local farmer who had dedicated his life to growing giant pump­kins, Michalowicz realized the same process could apply to growing a business. He tested the Pumpkin Plan on his own company and transformed it into a remarkable, multimillion-dollar industry leader. First he did it for himself. Then for others. And now you. So what is the Pumpkin Plan?

• Plant the right seeds: Don’t waste time doing a bunch of different things just to please your customers. Instead, identify the thing you do better than anyone else and focus all of your attention, money, and time on figuring out how to grow your company doing it.
• Weed out the losers: In a pumpkin patch small, rotten pumpkins stunt the growth of the robust, healthy ones. The same is true of customers. Figure out which customers add the most value and provide the best opportunities for sustained growth. Then ditch the worst of the worst.
• Nurture the winners: Once you figure out who your best customers are, blow their minds with care. Discover their unfulfilled needs, innovate to make their wishes come true, and overdeliver on every single promise.

Full of stories of other successful entrepreneurs, The Pumpkin Plan guides you through unconven­tional strategies to help you build a truly profitable blue-ribbon company that is the best in its field.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101572313
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/05/2012
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	567,618
File size:	515 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Mike Michalowicz launched and sold two multimillion-dollar companies and currently operates his third, Obsidian Launch, a consulting firm that ignites explosive growth in companies that have plateaued. He is the author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur and is a small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal. Visit www.PumpkinPlan.com

 

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 A Half-Ton Pumpkin Is About to Save Your Life 7

Chapter 2 A Slow, Miserable Death 25

Chapter 3 The Seed 39

Chapter 4 Assess the Vine 57

Chapter 5 How We Do Things Down on the Farm 81

Chapter 6 The Tourniquet Technique 95

Chapter 7 Play Favorites and Break Rules 111

Chapter 8 The Wish List 131

Chapter 9 Let Them Leab 151

Chapter 10 Big, Pat and Healthy 169

Chapter 11 The Airline Safety Card Method 185

Chapter 12 Kill the Curve 203

Chapter 13 Next Season 213

Chapter 14 How to Pumpkin Plan Your Business-Your Story 219

Acknowledgments 221

Index 223

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Every page, every chapter, as I read this book, I asked myself, ‘Michael E. Gerber, how come YOU didn’t think of that?’ Just remarkable! Just absolutely a remarkable book. A pumpkin! Who would have thought? Every one of you—entrepreneurs, business owners—read it! Do it now!”
—MICHAEL GERBER, author of The E-Myth and creator of The E-Myth Evolution™
“Another great read from Mike Michalowicz! Mike’s off-the-cuff sense of humor and business savvy ensure that The Pumpkin Plan is a book that entrepreneurs should read for years to come.”
—GUY KAWASAKI, author of Enchantment and The Art of the Start
“Hard-hitting advice aimed directly at the entrepreneur who is stuck being a wandering generality instead of a meaningful specific. Plenty of seeds worth planting.”
—SETH GODIN, author of We Are All Weird
“Michalowicz hits it out of the park, yet again. The Pumpkin Plan is chock-full of Mike’s wonderful humor and is an extraordinary step-by-step guide for entrepreneurs whose business growth has plateaued.”
—J. J. RAMBERG, host of MSNBC’s Your Business
“In his crazy-like-a-fox style, Mike Michalowicz reveals why channeling a pumpkin farmer brings you unparalleled success. Michalowicz is rapidly becoming one of the most innovative business authors of our time. The proof is in the pudding (or pumpkin, as it were).”
—RIEVA LESONSKY, CEO of GrowBiz Media, former editorial director of Entrepreneur magazine
“Mike makes turning your business from ordinary to extraordinary as easy as following a simple step-by-step recipe. This book reveals degrees of knowledge and wisdom I have rarely seen in writing before. If you read only one book this year, let it be The Pumpkin Plan.”
—BOB BURG, co-author of The Go-Giver and author of Endless Referrals
“He’s a very handsome young man.” —URSULA MICHALOWICZ, Mike’s mom

Editorial Reviews

Every page, every chapter, as I read this book, I asked myself, ‘Michael E. Gerber, how come YOU didn’t think of that?’ Just remarkable! Just absolutely a remarkable book. A pumpkin! Who would have thought? Every one of you—entrepreneurs, business owners—read it! Do it now!”
—MICHAEL GERBER, author of The E-Myth and creator of The E-Myth Evolution™

“Another great read from Mike Michalowicz! Mike’s off-the-cuff sense of humor and business savvy ensure that The Pumpkin Plan is a book that entrepreneurs should read for years to come.”

—GUY KAWASAKI, author of Enchantment and The Art of the Start

“Hard-hitting advice aimed directly at the entrepreneur who is stuck being a wandering generality instead of a meaningful specific. Plenty of seeds worth planting.”

—SETH GODIN, author of We Are All Weird

“Michalowicz hits it out of the park, yet again. The Pumpkin Plan is chock-full of Mike’s wonderful humor and is an extraordinary step-by-step guide for entrepreneurs whose business growth has plateaued.”

—J. J. RAMBERG, host of MSNBC’s Your Business

“In his crazy-like-a-fox style, Mike Michalowicz reveals why channeling a pumpkin farmer brings you unparalleled success. Michalowicz is rapidly becoming one of the most innovative business authors of our time. The proof is in the pudding (or pumpkin, as it were).”

—RIEVA LESONSKY, CEO of GrowBiz Media, former editorial director of Entrepreneur magazine

“Mike makes turning your business from ordinary to extraordinary as easy as following a simple step-by-step recipe. This book reveals degrees of knowledge and wisdom I have rarely seen in writing before. If you read only one book this year, let it be The Pumpkin Plan.”

—BOB BURG, co-author of The Go-Giver and author of Endless Referrals

“He’s a very handsome young man.”

 —URSULA MICHALOWICZ, Mike’s mom

From the Publisher