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

by Mike Michalowicz

What toilet paper was in the "Toilet Paper Entrepreneur", pumpkins are in this book.

The author transfers the systematics of successful pumpkin farming to establishing and managing a sustainably successful company. He presents a step-by-step guide for business management without frustration and exhaustion but with joy and quality of life.

To grow a giant pumpkin, the farmer needs the right seeds; he must focus on the most promising sprouts, water the plants, regularly check the roots, and remove pumpkins that are too small and rotten, so that the robust and healthy ones can thrive.

Accordingly, entrepreneurs must:

1. Find a business model that a) fits them, for which b) there are customers, and which c) can be systematized.
2. Promote their own strengths and those of their strongest employees.
3. Identify their top customers, cultivate good relationships with them, and tailor their products to meet those customers' needs.
4. Find other suppliers to their customers and together serve their joint customers better.
5. Walk away from high-maintenance customers that add more stress than value, and say "no" to opportunities (= distractions) that arise far from the core business.

The steps are by no means presented as easy. The author gives concrete instructions for action and makes it clear that each step involves hard work and uncomfortable decisions – but in return, the chances of success are maximized.

Each chapter ends with a "pumpkin-plan your business" section, using a fictional company (from a wide range of industries) as an example to apply the strategies presented.

The book is easy to read, understandable, and written in humorous, easy-going language. A recommendation for anyone who owns a small or medium-sized business or plans to start one.

🎧 Suitable as an audiobook? Yes, and it is narrated by the author himself.

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Genres

Business Strategy Entrepreneurship Business Development Small Business