The Pumpkin Plan
A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field
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Narrated by:
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Mike Michalowicz
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Written by:
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Mike Michalowicz
About this listen
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 28-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.
Includes exclusive author commentary throughout the audiobook and a bonus author interview at the end of the program.
©2012 Mike Michalowicz (P)2020 Penguin AudioYou may also enjoy...
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What the critics say
"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)
What listeners say about The Pumpkin Plan
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- MFam
- 2024-09-04
Excellent!
Fantastic content, fun delivery, thoughtful strategies. I was skeptical before listening but it was very well done. Pumpkin farming is a great metaphor that ties in several strategies for growing a business.
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- Ola Adebero
- 2020-11-22
Very educative
I had enjoyed the book thoroughly. I am becoming a huge fan of his books. This was amazing to listen to.
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- Andrew L
- 2022-08-12
game changing
this book is phenomenal. I love how engaging Mike is and the content is no nonsense, straight up actionable. I have no doubt that following this to a T would produce excellent results
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- John
- 2023-08-01
Must read for businesses wanting to scale
I read Mikes Profit First but probably should have read this one first. Really well put together. I even emailed him and he responded. Immediately. Not many authors can make that claim.
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- justin murray
- 2023-09-15
Such great info!
This is such a great book. Mike provides great information and is so easy to listen to.
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- Paolo Castellano
- 2021-05-14
Great read!
Not what I expected and lots of golden nuggets. Deff recommend to get it. Thanks
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- Sarah
- 2023-07-30
so good!
must read for any entrepreneur! this is aligned with mikes other books (that i’ve already read) so there were some repeat insights here but that’s not a bad thing! anything to get it to stay in my head. Highly recommend!
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- Shawn
- 2022-03-18
Great plan
Well laid out plan that I hope is as useful to my business as Mike's other books have been.
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- Brittany
- 2025-01-31
Fantastic Biz Book - Must Read for All Entrepreneurs.
The Pumpkin Plan was the book selected for our business book club, and it was a fantastic one to kick off the year.
Mike does a wonderful job narrating the book. it was hilarious and entertaining to listen to.
In addition, the step by step guide and framework in this book is broken down so well and the exercises are easy to apply. Excited to be applying everything I've learned and, share the changes with you, Mike!
Great book and highly recommend!!
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- Nicholas Brand
- 2021-08-20
One of my favourite business books.
One of my all time favourite business book. Listen to it at least once a year. This new revised version is even better with all the additional insights.
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