March: The Pumpkin Plan Summary

Book Description

“Who would have ever thought, that the key to explosive entrepreneurial success was held by pumpkin farmers?

Just as almost every pumpkin farmer grows ordinary Halloween carving pumpkins, most entrepreneurs grow ordinary, unremarkable businesses. Yet by tweaking their approach in small ways, farmers can grow giant, prize-winning pumpkins that get all the attention and press coverage.

In The Pumpkin Plan, Mike Michalowicz, author of the perennial “business cult classic” The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, reveals how applying the same few simple methods farmers use to grow colossal prize-winning pumpkins can lead entrepreneurs to grow colossally successful businesses.”

Book Club Review

Thanks for being a part of the Modern Leadership Monthly Book Club. If you happened upon this page and are not a member you can join for free here .

The book club is designed to explore books that will help us on our leadership journey. It is a part of the Modern Leadership Podcast where we breakdown a book weekly in each episode. You can catch the podcast here.

This month’s book is The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field by Mike Michalowicz

My Request

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Brief Summary

The book starts out asking you to imagine that you are in the market for a pumpkin. Once at the pumpkin patch, you see an enormous pumpkin. Not the “for sale” kind, but the kind surrounded by velvet ropes and photographers.

Now imagine that pumpkin is your business; so large the media takes notice, so successful that people travel to do business with you, and so inspiring that books are written about you.

Mike takes the strategy of growing world-record pumpkins and applies it to principles of business and he does so in a masterful way. Both witty and practical, I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. I highlighted nearly every page with ideas that I can implement into my own business.

About the author – Mike Michalowicz

By age 35 Mike had built and sold 2 multi-million dollar businesses and started a third. Since, he has authored 4 business books employing the expertise gained building his businesses. He is a former columnist for the Wall Street Journal and MSNBC Business Makeover expert.

The idea for the Pumpkin Plan, aside from the random trip to the pumpkin patch, began in Mike’s first business when he found he was trading time for money and started to run out of both.

Who should read

You should read this book if:

You run your own business (or want to) and you are burned out trading time for money.
You want to find ways to systematize your business processes.
You feel trapped, your business cannot grow because “you” are not scalable.
You want new ideas on how to grow by hearing real world examples of what others do differently
If you ever said “Help, somethings got to give.”

Who shouldn’t read this book

You don’t like metaphors. This book relies heavily on the “growing award winning pumpkins” metaphor.
If you don’t appreciate a little bathroom humor. Mike is very witty and the book keeps you smiling as you read but does have some mild bathroom humor that some may not appreciate (it is mild but there’s your heads up).
If you have no desire to scale your business or lack the commitment to make a change.
You have no control over direction or strategy at your company. (note: this book will still be valuable for you as you will someday have that control or influence)

What surprised me

This book came highly recommended. In fact, it was the most recommended book I heard during the two years I hosted the Family Before Fortune podcast. I didn’t read it sooner because I thought I “got it”. You want to grow a big pumpkin? Plant, water, weed and remove smaller competing pumpkins. Or, if you want a big company, start smart, fuel growth, eliminate obstacles and competition and then remove distracting products or business ventures. Seems straight forward, what am I paying $15 for?

My biggest surprise was how practical the book was for me. Mike takes you step by step how to grow your business. Sure, I had the right steps, but what I lacked was the process to implement. It is one thing to say, “weed your pumpkin patch”, quite another to show you what are the weeds, how to remove them properly and how to maintain the weed free zone.

That is what this book does.

Criticism

I have really thought hard about my criticism of this book and it is hard to find. I was impressed and plan to read the book again. I have invited Mike to come on The Modern Leadership Podcast and talk us more about applying the Pumpkin Plan.

Takeaways

There is something absolutely irresistible, something magnetic about being the extreme. Be it the strongest, or the fastest, or the most unique.
- Be different- that’s your unique differentiator.
What more do I have to do to be the best?” Simple. You don’t need to do more. You need to do different.
I kept telling myself, “There has to be a sweet spot, a moment when this business shifts into second gear and all of this hard work pays off.”
- Does that sweet spot ever come?
The Pumpkin Plan bundled nicely by Mike Michalowicz
- STEP ONE: Identify and leverage your biggest natural strengths. STEP TWO: Sell, sell, sell. STEP THREE: As your business grows, fire all of your small-time, rotten clients. STEP FOUR: Never, ever let distractions—often labeled as new opportunities—take hold. Weed ’em out fast. STEP FIVE: Identify your top clients and remove the rest of your less-promising clients. STEP SIX: Focus all your attention on your top clients. Nurture and protect them; find out what they want more than anything, and if it’s in alignment with what you do best, give it to them. Then, replicate that same service or product for as many of the same types of top client as possible. STEP SEVEN: Watch your company grow to a giant size.
Once you’ve moved passed the early stages of entrepreneurship, success isn’t a quantity game anymore.
- It’s the quality of service to your best (top) clients.
Entrepreneurs identify the problems, discover the opportunities and then build processes to allow other people and other things to get it done.
- They don’t do the work
[I]f you want to grow a prize-winning pumpkin, you have to plant a prize-winning pumpkin seed.
- Think prize winning business seeds.
Don’t waste your time planting seeds that may or may not work out. Plant the seed that you know has the very best chance of making it, and then focus your attention, money, time and other resources on that tight niche until all of your entrepreneurial dreams come true
- #truth
- Time is a valuable resource.
- You already have the “best” seed “your sweet spot—the place where your best clients and the best part of your business meet.”
[Y]ou can’t be all things to all people. You can only be one thing to a group of important people—your best clients.
More is not better, people. Better is better.
- More better, is more better.
There are three types of clients, and their importance is ranked exactly as follows: 1. good clients, 2. non-existent clients, and 3. bad clients.
- Really think about the order here.
[A]s the late and so freakin’ great George Carlin once said, “Anyone who drives slower than you is an idiot, and everyone who drives faster is an maniac.” So just focus on forging relationships with the people who are going just your speed.
- Your best clients
The Pumpkin Plan is not an “if you build it, they will come” kind of plan. This is a “build it, then build a paved road to your client’s door, then give them a luxury bus ride (while serving them breakfast using only the finest china) to your door” kind of plan…
[A] Pumpkin Planner’s success is not in having better answers…it is in asking better questions, better defining the problem.
- How often do you talk with your clients?
The key to explosive growth is competing reasonably well in every area your competition competes in, and then blowing them away in one category.
- Be “in the ball park” for everything you do, except for one thing. For that one thing, swing for the fences.
- What is the one area of your business that you can dominate?
[Y]our brain goes to work on any question you ask it. Good, bad or indifferent…your brain keeps plugging away. You need to be very aware of the questions you ask yourself, because the quality of your question will directly influence the quality of your answer.
Here’s your “come to Jesus” moment: You cannot scale your business if that means that you do most (or even some) of the work. Period. In fact, if you want to grow a serious business, a Pumpkin Planned business, it requires that you don’t do any of the work.
- Take a minute- is this possible in your business?
[S]ystems do not simplify the results; systems simplify the process of getting there.

My Key Key Key Takeaway

I know you’re proud of the work you do. Now it’s time to be proud of the work your company does.
- This is my most key takeaway because this is where I struggle the very most. I am proud of my podcast and my blog and my business (it has my name on it). How can I scale the business to not include me as the main worker? Easy- recognize that being proud of what my company does, the impact and influence can be greater than the pride I have for the work I personally do.