Fall is in full swing and you are likely thinking about pumpkins already; but let’s ponder about pumpkins in a different way. The Pumpkin Plan is actually a business model and once you read about it – perhaps while enjoying a pumpkin latte or a slice of delicious pumpkin pie, you are most likely to never going to think of pumpkins the same way again.
What is the Pumpkin Plan?
The Pumpkin Plan is a book by author Michael Michalowicz. The premise of the book is very relevant to most businesses and especially an important philosophy for entrepreneurs. Mike Michalowicz found himself in a situation that probably sounds familiar to many entrepreneurs. He was working more hours than exist in a day and just barely keeping his business afloat. He read about a local farmer who had dedicated his life to growing giant pumpkins. It seems that the way that you grow giant pumpkins is to focus only on the giant pumpkins and not let smaller growing pumpkins distract you. If you put the best seeds, time, and focus into the giant pumpkin, it thrives. He applied the hyper-focused philosophy that farmers use to grow giant pumpkins to his own business. He ended up transforming his previously stunted business into a thriving multimillion-dollar industry leader by applying the Pumpkin Plan to it. He then wrote a book that outlined the principles of the Pumpkin Plan. Chances are that following these guidelines will help you with your business venture.
Here are some of the principles of the Pumpkin Plan as outlined in and quoted from the book ‘The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field’:
- 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 over deliver on every single promise.
Everyone knows that change is one of the hardest things to do. Especially when your income and your livelihood depend on your business, it’s hard to effect change. However, these 3 principles will not only make you successful, but if you think about it, weeding out the losers and focusing on the winners will make you very happy. Seeing how many businesses fail and knowing how much we all focus on trying to fix what’s wrong, this book’s principle is to throw out what’s wrong and rotten and focus on what’s right. It really is a brilliant idea. Let’s start now!
