The Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz

Mike Michalowicz doesn’t mess around.  As a successful entrepreneur, he has experience to share and tells it like it is.  If you’re not willing to take certain steps in your business, you may not experience the levels of success he has and it’s as simple as that.

In The Pumpkin Plan, he works from the analogy of a farmer dedicating time and resources to building a prize winning pumpkin.  It’s about focusing on one specific thing, getting rid of things (and customers!) that you don’t want, and putting your time and energy into what matters.  

It sounds obvious, but will make some people very uncomfortable.  Who wants to fire customers in this economy when you feel grateful to have any at all?  But his plan makes sense.  Once you narrow your focus to the good clients and find more of those, you’ll find you’re glad you “fired” some of the not-so-good ones.

He also talks about the importance of customer service and how to provide genuine service to clients and vendors.  Once you stop thinking only about yourself and instead think about how you can help others, this process seems natural.

My one critique about the book was some of his language was a bit crass.  He could have told his story without the profanity.  Overall though, it’s a good book for the struggling entrepreneur who works 24/7

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.