My Pumpkin

A group of monsters visits the pumpkin patch to pick out a perfect pumpkin for a Halloween jack-o-lantern.

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 twenty-eight-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.

"Narrator Polly Collier is very good. Her strong, clear voice makes her sound much like a teacher, and I appreciated her explanation to young listeners that she would be reading the text portion of a picture book...It's a wonderful book, full of interesting trivia..." - AudioFile

“I don’t have a family,” Spookley said with a moan. “I’m the only square pumpkin that has ever grown.” Spookley the Square Pumpkin wishes he had a family and a place he belonged. He feels sad and alone, until he discovers that no one family tree grows quite the same as another. This fixed-layout ebook, which preserves the design and layout of the original print book, features read-along narration.

One day in the pumpkin patch the strangest little pumpkin hatched . . . Spookley the Pumpkin was different. All the other pumpkins teased him, until Spookley proved that being different can save the day! This perennial best-selling children’s book delivers a special message of tolerance and kindness that is just right for fall . . . and any time of year! This fixed-layout ebook, which preserves the design and layout of the original print book, features read-along narration.

Celebrate your little pumpkin pie with this sweet and colorful rhyming board book.

Illustrations and brief text explore some of the Halloween-themed names that people use as terms of endearment.

A young boy describes how he picked out his Halloween pumpkin and carved it and compares his experience to God's love for him.