We were interviewed on The Kim Orlesky Show. To listen to the interview, please visit her podcast 

When we took on the building of the Barefoot Wine brand, we really didn’t understand the problems we would have to overcome to be successful. We had no idea how long it would take, the opposition we would face, or the enormous hurdles we had to clear in compliance, distribution, and personnel management. Every day […]

When you think about wine, you most likely imagine stern-faced sommeliers, or parties where tuxedos and hors d’oeuvres on silver platters are the norm. Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey do not fit the stereotype. You probably wouldn’t even expect them to be wine-lovers, let alone the co-founders of Barefoot Wine, the largest wine brand in the world. But […]

Why do they call it duck tape? The purpose of a question is to solicit an answer. But an answer to what? Just the question on its face? Or the deeper misunderstanding posed by the question? In business, when you are building a team, you must pay very close attention and read between the lines […]

The advantages of starting a business when you are undercapitalized are priceless. They can force you to be creative, resourceful, and frugal. They focus your attention on sales to achieve a positive cash flow quickly, before you go out of business.  They can save you from squandering cash on expenses that don’t produce income. But […]

You won’t get too much argument against the proposition that an excellent customer experience results in return customers, loyalty, and even advocacy. But few owners are aware that the terms their own people use can sour their hard earned customers on an otherwise great experience. These terms may pop up in those critical interfaces where […]

Most companies, in their attempt to present the image of stability and security to their employees, will deliberately prevent them from knowing about the challenges the company faces. They fear their people will jump ship if they know that the company is facing difficulties. They put their people on a strictly need-to-know basis. This may […]

“Sales? That’s not my job.” It’s not how you get the entrepreneurial spirit. It’s how you lose it! Companies can reverse engineer the entrepreneurial spirit back into their companies by returning to the backbone of that spirit — sales. Every garage startup must have the entrepreneurial spirit to survive. Many successful businesses were once garage […]

Take a look around the entrepreneurial landscape today, and you’d think all you need to succeed is to have a good idea. The field of entrepreneurship is littered with motivational messages urging us to quit our 9-5 day jobs, pitch a great idea, and then the money will magically start pouring in. Sadly, this is […]

“What? Aren’t you a millionaire yet? Don’t you have an international best seller yet? Well, step right up! Have I got the quick fix for you!” Or so it goes with most hype-sters pandering to your impatience and human laziness. We all want it faster and easier, and we’re all sure there’s a secret or […]