Everyone makes mistakes. No one likes admitting to them. As business people we worry that customers will be intolerant of our missteps and foul-ups. The truth is, though, denying them only magnifies an already awkward situation and ends up hurting your reputation. Handling them right, on the other hand, can actually shore up relationship, spark […]

No budget for advertising? Maybe you’re better off.     You have a great product that nobody’s buying because they’ve never heard of it. Without sales, you don’t have the money to advertise. Without advertising, you can’t build sales. It’s a familiar conundrum, but there might be a good solution: Instead of advertising, give your […]

by Steve Olenski Last December, my fellow FORBES contributor Robert Reiss, wrote a great piece entitled “The Incredible Story Of Starting The World’s Largest Wine Brand, Barefoot Wines.” The article was essentially a get-to-know two amazing people who launched what is now an iconic brand in a laundry room of a rented farmhouse in the Sonoma County hills. I […]

We recently enjoyed watching several movies at Cinequest, an annual film festival that took place over several days in downtown San Jose in the heart of Silicon Valley. Cinequest was voted the “Best Film Festival” in the country by USA today, and after witnessing it in person, we can see why. All the films we […]

As a leader, you’re hyper-focused on your company’s productivity, profits, and growth. Wouldn’t it be nice if your employees were as focused on those factors as you and the company’s other executives? Sure, they do what you tell them. They come in every day and perform every task within their job descriptions. But often that’s […]

You love sharing a new restaurant or hiking trail with your friends, right? It’s part of human nature to want to share a new discovery with others. You not only sincerely want to improve their lives, but you also want to be appreciated for doing so. You certainly can’t enlighten them about something if you […]

When you start a business, it seems like the hype-type descend on you like the plague. You file for a license, a domain, or even a DBA, and bam! They are at your door! We went to a conference recently and one speaker actually advised the audience, “Ya wanna get rich? Find the next gold rush!” He […]

Q&A: Bonnie Harvey & Michael Houlihan Executive Briefings is an online event with a similar kind of context that C-Suite has for physical events. During one of our recent Briefings, Bonnie Harvey and Michael Houlihan of Barefoot Wine joined us to discuss how to engage and empower your employees with a sales centric culture. Barefoot […]

Gary Vaynerchuk says entrepreneurs are born, not made. We disagree! Early exposure to the entrepreneurial mindset can be the difference between young minds knowing that entrepreneurial success is possible and never finding out. Sometimes something happens at a very early age that opens the door to entrepreneurship as a valid alternative. What is that? The […]

Some customers simply aren’t worth the effort and then take time and energy from customers who deserve and will appreciate your attention, according to Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey, authors of The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways to Engage and Empower Your People. Based on their suggestions (and a bit of my own experience) here are the […]