The impression you and your company make on your buyers and business associates is what keeps them coming back – or not. Buyers don’t buy your product so much as they buy you! So, what do they think about you, your manners, and your values? How can you demonstrate through your everyday business dealings […]

Check out this great movie presented by the Barefoot Wine and Bubbly Team.  As the Founders of the Barefoot Wine brand, we forged a partnership with the Surfrider Association more than 15 years ago. Our new book, “The Barefoot Spirit”, chronicles the beginnings of the Barefoot Wine Brand and our commitment to worthy cause marketing with […]

Does your company regard its staff as a commodity, information as a currency, and operate on a need-to know basis? If so, you may be missing one of the primary advantages of Human Resources – good ideas.  Some of the best ideas can come from your own people. These include problem solving, creative approaches, and […]

Does your company suffer from the “not invented here” syndrome? Many companies believe all the answers must originate from within. In fact, most good business principles have been in existence for a long time. Don’t waste valuable time and money expecting your people to come up with all the right answers. They can actually ignore […]

If you think all you’re selling is a product, think again. In order to continue to do business with your new buyer, you must also sell a service. The demand for customer service increases significantly after the first sale is made. That’s when your customer sees if you stand behind your products, and how you […]

For the most part, there is usually no shortage of products. There is, however, a big shortage of Purchase Orders. Why tie up precious dollars in bricks and mortar when you really need to spend them on marketing and merchandising? It’s possible, and in many cases preferable, to outsource as much production and services as […]

Today most people are so busy they shudder at anything new coming across their desks. If they can say no, get back to you later, or send you to someone else, they can get back to whatever they were doing before you “interrupted” them. Here are 10 ways to get results in an overworked and […]

When you look at the earth from space, or even your city from an airplane, you can’t help but think how relatively small we really are in the scheme of things. Imagine if your office chair was able to blast off slowly like rocket at Cape Canaveral. As you slowly ascend you see your business […]

Recently, while attending a Wine Industry Symposium, I had the good fortune to sit next to a fellow consultant, James J. Downes of BBK, an international business advisory firm. Over lunch, the conversation quickly got down to what we each thought were the biggest mistakes growing businesses make today. Jim’s list sounded strangely familiar because […]

Some people think “culture” is what you get in your yogurt. So called “company culture” starts from the top and permeates throughout your organization. The attitudes, principles, philosophies and values of owners like you and your managers shape the decisions, actions, and motivation of your employees. The morale of your people and the impressions of […]