Event | The Barefoot Spirit

University of Lethbridge Teaches Marketing and Management with Real World Experience

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 18:00:23 +0000

This week we were the Executives in Residence at one of Canada’s premier universities, the University of Lethbridge, with campuses in Calgary, Edmonton, and Lethbridge. In addition to delivering keynotes to several hundred students, faculty, and business leaders, we are also speaking to individual marketing and business management classes about the lessons we learned building the Barefoot Wine brand.

One professor asked us to speak about how we conducted marketing research and acquired information before the launch of our product.

When Barefoot started, we didn’t have a preconceived idea about what we wanted to do. We knew only that it was going to be a wine product. Barefoot Wines was the end result of our efforts to collect a long over-due debt for a grape farmer. Instead of cash, we did a trade for bulk wine and bottling services.

Now we just had to transform the raw materials into cash to pay the debt. But not so fast! This meant that we had to find a buyer for a finished, branded product. We had no idea what was needed or how it should look, but we knew that the chain stores were buying wine in huge quantities, so that was where we started.

We did something that in retrospect seems obvious, but it wasn’t obvious to any marketers with previously designed finished products. Rather than pitch the features and benefits of what we created, we asked the largest buyer in our region what he needed. What he told us was the key to accessing the market in the first place. Never mind the way the brand developed and succeeded. It had to get into the market first.

We acquired the critical marketing information we needed, not from pouring over piles of data, not from extensive focus groups, and not even from interviewing successful brand owners in our industry. We didn’t have the funds nor the time for that approach.

Instead we asked the consumers what they wanted, the warehouse workers how to assure correct deliveries, the clerks what products got the greatest reorders, and the bottling line managers what labels they bottled the most. We asked the retail buyers what price the market would bear for what kind of package and product. Then we worked backwards to develop our product, logo, and budget.

We didn’t realize it at the time, but due to our time pressure and being industry outsiders, we actually collected better, more current, and more relevant marketing information than if we had approached the challenge in a more traditional way.

In fact, the Barefoot brand concept could not have originated from within the wine industry at that time, nor could it have originated from any conventional approach to marketing research. It would have been prejudiced by the way questions were formulated and the way things had been done in the past. In an effort to copy or compete with other successful brands in the space, Barefoot would have turned out just like them. Barefoot was out-of-the-box because it’s founders where never in the box and had the audacity to ask everyone who touched their product for advice. They collected marketing information from the people who physically dealt with products in their category every day. Most had never been asked before.

We laud the management and marketing curriculum at Lethbridge University because it incorporates the experiences and learnings of real-life successful entrepreneurs who overcame the toughest challenges in new and creative ways. We are honored to be a case study and adjunct to their commitment to create the next generation of business leaders.

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Happy Holidays!

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 19:30:48 +0000

Well it’s that time of year again when we reach out to friends and family to let them know that they are important to us. It’s even better when we can spend some time with them. We love this time of year because it reminds us that family and friendship is what it’s all about.

During the year, it’s easy to get wrapped up in work, carried away by “making progress,” and becoming so focused that we forget to say, “Hey, you’re important to me” to the people that matter most. But no matter what your faith, the holidays force us to put on the brakes and spend special time with those we love. In fact it’s an institution that is hard to ignore. If it’s not the familiar holiday music, it’s the decorations everywhere. They’re all signaling us that it’s time to get back to basics, it’s time to touch base, and it’s time to be a real human being again. And do it quickly before this year is history!

Thank goodness for this annual reminder! Sure, it always seems like it arrives way too fast and we’re always unprepared. As the clock counts down, we may even feel pressured to visit friends, buy presents for family, and call everyone we can’t see. But wait! Let’s get back to what’s really going on here. We’re being reminded by these holidays to show appreciation for who’s really important to us in our lives.

And if we haven’t connected as much as we would like to during the year, we are reminded that this is our last chance before the year is over. In the process, we are also reminded how busy we have become that we may have inadvertently relegated some important relationships to a lower priority than our work, career or projects. In fact, if it wasn’t for the holidays we may even lose track of some of those important relationships. We ourselves certainly fit into that profile more than we would like to.

But this is what we are all working for; this is what we all have at the end of the day and the end of the year, family and friends. So try not to see it as a chore and don’t feel under pressure. Be grateful that you have some folks that you care for and who care for you. Be grateful that you can spend some time and show them that you truly appreciate the relationship you have with them, even if you don’t express that during the year. As far as business is concerned, it’s OK to hang it up for a while. You have permission to take some time to give and receive appreciation!

We want to take this opportunity to give appreciation to each and every one of our readers, all of the students of entrepreneurship who have listened to us, all of the professors and academicians who have hosted us, and all the organizations that have brought us in to keynote their events over the past year. We wish you all the happiest of holidays and the very best for you and yours for the New Year. And yes, you are important to us!

Happy Holidays!

Michael and Bonnie

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Chambers of Commerce Provide the Building Blocks for a Healthy Economy

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 19:30:05 +0000

Throughout the country, local businesses continue to provide the majority of employment and economic opportunity. Organized into local chambers of commerce, they seek to work together to maximize relationships between their members, provide environments conducive to healthy business, and attract new commercial enterprises that add benefit to existing businesses. These local chambers also provide information on the latest local developments, alerts about scams and burglaries, and announcements about upcoming events that will impact their members.

We recently spoke to the members of the Gloucester County Chamber of Commerce in Southern New Jersey. Together with Rowan University, they put on what they called a soirée . The evening started with a meet and greet where we discovered that the Gloucester County Chamber had a long history of support for the University and especially for their entrepreneurial initiatives. They had, In fact, underwritten the evening’s program that involved wine tastings from local wineries, plentiful appetizers and a sumptuous meal hosted by one of their members, a top caterer in his own beautiful lakeside venue. As their guest speakers, we spoke about how we supported our community, and vice versa, to tie in our past to their future.

When Barefoot started, we were broke and didn’t know where to turn for financing. We didn’t own any property, so the bank was pretty much out. We had to rely on our suppliers and our buyers to help us achieve positive cash flow. They had a financial stake in our success because our growth and the greater availability of our products would result in more purchases of their goods and services by us. They were all there for us at our local chambers!

Today we encourage students of entrepreneurship to join their local chamber when they start their businesses to get an idea of the far reaching resources available in their own communities. These folks are natural strategic allies and they are already networked. Through their considerable contacts they can put aspiring entrepreneurs in touch with the right people. Local businesses are more likely to understand the ups and downs of a new business and are more willing to be flexible to help make them be successful.

Our local chamber knew us and our goals. They wanted to contribute to our success. We even used barter with local businesses in the early days to get graphics, bookkeeping, legal, and compliance services performed. As Barefoot grew, we continued to use local merchants for our increasing need for supplies and services. We purchased grapes, wine and even recycled glass locally. Eventually we got a local bank to take a chance and give us a line of credit. All of our professional services were locally sourced.

Working with our local chamber paid off for us, and them. And that’s the whole idea of a chamber, working together so everyone benefits, and that inures to our residential communities as well, providing top notch goods and services, places of employment, economic stability and a higher standard of living.

The Gloucester County Chamber of Commerce Is a shining example of how local businesses can have regional and even national impact. Their support for the new wine industry (yes, wineries in New Jersey!) will have a domino effect on small businesses as tourists from Philadelphia, just 30 miles away, discover a new reason to visit Gloucester County. Their support for Rowan University and its entrepreneurial teachings will pay off with local start-ups that hold the promise of becoming the seeds for the future economy of Gloucester County. Bravo!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Norway’s University of Science and Technology at Trondheim Sparks the Entrepreneurial Spirit

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 19:30:39 +0000

Every year the students at Norwegian University of Science and Technology mix it up to encourage entrepreneurship. NTNU is Norway’s largest technical institute with over 29,000 students engaged in the sciences and technology; along with a thriving entrepreneurial spirit, impressive student body and curriculum.

Many of the students start their own businesses even before they graduate. Others are set on venturing out on their own with great apps, scientific breakthroughs and consumer products right after graduation. Still others are considering becoming entrepreneurs. Where they all come together with successful entrepreneurs, faculty, and a fun party is at their annual Mixer.

The students themselves organize and run the Mixer, deciding on the theme, program, presentations and speakers. This year’s theme was networking and why it is essential for business success. We were honored to be their keynote speakers.

Over 250 students showed up in festive attire to partake in an evening of networking, socializing and inspiration. Several students took the stage to describe their own businesses and how they got them launched. Industry leaders were there to encourage the crowd.

Our focus was on how important networking was to our success. We told them to first identify the customer, then understand that everybody who touches your product is your customer. Find out what each person at every level of the distribution channel needs. Most were surprised to hear that success has less to do with their product or service, but is more about the all-important personal relationships.

We warned against “falling in love with your product” so much so that you discount the effect distribution has on your product’s success. Barefoot succeeded not just because it was a great value with a catchy label and unique positioning, we told them, but more importantly, because it made it through the legal, distribution, and retail systems which enabled it to actually get to the customer. This took extensive relationships at every level of many networks.

We did not stop at satisfying our customers’ mercantile needs. We found out what they were interested in beyond our product category and that was conservation, human rights, education and the arts. By supporting the causes our customers held dear, we gave them a social reason to choose our products.

We advised the students to similarly take a close look at their customers’ interests at every level, from their own employees to their wholesalers, the sales managers, salespeople, retailers, clerks, and all the way to their end-user and beyond, the groups to which he/she belongs. We believe in the power of seeing things from the other person’s perspective by putting yourself in the other person’s shoes.

Worthy Cause Marketing is a concept we pioneered that supports nonprofit groups in the hopes that their goals would be realized and that their members would choose to use the products and services of an ally. By working with these groups, entrepreneurs can gain access to a network that is already established and that would otherwise take years to achieve through expensive commercial advertising.

We emphasized that ultimately face time beats Facebook and high touch beats high tech when it comes to gaining and keeping the trust of your network. We encouraged them to get out from behind their screen and physically meet their distributers and customers.

Our goal was to encourage these aspiring Norwegian entrepreneurs by showing them the course our products had to take to get to market. We gave them concrete examples of how we used networking, support for worthy causes and personal relationships to become successful. One student said afterwards, “Wow! You made me feel like I can do it too!” We couldn’t have asked for more.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Halloween – Different Strokes For Different Folks

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 18:30:44 +0000

As we travel throughout the world, it’s interesting to see how different cultures celebrate Halloween. In the U.S. it’s mostly ghosts and goblins, vampires and gore with trick or treat, costumes and parties. In certain Latin American cultures, they have a holiday that occurs the days after Halloween that is more personal and respectful, honoring family and friends who have passed away, even setting a special place for them at the dinner table. The name Halloween refers to “All Hallows Eve,” the night before All Saints Day. Día De Los Murtos (on Nov. 1^st and 2^nd) celebrates the former lives of personal family and friends first, and then celebrating the public saints of the church.

But for us personally, Halloween has an even greater significance. We had hardly known each other for more than an hour when we discovered, much to our surprise, that Bonnie’s mother and Michael’s father were born on the same day of the year: Halloween! Now that’s scary! What are the odds?

Interestingly, they both had similar traits. Both were hard-working, supportive, and practical, and both sported a wry sense of humor.

Bonnie’s mother, Mabel, was a “Rosie the Riveter” when she was 25 during World War II. She welded the Liberty Ships together that provided the backbone of the war effort in the Pacific. She was a salt-of-the-earth type that everybody called “mom.” She was an organic blueberry farmer in the foothills of Oregon’s Mt. Hood. Mabel was big hearted and wise. She had the ability to read people quickly. Her advice was usually on target, and we quickly learned the advantages of following it.

When she contracted emphysema from those years of inhaling acetylene as a welder, we asked her time and again to come and live with us in a dryer climate. We even showed her pictures of her own room at our place, but she wouldn’t budge. Finally, we told her we really needed her help to get Barefoot Wines going – then she was on the next plane. She wanted only to know she was needed. And what a help she was! She planted an organic vegetable garden; she folded T-shirts and packaged signs for our distributers; and she pitched in on all the chores! She even came up with the name Barefoot Bubbly for our sparkling wine!

Michael’s father, John, was an attorney who worked his way up to become the Mayor of Oakland. He was a big supporter of containerized shipping when it was only a concept, and worked with the Mayor of Fukuoka, Japan to pioneer container trade between the two similar port cities. Coincidently, the first container ships were made from mothballed Liberty Ships, the same kind Mable built during the war. This time they took all the rigging above deck off two ships, cut one in half, cut the prow and the stern off the other, inserted the midsection between the two halves and – voila! A long, flat ship ready for containers!

John was the only son of Irish immigrant parents who moved to San Francisco at the turn of the 20^th century. His father was a cop who walked the Mission District, then an Irish ghetto. John put a great value on education and saw to it that his own children got good ones. With regard to customer service, he’d say, “Make up your mind. Do you want to make a statement or do you want to make a deposit?” With regard to good ideas he’d say, “Good ideas are like belly buttons – everybody’s got one. You’ve got to push it to get it going, then you have to run to keep up with it, and nobody has time for two!”

On Halloween we honor our two tenacious and spicy parents whose examples guided us to create a brand that has employed many fine people, supported hundreds of great causes, and provided a hearty laugh or two! Happy Halloween! M&B

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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The Whole World Looks to the United States as the Cradle of Entrepreneurship

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 04 Oct 2014 18:30:11 +0000

As we travel throughout the world and speak about our entrepreneurial experiences and the lessons we’ve learned, we were surprised to discover that the United States is viewed by our international audiences as the cradle of entrepreneurship. Of course, there is leading-edge entrepreneurship in many countries, but none have quite the public cultural support for risk takers like the United States.

Many countries, we find out, have cultures that actually discourage people from starting their own businesses. Their families remind them of the many who have tried and failed. They encourage them instead to go for the security of employment with the government or a large corporation. Some actually view starting your own business as foolhardy and bound for failure. If the young person’s enterprise does fail, they are too often chided with “I told you so.”

By contrast, in the United States we not only understand that our economy is supported by entrepreneurship, but we have deep respect and admiration for those who have taken the risks, suffered the sacrifices, and had the tenacity to see their entrepreneurial concepts become a reality. In the United States, entrepreneurs are often revered like folk heroes, with movies celebrating their challenges and accomplishments; on television shows like Shark Tank; and publications like Entrepreneur, Fast Company, and Inc.

American public and social media increasingly offer articles and tips on the hows and whys of successful entrepreneurship. Sure it’s risky and many enterprises fail, but in the United States we view failure, as Edison once said, as successfully discovering what doesn’t work along the path to success.

This week we were honored to be keynote speakers at the Western Region EO Alchemy annual conference held in Las Vegas. This event brought together members from chapters of Entrepreneurs’ Organizations from the western United States. For the Entrepreneurs’ Organization to choose Las Vegas for this conference was both fitting and symbolic. These are the real gamblers, betting on themselves, betting on their teams and betting on their enterprises.

Simply put, it was all about mitigating risk with proven methods, attitudes, and processes that give these gamblers a fighting chance. At EO Alchemy, as it is called, we heard from entrepreneurs of all ages, sharing their lessons and best practices. That’s right, they were here sharing their secrets, and helping each other to succeed! Far from the classic view of dog-eat-dog competition, these EO members had one goal: sharing their experiences so that all their members would find the success they’ve found.

The event’s culture of support for entrepreneurs attracted several entrepreneurs from other countries including the Netherlands, Mexico and India. Those delegates told us how much they appreciated the unselfish sharing, stories of challenge and success, and the concrete practices they can’t wait to get home and try in their own businesses.

The entire experience made us proud to be part of the American entrepreneurial culture that says, “We did it. You can do it!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Keynote Speakers Set the Tone for Your Conference

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 09 Aug 2014 18:30:59 +0000

We have been honored to be keynote speakers for a wide variety of clients from conventions to conferences to symposiums. Since we deliver keynotes regularly, we are often asked, “What is a keynote speaker, and what is the best way to find them?”

A keynote speaker in our experience, is a guest speaker who delivers the key “notes” or themes for the event. They must also have the ability to fill the seats by attracting attendees to the event whether they are famous motivational speakers or ordinary corner speakers. Even though event planners look for celebrity speakers, or even famous speakers, they must operate within their budgets.

Most of the events where we speak have several guest speakers but typically only one or two are considered the keynote speakers. Usually it’s for the opening or closing key notes. The organizers want the opening speech to not only entertain, educate, and inspire their group, but they want the content to set the tone (i.e. the “note” for the conference). They want the closing speech to sum up the underlying message of the conference and, ideally, leave the attendees with an inspiring message and tools they can use. They know that folks generally remember the first thing they hear and the last thing they hear, so they want to open and close with their key message.

Opening keynotes tend to capture attention and put the audience in the right frame of mind to appreciate and get the most out of the guest speakers that follow. The closing keynotes tend to remind the audience of general theme of the conference and send them home on high “note.” But how do you find great keynote speakers?

For years it seems the speakers bureaus had a monopoly on accessing well-known keynote speakers and motivational speakers. To a large extent, they still do. Speakers bureaus appear to be based on several different models and combinations thereof:

1. Agent. This model represents the speakers themselves and operates on a percentage of the speaker’s fees. Agents typically promote the speakers that garner the highest fees, more like a speaker’s representative.

2. Outsource. These bureaus position themselves as working for the event planners and helping them match the best speakers with the particular topics and needs of the conference. This model can gain the on-going trust of the event planners once they have a track record of consistently hitting the mark. After a while, they can “own” the annual conference.

3. Venue. This model works with or is owned by the venues that offer their conference clients ”one-stop” shopping with everything from a facility to catering, from lodging to logistics, and from entertainment to great speakers.

But thanks to social media, the professional speaking business is beginning to change and open up possibilities for independents like us. Word of great candidates can spread through personal and business networks like Twitter and LinkedIn. It’s now much easier for organizers to access speakers directly, check out their websites, see their credentials, read their reviews, and view their speaking reels. The biggest competition facing the speaking bureaus these days is word-of-mouth. When someone in the organization sees a great keynote speaker, they bring them directly to the attention of the organizers. There’s nothing like first-hand, inside referrals to get new, independent keynote speakers booked!

We are primarily business speakers. We speak together as a gender-balanced business couple. Our message is designed to inspire, motivate, and help businesses succeed. We use our history of building a famous brand, starting with virtually nothing, to demonstrate our “Guiding Principles for Success” (GPS) with fun stories and lessons learned the hard way.

We haven’t been represented by a speakers bureau but instead we rely solely on word of mouth, academic and business endorsements, and networking. We spend considerable time discovering the goals of the organizers to see if there is a fit and tailor our talks to their goals. Our greatest reward is getting a note of thanks that says, “You guys really nailed it!”

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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You Can’t Teach Entrepreneurship Without Sales Training

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 18:30:12 +0000

At the recent International Conference on Small Business (ICSB) World Conference on Entrepreneurship in Dublin Ireland, the Asian delegates gave Michael the nickname “King of Sales.” Now we have to laugh whenever we receive an email with the salutation, “Dear King of Sales.” It’s not a title he feels he earned, but recognizes that it was given in fun and refers to his insistence that successful entrepreneurship must begin with sales.

We certainly emphasized this truism at each of our four talks during the ICSB Conference. Speaking at more than twenty five schools of entrepreneurship in the past year has given us a unique snapshot of the state of the art of entrepreneurship education. We were surprised to see how few schools teach a course in sales as an essential class or requirement.

In business, it’s not enough to sell your ultimate customer. You must also sell your own people, your vendors, your lenders, your wholesalers, and your retailers. Each sale is essential to keep your goods and services moving, reduce your need for capital, reduce turnover, and gain access to the market.

We often say the best salesperson is the assistant buyer. You can’t be an assistant buyer unless you understand the buyers’ needs. You have to demonstrate your dependability and that of your products and services for some time to achieve “assistant buyer” status.

So why should this be such a novel idea to so many in the academic community? We think it is because of how entrepreneurship education evolved. It’s a relatively new major and degree, so it’s still in a state of flux with each school trying a little something different. Generally, entrepreneurship is seen as an add-on to the business school.

The business school does a fine job of creating entry-level managers for large corporations. In fact many of those large corporations help fund these schools. But what is the attitude of those corporations with regard to salespeople and does it rub off on the schools with the support they receive?

In most large corporations, sales is just one of many departments and has a relatively low status. The salespeople are outside and the C-Suite is inside. Sales is below marketing in most company structures. Add to this our historical and cultural prejudice against salespeople. Movies such as “The Music Man” or “Used Cars” reinforce our conditioning as a society to be skeptical of salespeople.

When entrepreneurship is seen as the stepchild of the business school, the importance of sales can easily be overlooked in favor of form and function. Interestingly, most schools have degrees in marketing, and some teach that marketing is the sole revenue-producing system. As we understand it, marketing supports sales by producing materials and programs that can be used by the sales force to increase sales and profits. And, when marketing takes advice from sales, the knowledge gained from talking directly to wholesalers, retailers, and customers is translated into effective marketing plans.

The subject and teaching of sales in entrepreneurial courses must be a requirement for anyone who plans on starting his or her own business. Putting salespeople on the bottom has no place in a start-up. We laud the increasing number of schools of entrepreneurship who are taking sales seriously, teaching real-world techniques and strategies, thus giving their grads a better chance of being in business three years later. Every grad should be the “King of Sales!”

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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At What Age Should Entrepreneurial Thinking Be Taught?

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 17:36:25 +0000

Should we be teaching the mindset necessary for successful entrepreneurship beginning much earlier than college? By postponing the consideration of self-employment until after high school are educational institutions actually discouraging their students from entrepreneurial thinking?

Earlier this week we were honored to be keynote speakers at the 2014 International Council on Small Business – World Conference on Entrepreneurship. Each year the conference brings together the best minds in entrepreneurial thinking and education from around the world.

With the collective recognition that entrepreneurship is the key to world financial health and prosperity, in over a five-day period close to a thousand academic and business leaders addressed a series of cutting-edge topics designed to increase the number of successful entrepreneurs worldwide. They gathered this year in Dublin, Ireland to share best practices and innovative approaches to teaching entrepreneurship.

During one of the sessions we particularly enjoyed, the question was asked, “At what age should students begin learning techniques for entrepreneurial thinking?” The four-person panel was made up of two professors and two successful entrepreneurs from four countries including Jordan, Pakistan, UK, and Ireland. All agreed that entrepreneurial education should begin much earlier than at college level. In fact, they suggested that the mindset could be taught as early as ages 8 through 13.

So what is the entrepreneurial mindset they are advocating? It’s not necessarily promoting entrepreneurship itself as much as it is promoting the kind of thinking necessary to choose it as an alternative form of employment. This choice requires both a level of confidence and risk tolerance. It requires a level of resourcefulness and innovation that enables the entrepreneur to mitigate risk, and to recognize and seize opportunities. By encouraging creativity and problem solving in grammar school, our youth will be better prepared to make decisions about their choices in the future.

Interestingly, the United States was held up repeatedly as a great model that encourages young students to consider self-employment as a valid alternative to becoming an employee. The international group credited that advantage in part to the proliferation of pro-entrepreneurial media in the US. From the television show Shark Tank to magazines such as Inc., Entrepreneur, and Fast Company, entrepreneurs are elevated to rock star status. They are looked up to for overcoming adversity and achieving success with innovative and disrupting approaches to new goods and services.

The panelists suggested that in the absence of that type of entrepreneurial culture, most students would never consider entrepreneurship as a valid alternative unless it was introduced to them in grade school. They went so far as to say that in most countries, younger students were being groomed by default as employees exclusively. Ironically most employers would rather hire employees with entrepreneurial thinking, employees that understood the business process, and employees who had empathy for the plight of their employer as a risk taker.

We agree with the panelists and believe that creative thinking, resourcefulness, and problem-solving techniques should be taught in grammar school. We think that understanding the business process at an early age can open young eyes to the possibilities all around them and give them the ability to recognize an opportunity when it presents itself – and the confidence to pursue it. Additionally, these skills are essentials for a superior employee. There’s no down side to broaching the subject of entrepreneurship early and often. We wish the attendees of 2014 ICSB World Conference on Entrepreneurship the fortitude to make this goal a reality worldwide.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Bradley University

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 05 Apr 2014 19:40:30 +0000

We recently spoke and were both honored recipients of the 2014 Distinguished Entrepreneur Speaker awards at Bradley University in Peoria, IL. To read an article about us written by Matt Hawkins, please check out “Wisdom from the Grapevine”

To watch the complete speaking video, please click the play button below.

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