Announcing The Barefoot Startup’s Guiding Principles for Success (GPS)TM.

This video series is designed for aspiring, startup, and growth-phase entrepreneurs in all industries who want to benefit from our considerable experience building and selling Barefoot Wine, an iconic international consumer products brand.

This is a wide-ranging collection of hard-learned lessons that are easy to understand and will be of great benefit to beginners and experienced business people alike. The lessons are designed to show you how to save time, money and precious resources.

We discuss the three core competencies that every business has to master… no matter what the business. These competencies are: cash flow management, personnel management, and distribution management. Proficiency in all three is a must for success! We provide the primary objectives of each core competency, and share with you the key guiding principles that apply to each one. We also provide the standards to guide you to better decisions in these crucial areas, these are game changers!

The videos are dynamically organized and presented in 4 modules, each one under an hour, presented each week over 30 days: (1) Starters for Startups (Start off on the Right Foot), (2) Be Resourceful (Cash Flow Management), (3) Engage and Empower Your People (Personnel Management) and (4) Sales Is King (Distribution Management). After each module, we offer a live Q&A session for another 45 minutes to answer your burning questions!

(1) Starters for Startups (Start off on the Right Foot): Thinking about our own experiences, we realized that if we knew more about where we were headed, we would have done things differently from the start. So, the first module begins by asking a lot of questions we wish, in retrospect, we had asked. For instance, why are you in business? How big do you want to become? How do you discover the key metrics that help set your goals for a capitalization event (public stock offering, an investment partner or acquisition)? How do you organize your documents – and why? And the list goes on. The answers to these questions will lay a solid foundation that you will thank yourself for later.

(2) Be Resourceful (Cash Flow Management): The cash flow report replaces the business plan on day one. Just how do you make ends meet? How can you increase your cash and reduce and extend your payments right away? The answers we have may surprise you.

(3) Engage and Empower Your People (Personnel Management): You are going to be working with people. How you treat, compensate and engage your personnel will build your business, forge and grow critical relationships with outside vendors, buyers, and lenders – AND will reduce the #1 hidden cost of business, turnover.

(4) Sales Is King (Distribution Management): Ultimately you’ve got to sell your products. That means you will have to depend on others to get your products to the ultimate end users. How you manage your distribution channel will have a bigger impact on your success than the price, quality, or demand for your products. Sales can be easily stopped anywhere in the distribution channel at any level. We will tell you what skills, attitudes and specific relationships are required to keep the pipeline full and moving.

For those first to sign up for the series, we will give free bonuses including info-graphics, Due-Diligence Checklist for Acquisition, Top 10 Questions to Ask an Investment Broker, Case Study of the Barefoot Brand, exclusive membership in the GPS Community Forum, and detailed worksheets for each module to keep businesses on course.

We will offer a free one-hour introductory webinar so folks can test drive the “The Barefoot Startup’s GPS” If you (or any one you know) would like to discover the secrets of what we’ve learned in 20 years of building a top global brand, now is your chance! This is the first time we are offering this exclusive, boots-on-the-ground information designed specifically to help others gain an edge in their industry.

Sign up now and we will notify you when our free introductory webinar will be available. You’ll receive a few of our expert business resources right away to help boost your bottom line.

We offer you the solutions that proved successful for us- against overwhelming odds! And we learned to have fun along the way! We are thrilled to now have the opportunity to share these lessons with you, to make a difference in your business and future.

To your success!

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.

The post The Barefoot Startup’s GPS Will Help You Succeed in Business appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

Today it seems like there is an epidemic of employee’s calling in “sick” when they really just don’t want to go to work. Does the problem really lie solely with them, or can we as employers do something to improve the situation? To understand what’s really going on, take a good look at your workplace. Your environment, communication, and working conditions can be important contributing factors to bogus “sick” call-ins.

Some folks are simply sick of their job. They feel unappreciated, bored, and ignored. They think their job isn’t going anywhere, and they don’t see how they make a difference in the big scheme of things. In other words, they are disengaged from work and it doesn’t mean much more than a paycheck. So, why not take the day off or stay out too late the night before?

If you want to change their attitude, you have to change your ways. Here are five things we advise our clients today that we did building the Barefoot brand that practically eliminated phony sick calls:

1. Build Team Spirit. Put your people on the same team with clear annual, quarterly, and monthly goals that break right down to their job. Spend more time in orientation.  Show them graphically that the money for their salaries, bonuses, vacations. and benefits come ultimately, from the customer. Share your challenges with them and ask for their ideas. Write memos to the entire staff on anniversaries touting each employee’s accomplishments for the past year and how their work improved everybody’s security and advancement. Have out-of-the-office events. Have fun with titles and don’t take yourself too seriously.
2. Create a Supportive Environment. Make sure the lighting is full spectrum “sunlight” and where possible, have plenty of natural light. Insure climate control is right for every work area. Invest in the most healthful office furnishings, such as ergonomic furniture that reduces fatigue. Choose colors that support the moods conducive to their type of work. Eliminate frustration with equipment by having an on-staff IT person who can “fix anything.” Provide adequate parking and security. Be sensitive to the design of work spaces whether it be private offices or open areas where your people work together.
3. Give Time Off. To reduce phony sick call-ins, give your people more time off! But do it in a strategic way that makes it more valuable. There are three months in the year that don’t have legal holidays: June, August, and March or April, depending on when Easter falls. In those months, give them a Friday off, but choose the one that is equidistant between the two nearest bank holidays. Give it a fun name (we called ours “Barefoot Days”). Then, give them a day off for their birthday. Lastly, give them all the time between holidays and the weekends off. You will be surprised at how your production increases!  Suddenly, there’s no more long hauls without a break resulting in a predictable cadence to their work periods.
4. Pay for Performance. Many employees feel that they are paid unfairly because they make the same as those who are less productive. That’s because most compensation plans are based on hourly pay, which is paying for attendance, so folks “attend” work. They don’t necessarily contribute, improve, or add to the bottom line. When you are paying for performance with a performance bonus, the producers can’t afford to leave and the non-producers can afford to stay.
5. A Greater Good. Your company must stand for something greater than your product or service. Take on a cause that resonates with your business and makes the world a better place. Make sure your own backyard is environmentally and socially positive. Involve your people in events your company supports that improve your community and our planet. Folks want to be proud of where they work and receive validation from their friends and family.

Of course, there is real illness and responsible people won’t spread it at work. But when your people feel like their job is exciting, rewarding, and important to the team, they won’t have a desire to call in “sick” because work will be so exciting, rewarding, and even fun!

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.

The post 5 Ways Businesses Can Reduce “Sick” Call-Ins appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

Michael was recently interviewed on The Chris Salcedo Show by the Blaze Radio Network. To listen to the interview, please visit

 Click here to play file in browser

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.

The post The Chris Salcedo Show appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

MARCH 8: SCHEINFELD CENTER PRESENTS…

A Conversation with Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey, Barefoot Wine Founders

Join us for yet another installment of our popular Enlightened Entrepreneurship Series as we interactively explore with Michael and Bonnie their extraordinary story of starting a company that became the number one selling wine in the nation.  Networking reception follows.  Space is limited and registration is required.  FREE EVENT.

  WHEN:  Friday, March 8, 2013

  WHERE:  Fe Bland Forum, BC Building

  TIME:  4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

  RSVP: Click Here to Register

Sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Small Business Development Center.

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.

The post Michael and Bonnie will be Speaking at The Scheinfeld Center in Santa Barbara, CA- SOLD OUT appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.