consumer | The Barefoot Spirit

Why Brand integrity Matters and How to Get It

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 00:09:39 +0000

There’s so much noise out there, you don’t have the luxury to try to be all things to all people. You must focus on the core value you offer to your customer.

We are successful consumer brand developers, but we made a ton of mistakes before we finally achieved our success.

In our impatience to achieve a positive cash flow as soon as possible, we diluted our brand message several times. We were desperately trying to find the perfect product-market fit that would please our buyers.

To read the complete article, please visit The Business Journals

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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These Business Tasks Should be Outsourced

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 18:00:36 +0000

As successful brand builders, we are often asked, “What is the biggest single mistake that new consumer product brand builders make?”

Our answer is always the same: “They focus on production and not on sales!”

Unfortunately, the first thing that goes through most startups’ heads is something like, “Oh, if I’m going to produce and sell a new branded product, I need a factory, an office, a big staff, trucks, warehouses, and several in-house professionals.” Then they write up a business plan and try to get financing to pay for the whole thing.

Plus, they cover a runway for six months to a year to achieve a positive cash flow.

To read the complete article, please visit The Busines Journals

Who We Are

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

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Russian Students Visit the Russian River!

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 25 Apr 2019 17:00:58 +0000

We recently had the honor of hosting 40 graduate entrepreneurship students from Skolkovo Moscow School of Management. They were here to tour Silicon Valley and gain knowledge from the shrines of American Entrepreneurship. At the end of their tech tour, we invited them up to the Russian River wine country. Here they enjoyed some time in nature, a few talks on entrepreneurship, an outdoor luncheon, a history lesson about grapes and wine in Sonoma County, and yes, a wine tasting.

Skolkovo is one of the top universities in the world and is associated with MIT. The students were in their 30s and many already had their own businesses. Others were either considering the prospects or just wanted a better understanding.

Introducing the Russian Students to Soft Skills

We knew they had seen a lot and heard a lot about hard tech in the Valley. Between the VCs and the auspicious examples of technical success, we figured they might appreciate a more natural environment and a talk on something entirely different, so we presented them with our course on “How Soft Skills Earn Hard Cash.”

We decided to take them through the three basic soft skills (Appreciation, Acknowledgement, and Communication), and how they apply to the three basic business relationships (Employees, Vendors, and Buyers).

Although soft skills are not the only thing you need to be a success, their absence can result in expensive and crippling turnover, higher costs, loss of credit, and loss of customers. In other words, there has to be a balance between tech skills and soft skills.

We were impressed with the students and their sincere interest in achieving business success. We started with what we had in common: a desire to have loyal and engaged employees, a need for extended credit and terms, and a need for ongoing and increasing business.

Even with the obvious cultural differences between our societies, business is business and people are people. How folks are treated makes a big difference in their discretionary decisions regarding your company’s products and services. And probably the most important consideration you can give others as a business person is respect for their concerns.

If they are employed by you, do you have their interests at heart?

Do you demonstrate it? For instance, can employees enhance their careers with your company? Do they get the compensation, recognition, education, security, and the time with their family they need to remain loyal?

If they are your vendor, do you treat their salespeople with respect?

Do you call in advance of a late payment with a plan to bring your account current? Do you consider a long-term contract so they can feel confident extending the terms and credit you need to grow your business?

If they are your buyer, do you service what you sell?

Do you honor your warranties? Do you provide the kind of support they need to stay with you, increase their purchases, and promote your products? Do you understand and address every level of buyer from your warehouse to your ultimate consumer so your products will move freely through the channels?

All of this really comes down to putting yourself in the other guy’s shoes. Know what they want, and get what you want by giving them what they want first. In other words, as our friend Ivan Misner likes to say, “Take off the bib and put on the apron!” Or, as we like to say, “If you are going to be a jerk, get out your wallet! It’s going to cost you more.”

These lessons are international and timeless. Anyone with a great idea that can change the world will have a much easier time doing so by practicing these soft skills. They can make the critical difference between success and failure.

When we first got into business, we thought that our product was so good, that it would sell itself (Gold Medal winners under $6). We couldn’t understand why the world wasn’t knocking out windows and kicking down doors to get to us. It cost us plenty of time, money, and anguish to finally learn and master these essential skills, which, ultimately, resulted in our major success.

We were thrilled to be able to share the practical benefits of soft skills in business with the impressive students of Skolkovo. We wish them the best in their own businesses and hope they will return for another visit to their “Outdoor Classroom in the Wine Country!” Надеюсь увидеть тебя снова в ближайшее время!

Who We Are

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

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Is Conventional Wisdom about Starting a Business All Wrong?

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 18:00:41 +0000

For years, we’ve been hearing from the business media about scaling fast, burn rates, and failing fast. Everything is fast, fast, fast! But the Department of Commerce puts the failure rate of new ventures at 90% within the first 5 years! Now, that is failing fast! But, is that the outcome startups are really looking to achieve?

Conventional investor wisdom is simple: just invest in 10 – 20 startups, play the numbers game and hope for a unicorn. And the unicorns fill the covers of the business magazines with unlikely stories of instant success. This certainly panders to their readers desire for a fast track to success. But like Las Vegas, it’s only the winners you hear about.

Building the Barefoot Wine brand, we made a ton of mistakes. Since the acquisition, we have been writing, speaking and blogging on two sites about our real-world experiences. We have spoken at over 50 schools that teach entrepreneurship and regularly contribute to several business publications. Our goal is to increase the odds of success by sharing insights that come from actually doing it, so others, like you, don’t have to make the same costly, time-consuming mistakes we did.

We have been promoting the Barefoot Startup movement in an uphill battle against the backdrop of this kind of conventional “fast wisdom” for years. Now, finally, some help is on the horizon. We are absolutely thrilled with the new business book: Shortcut Your Startup: Speed Up Success with Unconventional Advice from the Trenches.

It’s the brain child of Courtney and Carter Reum, the founders of M-13, “a diversified holding and branding development company at the nexus of consumer brands, media and technology.” Their new book promises to “flip traditional startup advice on its head.”

Hailing from the beverage alcohol business like ourselves, we have an added level of respect for this dynamic duo. They created VEEV Spirits and took it through every stage of development from identifying the market opportunity, hand selling, building their customer base, taking it national, expanding their line, and monetizing on their brand equity through a successful acquisition. From what we know first-hand about the difficulties of that particular industry, this is an amazing outcome to a daunting task!

They started VEEV after successful careers at Goldman Sachs. They wanted to create a “one of a kind vodka alternative” with a commitment to sustainability and innovation. And they did just that.

Since then, M-13 has invested and involved itself with over 130 companies in the consumer brand, media, and technology spaces like, Pinterest, Lyft, SpaceX, Warby Parker, Bonobos, Thrive Market, Tender Greens, Pressed Juicery, KeVita, Blue Bottle Coffee, BirchBox, Ring, and more.

Their new book, Shortcut Your Startup, is based on their own experiences and that of their associates. These real-world lessons are a must-read for any serious startup. Some of the principles with which we wholeheartedly agree include:

“Do What You Do Best, and Outsource the Rest.” This is always great advice. Too many startups try to do it all. We used outsourcing for most of our business functions so we could focus on sales and quality control.
“Nail It Before You Scale It.” We like this way of putting it. We say, “Don’t scale to fail,” and, “Get your act together before you take your show on the road.”
“Think Milestones, Not Time.” We advise our clients to understand the milestones and focus on their achievements no matter how long they take.
“Get into the Trenches.” We like to say, “Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty; you will gain insights you can’t see from your office.”
“Gain Buy-In with Heart-Based Momentum.” We advise or clients to “Give your customers a social reason to buy your products, and turn them into advocates.”

There’s much, much more in this great startup toolbox to help you achieve the success you have always imagined. We are proud to give Shortcut Your Startup two toes way up!

Who We Are

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

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The 7 Habits of Highly Brandable People

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 21:47:24 +0000

First published on Entrepreneur.com on 10/12/2017

Having built the wine brand Barefoot, we learned a few things about branding consumer products. Get your product in front of the folks who will benefit from it. Be clear about what you are selling. Distinguish your product from the competition. Understand and work the distribution system. Deliver a consistent message. If you want to build a successful consumer product brand, you don’t have the time nor the luxury to deviate from this path.

We’ve become experts at branding in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) space. But what if you want to build a personal brand? Are there definitive rules like branding packaged goods?

To read the complete article, please visit Entrepreneur.com

Who We Are

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

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The 4 Stages of Business Growth Each Present Their Own Challenges

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Wed, 07 Jun 2017 07:00:10 +0000

We like the way Jim Canfield of Renaissance Executive Forums defines the various stages of business growth. They provide a convenient classification that helps us recognize and appreciate the goals and challenges of each level of progression.

Here we apply his staging definitions to the physical consumer product business:

1. Start-up

This is the exciting phase when your business concepts are launched. First you must get through the pre-launch by raising enough capital to prove your concept. Then you must design, build, test and hone your product and marketing plan. Then you enter the real market.

Here you discover the misconceptions you had regarding what your customer really wants, and what that means to your product, package and pitch. The speed of this early course correction is critical. You must make many expensive changes at a time when you are racing the clock to achieve a positive cash flow.

Most studies put the start-up success rate at less than one in seven. The goal of the start-up phase is to prove your concept and achieve positive cash flow before running out of funds — or losing control of the company through subsequent rounds of financing.

To read the complete article, please visit The Business Journals

Who We Are

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

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Government Set to Terminate the Blue Energy Star Program

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 17:01:45 +0000

While we can understand the frustration many may have with our over blown bureaucracies and endless miles of red tape, we can’t understand the current administration’s budget blueprint to ax the immensely popular Energy Star Rating program. Ouch!

The program, now in its 25^th year, is beloved by consumer and the 16,000 companies and organizations that voluntarily participate to produce more efficient appliances to reduce energy consumption, dependence on foreign oil, and significantly reduce carbon emissions. According to the EPA’s Energy Star’s web site, “Energy use in homes, buildings, and industry account for two thirds of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. As of December 2013, families and businesses have realized estimated savings of more than $295 billion on utility bills and prevented more than 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the past two decades. The interplay of government, business, and market forces brought together through ENERGY STAR has changed the energy efficiency landscape.”

The Energy Star System is a simple no-brainer way of advising the consumer about the ultimate energy cost to them of appliances, homes, commercial buildings and industrial plants. The site adds, “ENERGY STAR has been instrumental in reducing this energy use in order to realize significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions – contributing to important health and environmental benefits by addressing the challenges of climate change while strengthening our economy. ENERGY STAR benefits have grown steadily over time, nearly tripling in the last decade.”

The program has wide-spread, bi-partisan support, is embraced by the Fortune 500 and represents a cooperative effort by many sectors of our economy from “manufacturers and trade associations, to retailers and efficiency program providers, to home builders and small businesses. ENERGY STAR has grown to represent products in more than 70 different categories, with more than 4.8 billion sold since 1992. More than 1.5 million new homes and more than 22,000 facilities proudly carry EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification, use dramatically less energy, and are responsible for substantially less greenhouse gas emissions than their peers.”

According to the site, “an ENERGY STAR clothes washer uses about 70 percent less energy and 75 percent less water than a standard washer used 20 years ago, (and) a home with the star is 15% more efficient. 85 percent of Americans recognize the blue ENERGY STAR label. Of the households that knowingly purchased an ENERGY STAR certified product, about 75% credited the (Energy Star) label as an important factor in their decision. The latest Good Housekeeping internal reader audit shows that at 92%, ENERGY STAR is now tied with Good Housekeeping (Seal of Approval) in terms of brand influence.” So why ax it?

Do we really want to turn back the clock that far? Do we really want to pay that much more for energy again? At what point does this move become an obvious attempt to bilk the consumer, stifle progress, and hurt the international competitiveness of US products to satisfy one, powerful, interest group? Who could possibly win if this vital all-American program is eliminated? We think it obvious! The energy companies!

So, no matter what your political affiliation, let your federally elected representatives know that the Blue Energy Star label is well worth saving to reduce your operating costs, reduce our foreign dependency, reduce our emissions, increase our health, and bolster our economy. Eliminating the Blue Star is a bad for American business and human welfare all the way around!

Who We Are

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

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Is High MPG a Selling Point Any More?

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 17:00:36 +0000

When we heard the auto industry’s recent request for lower federal miles per gallon standards, we were stunned! They argue that since gas is so cheap, and there is such a demand for low MPG trucks that the 2025 Standards are too costly to achieve. There was no mention of the cost to all of us if we continue to burn that amount of carbon.

Are there no financial consequences to damaging our health and quality of life, or the destruction of property if we burn more? Acting like gas is going to be cheap forever and control on pollution isn’t necessary is very short-term thinking at best. The consumer will be ultimately victimized.

What about the ultimate cost to auto buyers stuck with gas guzzlers? What about the cost of lost auto industry jobs to more efficient imports? What about the cost of reduced American exports because they no longer meet the importer’s mileage standards? The auto industry is only citing cheap gas.

We guess the thinking goes that if gas is cheap, why would a consumer want to buy a high MPG vehicle? Consumers want bigger, more inefficient vehicles. So, lower the standards and give them what they want.

But the state governments may have something to say about this. For instance, if California has stricter standards, what is the cost for the industry tooling up for two markets, one that has lower standards and one that has higher standards?

We think the auto industry is underestimating the consumer.

The consumer is beginning to realize that climate change related catastrophes are expensive and the costs are ultimately borne by them through taxation and increased insurance premiums. How many more superstorms, how many more super fires, how many more floods, droughts, vector-borne diseases will it take? How much more will the consumer pay for food, clothing, and everything consumable before they all connect the dots?

There is a good reason for regulations and standards. Any organized society has an obligation to protect its own citizens and future generations from their consumers’ own short-sighted buying patterns. The auto industry has not been held responsible for these associated costs – yet. And they can always point the finger at the consumer and say, “Well, that’s what they asked for!” And in the absence of environmental and health standards there is no long-term protection. Is it OK to hurt the environment permanently along with your health and property – and that of your children – for a temporary reduction in your fuel bill? We think not.

How far do we take this laissez faire philosophy? Do we do away with warning labels and prohibitions on poisonous ingredients in our food so that industry doesn’t have to bear the cost of compliance? Let the buyer beware? “Oh, come on,” you may say, “That’s a bit of a stretch.” But we are allowing the growth of a technology we already know to be poisonous to the environment and ultimately to us? And before all those warning labels on food? People were buying and consuming products that were harmful to them.

Let’s not give up on what most of the rest of the world has committed to: Higher mileage standards. It is about saving our environment and all the long-term costs associated with losing it. We shouldn’t burn more gas because it’s cheap! We shouldn’t burn more gas, period. Not today and not tomorrow. Take a stance and do the thing that is right for the environment, your healthy, and future generations.

Who We Are

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

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Retail Stores Provide Impulse Buying Opportunities for Physical Product Producers

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 18:00:08 +0000

Today the talk is all about online sales and how they are closing down bricks and mortar stores. While it is true that on line sales represent the fastest growing segment of the retail business, according to the Department of Commerce, bricks and mortar stores still represent 93% of all retail sales.

For most of our consumer products it’s just plain more convenient to go to the store. You know, get everything at once, all in one transaction, and have it instantly. The thought of ordering each item separately on line with hundreds of items delivered to your home each month seems onerous. Also, delivery, except for the trip to the store and back, is free, not hidden in the price of the product that comes with “free shipping.”

There’s another more subtle dynamic that happens only at the store that doesn’t happen on line, and that’s the notion buy, also known as the impulse purchase. The closest thing to notion buying on line is “People who bought this product also bought these products.” The online ads may tempt you with offers that fit your buying profile, but something is missing.

It’s just not the same as going to the store to buy a market basket of items and discovering a new product you weren’t even looking for. You stumble upon it, perhaps literally if it’s stacked in the aisle to get your attention. You can’t wait to get home and try it out and tell your friends and family what you discovered. In fact, discovering new products is part of the fun of going to the store. You almost expect and hope to see new things!

And it’s a good thing too, especially for inventors, makers and other commercial physical product producers. It’s their chance to build their brand by putting their products in front of everyone who goes to that store. Just imagine how long and how expensive it would be to build up that kind of traffic for your new product on line. Retail stores can provide a big short cut for your consumer product sales.

When we were building the Barefoot Wine brand, we were able to access our target market, the 37-year-old mom, with notion buying stacks of our products far from the wine aisle. In fact, the produce department and the butcher shop were the most effective places for us because that’s where she was thinking about meal planning and she noticed our product there would go well with her dinner.

Recently we bought a new type of cleverly designed wrench at the hardware store. It wasn’t with the other wrenches. It was new and probably couldn’t get any shelf space in that crowded department anyway. But there it was, on a display, next to the cash register, where we had to wait our turn. That’s when we noticed it. That’s where we physically inspected it. And that’s when we bought it. The odds of finding it on line, or even in the wrench section where slim to none. We weren’t looking for a wrench. But we went home with a dandy.

That’s impulse buying. You have to see the item in physical reality. It has to be displayed in a way that will get your attention. It’s not what you came for, but it’s what you go home with! For you new product producers, this is one of the biggest advantages of old-fashioned bricks and mortar stores over online shopping. It gives you an opportunity to make incremental sales.

And for the consumers? Discovering something new by surprise is half the fun of going to the store in the first place!

Who We Are

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

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True Entrepreneurs Do What It Takes – No Matter What!

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:00:11 +0000

Once the afterglow of the launch wears off, and once the business plan takes a back seat to the cash flow projection, you discover what the real work is in your new business. We call it the “real” work because it generally takes more time and focus that anything you have done before or even anything you could have imagined. It comes as a complete surprise and not a pretty one. It can shatter your preconceived, popular notions about how things get done in product distribution and what is required of you to be a success.

We learned our tough lessons because we were selling to the general public through distributers who then sold to retailers, and we had to do their jobs handling our product. “What? Shouldn’t they have an interest in making money on a product they bought to sell?” you may ask. Even though we were new and unproven, we expected them to sell our products and get the reorders. We also thought they would put up our sales materials to help them move our products. We found both distributors and retailers to be disinterested and unreliable. Still, we faced discontinuance if our products didn’t sell a certain amount in a certain period of time. We had to do the work required, and we had to do it right!

So here we thought we were in the “wine business.” You know – swirl, sniff, sip, maybe say a few French words, hold your pinkie out, and talk about mid-notes. Forget about it! We were in the same business that anyone selling any consumer packaged goods is in: the distribution management business!

Our success depended on stocking and pricing our own items (where legal), dusting bottles, checking item codes, confirming pricing, staying on top of the retailers’ and distributers’ inventory and reordering our products for them as well. It took years to get them to realize that our product was making them so much money that they had an interest in merchandising it themselves. And a good 10-20% never did pick up the slack.

The big companies know this. You know when you go to a store and ask the “clerk” where something is and he says, “Sorry, I don’t work here!” That person works for a product producer who understands what the real work is. It is merchandising! And their own rep is in that store to merchandise their products for the retailer.

Now let’s say you think the stores will do this work and that the distributers are going to get the reorders when the stores are out of stock. You think someone else is going to be responsible for the distribution process. Or you think your product is so good, priced so right, and recommended by so many that somehow you will avoid this inglorious work all together. Guess what? Your product fails. Period.

Unless you make it a priority with your new and unproven product to demonstrate, for an extended period of time, that it will “sell” (and that means constantly move smoothly through the distribution system), you will get the reputation of being a non-starter or a slow mover.

In the early days we spent most of our time in the stores vigilantly watching the shelves, the back rooms and the warehouses – doing whatever needed to be done to make sales happen. It was not uncommon to see us to working on our hands and knees on dusty linoleum floors! That was the real work! So, stop dreaming and get out there and do what has to be done to be successful! You can (and must) do it!

Who We Are

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

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