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Entrepreneur – Taylor Stitch Makes Us Rethink Our Wardrobe

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 14:30:10 +0000

According to McKinsey & Company and the Council for Textile Recycling, the world fashion industry produces 100 billion garments for seven billion people each year, the average American throws out 80 pounds of clothes each year, and 85 percent of all apparel ends up in landfills, even the ones we feel good about donating! Those shocking statistics were seen as an opportunity for an increasingly popular San Francisco based startup.

Why not fashion new clothes out of used clothes and recycled fibers? Why not address the growing number of consumers who are making purchasing decisions based on their desire to preserve and improve their own health and welfare, as well as that of their families and the environment? Why not offer consumers a chance to demonstrate their concern with the very clothes on their backs?

To read the complete article, please visit Entrepreneur

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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Entrepreneur – Chewing Their Way to the Top

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 18:00:45 +0000

We’ve often said, “If you really want to change things, put a buck on it.” That philosophy has been recently documented by Nielsen, the leader in CPG market data. The biggest mega trend we see for 2019 is being driven by consumers who want to “vote with their purchases.” They are increasingly demanding transparency from CPG producers …and getting it!

Americans love their dogs. So why shouldn’t they want transparency from the company that provides them with their dog chews? That was the catalyst for Nature Gnaws founders Jay Mokbel and Steve Mamak. The risk they took in 2016 to produce and sell, all-natural dog chews has been validated by stellar growth over the past two years.

To read the complete article, please visit Entrepreneur

Who We Are

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

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NYC Sues Big Oil for Climate Damage Reparations

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 03 May 2018 17:00:15 +0000

In January, the City of New York joined eight other local governments in the United States in filling a landmark lawsuit holding the major oil companies accountable for climate change related damages. In the May/June 2018 edition of Sierra Magazine, the editor, Jason Mark, lays out the history and the reasoning behind holding whom he calls the “Carbon Barons” responsible.

Alluding to the behavior of big tobacco to mislead the public, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “For decades, Big Oil ravaged the environment, and Big Oil copied Big Tobacco. They used a classic cynical playbook. They denied and denied and denied that their product was lethal. Meanwhile, they spent a lot of time hooking society on that lethal product… It’s time for them to start paying for the damage they’ve done.”

The New York City lawsuit is based upon the fundamental principle that a corporation that makes a product causing severe harm when used exactly as intended should shoulder the costs of abating that harm.

How can you determine any one company’s contribution to climate change harms? Richard Heede found in his 2013 peer-reviewed paper published in the Journal of Climate Change that “the 20 largest investor-owned Carbon Barons have, over the past 150 years, extracted enough fossil fuels to produce up to 30% of global emissions. The five companies named in the suit resulted in 181 gigatons of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere during the previous century and a half. That’s 12.5% of all human greenhouse gases.” Further research by Heede concludes that the collective business practices of “90 fossil fuel corporations have driven nearly 2/3 of the observed increases in global surface temperatures.”

Who knew what and when? According to the suit, the leaders of these companies have been aware their products were emitting dangerous greenhouse gases for nearly 40 years. In 2015, The Los Angeles Times cited Exxon scientists warning their own company that the use of fossil fuels “should not be encouraged because of the risk they poised” back in 1977. They also cited a director in Exxon’s research unit warning that the CO2 emissions modeled in the company’s 50-year planning documents “will produce effects which will indeed be catastrophic at least for a substantial fraction of the Earth’s population.”

But aren’t we, as consumers, equally culpable since we are the ones who purchase and burn the stuff? According to Jason Mark, we could certainly make a statement by skipping that vacation or walking to work. But the Carbon Barons alone had the ability to intervene when they learned their products could have catastrophic consequences. They alone possessed the scientific awareness, economic might, and political influence to have avoided climate chaos – and they chose not to.

The lawsuits come down to the argument that the Carbon Barons knew about the dangers of fossil fuel combustion for decades yet failed to disclose them and even spent money to confuse the general public. Doesn’t this sound like the Tobacco industry’s tactics?

The U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report stating that more than $350 billion have already been spent in response to climate-change-related extreme weather events, and “these costs will likely increase over time.” Meanwhile, in 2014, Exxon Mobil posted a record profit of $32.5 billion.

We have been lifetime supporters of conservation and the environment. We believe that the producers of the fossil fuel energy we have become dependent upon should pay reparations for the damages caused by fossil fuel related climate change. Once the entire cost of burning fossil fuels becomes apparent, the alternatives will become much more financially attractive. Thank you, Jason and The Sierra Club, for your in-depth and insightful article. Read his entire article here.

Who We Are

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

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Now is the Time to Start a Climate Change Mitigation Business

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 18:00:32 +0000

Want to start a new business? Don’t know what it will be? Take a big hint from the 2nd Anniversary meeting of the signatories to the Paris Climate Accord. Just about any business that addresses, slows down or mitigates the effects of climate change is in demand.

The attendees have put their money where their mouth is with over $1B in investments to help industries and countries abandon oil and coal.

Big guns like Richard Branson, Bill Gates and other top energy and investment fund leaders unveiled a plethora of projects designed to fund efforts to lessen the effects of climate change.

The World Bank announced that it would cease financing oil and gas projects in two years.

The “America’s Pledge” coalition to honor the 2015 Paris climate goals now represents half of the U.S. economy.

Eight U.S. states will be developing electric vehicles. The Gates Foundation has created a hurricane relief investment fund for the Caribbean and another to help farmers to develop low-carbon technology and adapt to climate change.

The projects aim to speed up the end of the combustion engine to reduce the emissions that contribute to global warming.

In other words, as President Macron of France says, big businesses and successful economies of the future will be producing and utilizing renewable energy. If you were looking for a mega-trend to capitalize on, or an expanding market with no apparent end in sight, this is it!

Why not do your business on “main street” and go with the flow? Just imaging the opportunities that are presenting themselves in these otherwise detrimental circumstances:

Fire. We’re going to get burned! Much better fire protection, fire-resistant building materials, and fire-fighting equipment are in demand. How about better warning systems, temporary housing, and integrated disaster status information systems? And we are going to need better forestry practices, underground transmission lines, and better fire retardants.

Water. We’re going get thirsty! We need more and better clean drinking water delivery, destalinization, collection and storage systems. How about technology that saves water to be used for cleaning, manufacturing, and crops? Add water purification and water-free sewage systems.

Power. We have to get off the grid! This includes alternative and local generation devices, breakthrough battery technology, independence from wires for power transfer and communications, long-range electric and other zero emission vehicles.

Air. We’re choking! We need carbon sequestering technology. It will be in demand as carbon tax begins to become the norm as the world gets more serious about this situation. Replanting of the forests and rewarding for the preservation of trees are definitely on the agenda. Carbon scrubbers and alternative power plants for industry will be in demand as they begin to pay the true cost of production and compete with producers who are carbon neutral.

Food. We’re going hungry! We need to improve production and nutrition while reducing water and petrochemical use. Demand for food produced closer to consumers is increasing. New types of aqua culture and advance in protein production will take the lead as traditional farming and cattle grazing becomes unsustainable.

Flood. We’re going under! We need to move out of harm’s way, float, submerge, or literally stem the tide. We have entire cities that will have to be saved or abandoned. We’re talking dikes, piers, and elevation techniques. We need hurricane resistant buildings, disaster relief, and independent power, sanitation, and communication systems. And don’t forget first aid, evacuation, and mobile hospital technologies.

So, these are just a few opportunities envisioned due to the effects of climate change that are already upon us. They may have once seemed futuristic, but now our lives literally depend on them. Your new business can contribute to this megatrend. We hope this short list inspires some folks to choose a business that provides even a partial solution to these needs. The world as we know it is relying on your new technology to survive. And so is its population. Now, go get ‘em!

Who We Are

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

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5 Ways to Grow and Build Trust

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 18:34:21 +0000

First published on Entrepreneur.com on 11/12/2017

From your creditors to your employees, good business relationships are built on trust. Can the people who depend on you, confidently rely on you to treat them fairly? Once you have proven your dependability, they will make allowances for you and extend their level cooperation. This is essential to your business success.

How much will you save on loan interest with extended credit, easier terms and complementary warehousing? How much will you save on hiring and training by reducing turnover, engaging your people and having them go the extra mile for you? How much will you save on advertising with cooperative distributers, loyal consumers and customers who become advocates? The sooner you demonstrate your trustworthiness, the sooner you’ll receive these benefits and more!

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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Can Legislative Indecision Hurt Small Business?

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 06 Jul 2017 17:00:21 +0000

A small business owner recently asked us if we thought Washington’s indecision over the health care issue could affect her business. Our answer was not the one she wanted to hear.

It has been the public’s willingness to commit to the purchases of new cars, refrigerators, and houses that has greatly determined the state of the economy since the great depression. This is still the situation today. As long as we continue to make these major purchases, it’s smooth sailing. But will consumers be able to afford the payments on major purchases if they have a major increase in their health care costs?

What if consumers are thinking about that new car or house right now and reading the news about the government’s indecision on health care costs? What if, suddenly, consumers had to fork up another $300-600 per month …or more? Would they be more likely or less likely to make that new car purchase PLUS committing themselves to hundreds of dollars more in monthly payments? Just the specter of this possibility may be enough to make them second guess that next major purchase.

Once a considerable segment of the market decides to postpone these kinds of purchases, the dominoes begin to start falling and sales in most businesses are negatively affected. We saw this in the last recession. Initially the pundits said it would be contained to the real estate sector. But they didn’t factor in that consumers felt less wealthy, even if it their “wealth” was on paper. They immediately cut back on their spending, especially for those major purchases. This trickled down to startups and small businesses, and many jobs were lost.

We fear the potential for this same phenomenon is at work today. Real estate is now in a significant bubble, the stock market is once more overvalued. We have lived long enough to have seen the economy take a big hit, just because the press focused too much news on poor early holiday sales, which created a self-fulfilling prophecy scaring consumers out of their wits and out of the stores. How about governmental indecision on a major part of the consumer’s personal budget?

Whether you agree with the concept of government health care or not, it’s here and it’s here to stay. Americans now expect government health care at some level. So that’s a dead debate. Now the question is, what kind and how much? This is an important enough decision that it requires some bi-party cooperation. There’s no doubt the existing health care plan needs fixing and the new plans obviously need to be better thought out. There’s no simple solution.

No elected official wants to face reelection with their name on a bill that leaves 20 million people uncovered or facing radically increased premiums. Meanwhile, the indecision about the future of health care can cause unnecessary negative effects on the economy. Indecision creates insecurity, and insecurity results in more indecision.

We are pro-business. We especially love to support startups and small businesses. For us, this current situation directly impacts those businesses, since the postponement of major purchases will have a ripple effect that will hurt businesses at every level. We would like to see all elected officials understand that working together to solve this problem quickly is more important than honoring any pre-election pledges made without consideration of the big picture. The economy is fragile, so let’s not spook the consumers!

Who We Are

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

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Time to Vote with Your Money – Again!

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 18:00:54 +0000

Many of today’s consumers feel worried by the outcome of the election and recent attempts to marginalize their various communities. Or should we say the majority of consumers!

They include: the majority who voted against the current administration and its policies; the majority of religious and ethnic communities that make up the market place; and the undocumented aliens who pay taxes and spend their money here. They all are concerned that the American ideals of inclusiveness, personal freedom, and civil rights are being eroded. They are anxious about selective bans on entry and threats of deportation that can affect their families and friends. They are fearful of racism emboldened by the remarks of our highest officials. What’s worse is that they feel disempowered and vulnerable. They feel like there’s nothing they can do about it. But there is!

We often say, “Consumers vote with their purchases.” Throughout history, marginalized groups have survived by deliberately spending their money on goods and services produced and offered by other members of their community. They have gone out of their way to not patronize businesses that support their marginalization in any way, manner, or form. This has forced big companies to “come out” in support of their rights, privileges, and security. It’s kind of like a big boycott. It certainly makes companies aware of who is working for them, who is buying their products, and who is ultimately putting money in their pockets. It’s that marble cake of ethnic and religious communities we call the American consumer.

By boycotting the products and services of companies who either support marginalization or who are silent about it, you can force every business from your corner store to corporate America to take sides on these issues. And the side they are going to take is the side their bread is buttered on, their consumers’ side!

As Harvey Milk once said about the LGBT community, the only way to make change happen was to “Come out, come out where ever you are!” He wanted LGBT folks to make themselves known, as if to say, “Look how many we are. We’re part of your society, we’re part of your market, and we’re part of your income. Do you want our business or not?”

As consumers, todays marginalized communities can learn a lot from Harvey. Simply put, if you don’t like what’s going on, don’t pay for it! Don’t patronize companies that agree with turning back the clock.

It’s interesting that companies that rely on seasonal workers to harvest their crops and do other types of heavy physical labor have already come out against policies that would rob them of their labor force. Other companies that realize how dependent they are on ethnic consumers have also come out. They want to reassure their customers that they support them so those consumers will continue to buy from them.

If one minority can be marginalized, any minority can be marginalized. They all know it, and have good reason to boycott any business that supports the unraveling of all the hard-earned social progress we have made over the past 50 years.

So, if you don’t like the outcome of the last election, and if you don’t like the way top officials have emboldened racism and religious prejudice, you still have a strong card to play. It’s in your wallet! The next time you pull it out, ask yourself this question, “What am I really supporting with my purchases?” Get to know how your vendors stand on the important issues that affect your lives and those you love. Vote with your dollars!

Who We Are

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

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Saving the Environment is Good for Business

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 18:00:12 +0000

Anytime there is a demand, business will rise to satisfy it – at a profit! We now face a huge demand. Our very livelihood is at stake. The denigration of our environment will put us out of work, out of our homes, and in the hospital. Already we see the effects of a major drought increasing the cost of fruits and vegetables. The acidification of the oceans from CO2 is resulting in sky high prices for fish and the collapse of major fisheries. Climate-caused immigration is flooding Europe and soon the Americas. And the air pollution in China is choking their citizens and blowing across the Pacific. This is a real and serious demand for businesses that mitigate or reverse this situation!

Want to solve the balance of payments problem? Export clean energy production equipment and technology to China and India. There’s a huge demand! Want to reduce your taxes? Invest now in the businesses that mitigate the high cost of super storm recovery and drought related food costs. There’s a huge demand! Want to create jobs? Provide tax advantages to producers and consumers of alternative energy. It’s a market that’s not going away. In fact, it comes with an ever-increasing demand.

If the federal government is hamstrung by the carbon producers, let the states like California, and local governments, like Chicago, lead the way. They can provide rules and regulations that give alternative energy the advantage over carbon. They can provide tax credits and other incentives to businesses addressing this issue. And they can provide the volume of purchases for their own uses that will reduce the price of these alternatives.

For instance, shouldn’t every government vehicle be electric? We are excited by the new businesses we see popping up every day that address this demand. All electric and drive-train-conversion garbage trucks and busses are great examples. These are coming from new businesses that create local jobs and can lower taxes by reducing government and public service energy costs.

What about the postal service, the police, the utilities and so on? There’s a huge market here that is only just beginning to be accessed. Local government and public service organizations can tip the scales by providing large purchases that reduce the cost of production and make alternatives competitive with conventional carbon-producing choices.

The creation and mass production of efficient home battery systems will ultimately cut the cord to the carbon-producing utility companies that argue that they are not getting paid for “storing” your solar power on their grid. Fine, cut the cord. Store it in your garage.

We live in a local government district that recently used its power of eminent domain to take over the utility company within its jurisdiction. Then it required the purchase of alternative energy to provide its subscribers. This not only sent a message to other local governments, but increased the demand for alternatively produced energy and reduced its cost.

At some point, it will become obvious that the utility companies heavily invested in carbon energy sources are trying to use their influence to stop alternative energy because they simply don’t want the competition. The gas lighting companies were the largest obstacles to Edison’s electric light. What changed things was the price tag. Electric lighting was eventually cheaper than gas.

This is what business, with the help of local government, must do today. Make alternative energy cheaper than carbon producing energy. They can do this with regulations, purchases, and tax breaks. In the end, producers and consumers alike want to spend less money. If the environment is saved, it will be because it’s cheaper to save it, and it’s also good for business!

Who We Are

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

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Change the Future by How You Spend Your Money in the Present

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 02:00:04 +0000

How would you like to improve the world in the New Year? How would you like to really make a difference? We’ve often said, we vote with our money. Every time we make a purchase, we are “voting” for more of that product or service, where it comes from, and how it got here. We are voting for the labor practices, environmental practices, and political views of the producers of those goods and services. Our money goes into their hands to continue practices that we may have some serious issues with.

Recently we read with horror about shrimp-shelling factories in Thailand that enslave refugees and force them to work inhumane hours in virtual incarceration. The shrimp is then dumped on a very fungible market where those slave-peeled shrimp are almost impossible to track when added to other supplies of shrimp from other factories that respect human rights. Because the shrimp is used as a generic supply by brokers who sell to wholesalers who then sell to the big box stores, American consumers don’t know if their appetizers or their cat’s food has slave-peeled shrimp in it. We don’t even know which products to boycott! But it has to make us all think about buying any shrimp that cannot certify humane labor practices. At least we are asking now. And we hope that you will too. It’s the only way to change the world. We all must become more aware about the products we are buying.

Instead of acting like there’s nothing we can do about commercial practices that hurt the environment, or harm people or our health, we can take action in the New Year with our “voting” dollars. Here’s how:

Ask about origins and practices. If you don’t get an answer, go to your local farmers markets and ask them. They will answer you. We make it a point of buying most of our food from local growers we know and trust. We feel good about supporting their practices and not contributing to a fungible food supply that doesn’t know the origin and practices of their suppliers.
Reduce your dependence on petroleum. Think twice about using your gas-powered car. Look for alternative means of transportation, use technology, a bicycle, carpool or look into an electric car. Even as the world knows that we are pushing carbon emissions beyond the tipping point, drilling for oil continues as if there will never be an alternative. Terrorism runs on oil.
Don’t just buy the cheapest thing. The purchase price might be cheap but the medical bills and environmental damage is unaffordable. Do you really want to save a few bucks today by “voting” for something that results in long term-costs that will come back to you in the form of increased taxes? Who paid for the Katrina superstorm or the drought-ravaged fires in the west? We all did!

So, if you really want to change the world in the New Year, consider the power you have as a consumer. This is, after all, the world’s largest consumer economy. The world’s producers vie for a position in the American retail market. They want our money! But we may not want to give them our “vote” to prosper in the short run if we have to pay for the results of their practices in the long run. Ask more questions about where your money goes. Support merchants and producers who stand behind their products and practices. Send a New Year’s message and make your “vote” count! Here is to a prosperous – and healthy – future!

Who We Are

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

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