Education | The Barefoot Spirit

5 Entrepreneurial Skillsets You Learn in College

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 17:00:41 +0000

In college, it’s not only what they teach that will enable you to be a successful entrepreneur, it’s the skillsets you must acquire just to get through college. About this time of year, many students are near completion of their college year and wondering if they should continue. They keep hearing stories about successful entrepreneurs who gave up on formal education early to get the jump on their entrepreneurial pursuits. They wonder about the value of a college degree in the world of entrepreneurship.

But many students discount the more subtle advantages of attending and finishing college. These advantages are not widely heralded as the primary benefits of completing a formal education, but they are the exact skillsets you need to succeed as an entrepreneur. We are talking about the skillsets that are not taught in the classroom, but the skillsets you must develop and utilize just to survive in the classroom.

We are talking about personal discipline, delayed gratification, and good judgement. These behavioral skills are all required to complete your education and they are all required to increase your chances of success in business. Here’s some critical business skills you gain by completing your education:

How to Prioritize (Also known as strategic planning)

In school, you must develop the ability to Identify and organize a plan of action that gets the most important and time-sensitive jobs done first. Being able to judge the consequences of your various choices is critical to your scholastic survival.

In business, by focusing on your top priorities you are less likely to get blindsided by a fatal oversight. Recognizing the basics, focusing, and not getting easily distracted, are all essential skills necessary to succeed.

How to Extrapolate (Also known as conceptualization)

In order to pass college exams, you must develop the ability to extract concepts from examples and apply them to new situations. You don’t have time to memorize and regurgitate every example. Sooner or later you have to look for, discover, recognize, and apply the reoccurring principles behind those examples.

In business you must learn from your mistakes, and fast! You can’t be successful if you are asking, “Like what?” and, “Give me an example,” over and over again. Extrapolating the principles from the experiences of others as well as your own, and applying them, will save you precious time and dollars.

How to Juggle (Also known as cashflow management)

In college, you have to pay for books and tuition, food and housing, transportation and social life. You are likely undercapitalized and may have a job to support yourself. You have all these bills to pay, plus you have to spread your precious time between all these demands.

In business you will need those juggling skills. Especially starting up, you will be faced with colossal time and money shortages. You will have to juggle your bills with your income, and your time with your commitments.

How to Learn (Also known as analysis and documentation)

In order to pass multiple classes each semester, you must listen for, and not just to, what is being said. You must listen actively, ask questions often, and take notes. You must develop a hypothesis about what is being taught. You simply don’t have the time to take down everything that is said. Outlining helps you learn, retain, and access the important parts of what is being taught.

In business, you must remain objective, take notes, outline, and develop policies and procedures. Because you learned how to learn in college, you are more likely to be a quick study, sift through mountains of information quickly, and understand and apply the essence of what you are learning. You will be more likely to learn from your mistakes. You will be able to create, change, and improve the documents that will make those mistakes less likely to reoccur.

How to Honor Your Commitments (Also known as integrity)

When you see your education through to your degree, you are experiencing the fruits of your labor. You are validating the long nights and personal sacrifices. You completed your goal. You honored your commitment. You did not give up.

In business, your reputation, payment terms and credit limits are on the line! Vendors, lenders, banks and buyers are holding you accountable to do what you say you’re going to do. Seeing project’s through, no matter what the obstacles, is the basis of credibility. Success always takes longer and costs more than you thought. It will require tenacity, patience, and commitment.

Bottom Line: Stay in school and learn what they’re teaching that is not in the curriculum. You’ll be glad you did when you get out there in the world of business!

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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3 Reasons Budding Entrepreneurs Should Finish College

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Mon, 26 Mar 2018 16:01:08 +0000

About this time of year, many students are questioning the value of staying in school. There’s an increasing chorus of proponents urging them to drop out.

They say, “You don’t need a formal education anymore, especially if you are planning on being an entrepreneur.” They say, “Just get started, the real-world experience will be more effective than the abstract and theoretical education you get in college.”

They are quick to support this advice with an impressive list of some hugely successful people who dropped out of college and made gazillions.

Our advice: Don’t do it.

Here’s why, if you are truly planning on becoming an entrepreneur, you should stay in school:

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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Is a Knowledge-Hungry Crowd Finally Ready for Wisdom?

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 17:00:29 +0000

Is your email flooded with marketers pandering to your thirst for quick knowledge to “solve” the immediate problem at hand. Is your news feed is packed with ads promising six digits in six months, and all from your phone! “Just follow this process,” they say, “and you too will be a success!”

With the overflow of information at your fingertips, it’s easy to get the idea that whatever you want to know is instantly accessible. “There’s an app for that,” has now evolved into “There’s a cut-and-paste process for that.” But is process knowledge enough by itself? Just access, copy and apply, and all your needs will be fulfilled. Right?

By the time you figure out that the quick fix doesn’t achieve your desired results, the damage has been done. You are out both the fees you paid and the time you invested. You realize that the knowledge you attained was inadequate for the outcome you had envisioned.

Because you have been inadvertently “trained” by the very searching and training process itself, to copy examples, it is easy to miss out on the principles behind those examples. When you learned that process, did you really understand the commonality of principles that can be applied to other situations? “Who cares if there’s an overriding principle,” you might say, “I’ll just cut and paste a new example when I need it, and never have to learn the principal behind it.”

To learn and appreciate those overriding principles, lessons should start with a good solid foundation in the basics. But this may take more time than you were willing to invest. You may have to learn some things that apparently don’t immediately apply to the problem at hand. This would take time, too. So, you skip all that in favor of applying the process without the principles. You have knowledge without wisdom. You got the “how” without the “why.”

But the digital marketer, the preacher, and the politician are glad you’re impatient and want quick, simple answers. It’s easier to sell you a process than a philosophy. It’s easier to sell you a sensational headline than a history book. And it’s easier to blame and marginalize minorities when you’re looking for simple answers. Basically, you’re easier to manipulate if you let today’s over-simplified approach to knowledge dumb you down.

With all this knowledge, so readily available, why does the “crowd” continue to make so many mistakes? The crowd is knowledge hungry, but as history unfolds, we are seeing demonstrations of how easily the crowd can be, and has been, manipulated. The crowd can be easily spooked. Its weakness is impatience.

Sourcing the crowd for navigational assistance is one thing, but sourcing the crowd for instant decisions that impact our social behavior is quite another.

Simply put, is the crowd wise enough to rule directly? Will they be manipulated by ads that play into their suspicions? Will they elect one demigod after another in search of a quick fix without ever learning why the government has checks and balances? Will they allow the environment to degrade while they are transfixed by the latest trending story?

Without patience, healthy skepticism, and a thirst for principle over process, the crowd is limited to reporting status. True, this is very helpful. But before the crowd can be relied upon for guidance, it must embrace strategy over tactics, principles over examples, and history over headlines.

We’ve never before had so much knowledge at our disposal. The fact is, we are all quite new at this. How many disasters will it take for the crowd to gain the long-term wisdom it needs, and then use that knowledge wisely and not be corrupted by its ease of access? True wisdom takes time. Will we give it the time it deserves?

If this all sounds like an ad for classical education, it is! Until the crowd understands the basics, the big picture, and the implications of its own periodic stampedes, it will be relegated to telling you where the next road hazard is, or the room for rent.

Who We Are

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

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Is Discovery Becoming a Lost Art?

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 17:00:32 +0000

We met a student who said he couldn’t see the purpose in discovering solutions for himself with all the information technology he had at his fingertips. If the answer was there, why waste the time to go through the discovery process?

In these days of Googling and You Tubing, it’s easier than ever to find the answers. The speed of the internet certainly panders to our penchant for impatience. We want instant answers – and we get them fast. So, what could be wrong with that?

No longer do we have to stumble and bumble until we finally have the answer. No longer do we have to go through trial and error, research, or any reasoning process. We just get it on line. But did we miss something important by shortcutting the discovery process? Did we miss the principles behind the answer? Did we miss an opportunity to challenge our brains to learn a new principle?

Apparently, we have gotten to a point where we actually don’t want to learn the very principles that can equip us to discover the answers in our own way. In the name of efficiency, we become more dependent on these instant answer resources, and we are losing our ability to solve problems on our own. The internet – the source of all answers – has made us lazy.

Before these resources, folks had to use principles, experience, and trial and error to discover the answers and solutions. In that process of discovery, they learned how to apply principles in a variety of ways. One of those ways might solve the problem and yield the answer. But the process didn’t end there. Now the individual understood the principle behind the answer and could apply that principle to other challenges. They didn’t need an example for everything.

The temptation today for many students is to drop out of formal education and just try to learn everything they need on line. It may be everything they think they need, but is that really everything? We think not. We think they need to learn principles and apply those principles to discover answers and solutions for themselves. This is called problem solving, and it stimulates our brains to be more creative and question the results we find. This is a wider framework which can help solve problems as they occur. If this sounds like an ad for a classical education, it is!

Learning and applying principles to discover solutions gives us appreciation for this invaluable process. It also gives us a fundamental understanding that behind every answer, solution, or process there is a set of principles. We can then look for those principles, and add them to our problem-solving tool box to apply to the next applicable situation.

Sure, you can Google the answer and You Tube the process, but if you don’t look for and understand the underlying principles, you are destined to develop a “copy-and-paste” mentality. Your critical thinking facilities will atrophy and you will become dependent on technology for all your answers.

When you discover solutions on your own, you learn from your mistakes and successes. You force your brain to look at the situation from differ perspectives. You stimulate your intellect! So, students, stay in school, and learn the principles that will enable you to discover solutions for yourself! Don’t be a copycat. Be an independent thinker and come up with new ideas! Discover for yourself the joys of noodling out a solution to your challenge using creative thinking instead of limiting your ideas to what others have already said and done. Be resourceful, and realize that your greatest resource is the power of your own brain.

Who We Are

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

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Integrity Is the Basis for Trust

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 17:00:17 +0000

Susan Goldberg, Editor in Chief of National Geographic, recently felt compelled to speak out on the matter of truth, trust, and facts. In the June publication, her letter from the editor laments the widening of the trust gap between the public and the experts. She says, “As ‘certified’ experts decline in stature, ‘self-declared’ experts ascend.”

When she was a little girl, she would visit her immigrant grandfather, a successful bootstrap businessman, who would win every argument with what he called, “the actual facts.” She recounts, “After each visit, on the drive home, my sister and I would snicker about my grandfather’s Actual Facts – a ridiculous, redundant phrase. We knew that facts were facts. Period.”

She is “astounded” that today we are talking about “alternative facts,” “fake news,” and “post-truth.” She goes on to say, “it’s frightening” when elected leaders around the world distort the facts. She says, “Clearly, it’s the ideal time to publish this month’s cover, a scientific exploration of why we lie.”

All our lives, we have trusted National Geographic to tell us the truth about our world, our society, and our environment. We still do. There’s lots of pictures. Hence the name, geographic. It’s hard to argue with pictures. And the stories that accompany the pictures are written by scientists and certified experts who give us the stories behind the pictures in non-political terms – just the facts.

Yet we’ve gone so far in doubting the truth and choosing to believe in alternatives that we have allowed a level of confusion to undermine our ability to act. As long as politicians and interest groups can confuse us, they will be able to forward their own selfish, short-sighted agendas at the price of our future.

The June issue of National Geographic examines lying in detail. What we find most disturbing is the tendency so many folks have to choose to believe what they want, what works for them, and what does not require any action. This allows them to be pandered to by interest groups who now, thanks to the advent of digital era, can proliferate the kind of news these folks want to read. Now that we can choose our news sources, it’s easier for us to be manipulated.

From a business stand point it has become more important to cater to your followers with what they want to read than it is to educate them – especially if it is an uncomfortable education that requires action. This is why we love the National Geographic. It’s educational and the implications of its scientific reports are actionable. It’s one of the solid rocks of integrity remaining in our society. We wish we could give everyone a free subscription!

Meanwhile, their report says that when we lie, it is most often to coverup a mistake or misdeed. The number two reason is to gain financial advantage. With that said, politicians and interest groups are the ones that should be scrutinized, and not the scientists. The overwhelming majority of scientists clearly have no motive beyond professionalism, service, and the long-term betterment of mankind.

Integrity in business translates to dependability, delivering value, consistent messaging over time, and claims that are verifiable and supported by certified experts. Businesses that subscribe to these principles tend to withstand the test of time. Such is the case with National Geographic. They are documenting our world in a way that is hard to argue with. In these days of alternative facts, National Geographic has earned its reputation of an institution of great integrity and is a bastion of “Actual Facts.”

Who We Are

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

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We Can’t Afford to Take a Break from Climate Change Mitigation

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 17:00:20 +0000

Why is it suddenly necessary for tens of thousands of scientists to march on Earth Day and implore us to take climate change seriously? Why do they have to insist that there is no debate and that the signs are already here? They obviously think we need a strong reminder.

The systematic dismantling of the EPA, rolling back of air quality standards and continued long-term commitment to fossil fuel are good reasons for a strong reminder. It’s not like we can take a break from avoiding this environmental disaster. The scientists weren’t satisfied with the last administration’s actions, and now they are marching!

What does it say for the level of education in our country that apparently allows this to happen in the face of irrefutable facts? Are we so short sighted and so selfish that we prefer to believe that the preponderance of science on this subject is wrong?

Will we have to get to the point of no return, have a stream of disasters hitting us regularly, and suffer vector spread pandemics before we wake up and listen to the experts? Will it be too late by the time we all get it?

That’s why the scientists are marching! They know enough to be scared for our health and welfare if we continue down this path. They don’t believe they did a good enough job getting the word out.

They thought, because they were scientists, that they would gain a certain level of respect above and beyond politics and not have to make a big demonstration. They were wrong!

Now we need scientists to really turn it up a notch. National Geographic’s last edition was on climate change. They had to write the article as if it was to a person who had been duped or wanted to believe that climate change was a hoax. Their article began with three highly substantiated statements: climate change is real; it’s our fault; there is no debate.

When our grandchildren ask us, “Why didn’t you do something?” Will we say, “We thought the only way to have jobs was to take your environment away from you”? Will we say, “Nobody knew how fast it would change” when in fact all the scientists knew and begged us to take it seriously. Or will we say, “We chose to get our news from sources that played down or denied climate change and scientific facts.”

It’s clear that the only industry that benefits from the denial of climate change is the fossil fuel industry. Even their relatively short-term gain will be a long-term loss due climate caused disaster to our economy.

Climate change is not political. You can’t vote, ignore, or argue it away. It’s happening regardless. The scientists are telling us that every minute we continue to increase emissions puts us closer to the tipping point of no return, and closer to run away warming. Are we really so foolish as to let this continue without making changes to mitigate it?

We believe the moves to dismantle the EPA and roll back emission standards are bad for business, bad for our standard of living, bad for our quality of life, and bad for our health. At their core these steps protect a has-been, buggy-whip industry which is using the government for its own selfish and shortsighted immediate gain – at the expense of our own, and our children’s, welfare. In short, these moves will be shown to have been on the wrong side of history. Let’s listen to our scientists!

Who We Are

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

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3 Reasons Why Budding Entrepreneurs Should Finish College

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 18:00:32 +0000

About this time of year, many students are questioning the value of staying in school. There’s an increasing chorus of proponents urging them to drop out. They say, “You don’t need a formal education any more, especially if you are planning on being an entrepreneur.” They say, “Just get started, the real-world experience will be more effective than the abstract and theoretical education you get in college.” They are quick to support this advice with an impressive list of some hugely successful people who dropped out of college and made gazillions!

Our advice: “Don’t do it!”

Here’s why, if you are truly planning on becoming an entrepreneur, you should stay in school:

Learn How to Learn. College teaches you much more than the subjects offered. Due to the course load, the number of classes you must take per day, and the limited amount of time you have to study, you simply won’t pass unless you develop a systematic approach to learning. You must make some assumptions about the material on a very general level, fill in the blanks and make adjustments to your assumption as you go. All the while you must outline the materials in a way that you can recall and use them – even if it’s only for an exam. You must learn how to learn. And that skill is essential for successful entrepreneurship in the real world.
Learn How to Juggle. College requires that you master another essential skill of entrepreneurship – juggling. You must juggle your time between classes, work, and social activities. You must remain healthy and get enough sleep. Most have to juggle their finances to be able to afford college. This means you must learn how to budget your time and your money. You must prioritize, sometimes going without and deferring gratification, all critical skills in the real world of entrepreneurship.
Learn How to Stick to It. Seeing things through is crucial in the world of entrepreneurship. Completing college demonstrates that you can finish what you start. Commitment and tenacity require practice and reap rewards. In the business world, if you pivot too often you will get the reputation of a quitter, someone not to be taken seriously when they say they are going to do something. As an entrepreneur, your customers buy from you because they believe you will do what you say. Your reputation is on the line.

If you are still are in doubt, then here’s two things you can do:

Take Some Humanities Courses. They are also known as the Liberal Arts or Liberal Studies. Successful entrepreneurs understand and properly use skills they have learned about communication, critical thinking, philosophy, psychology, history, and sociology. Those studies will give you an appreciation for others that will come in handy when selling your ideas to others and communicating leadership skills.
Work Part-Time for an Entrepreneur. Yes, get a job working for someone who is already doing what you want to do. It will give you insight and respect for what is involved. Watching a real entrepreneur face challenges, decide on priorities, and make tough decisions will prepare you for the road ahead.

You’ll notice we did not defend the content of formal education, but did defend the rigor and challenges necessary to see it through. The college experience itself forces discipline, focus and frugality at a time in your life when you need to develop these attributes. They will play a significant part in your future as an entrepreneur. So, stay in school and learn the skills successful entrepreneurs have before you hit the bricks!

Who We Are

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

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Bring Back the Trades!

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 17:00:37 +0000

Within the last few decades we have seen the increasingly rapid demise of the teaching of the trades in high schools and community colleges. The “shiny ball” seems to be technology. Courses in the physical trades – also known as vocational education – seem to have been traded out for anything high tech. But is this really beneficial to our students and our economy?

We have several friends in the trades. They have established businesses in everything from cabinet making to auto repair, from construction to upholstery. Their common challenge is they can’t find good help anymore! Apparently educators think we don’t need auto shop and woodworking classes any longer. The trades today are dominated by aging Boomers. But where are their replacements?

Most students who don’t complete a 4-year college will wind up in the trades. But how are they prepared to go out into the workforce? We used to teach trades education. Now the high schools and 2-year colleges are abandoning this practical education for coding, programming, and software engineering, all based on the premise that the tech boom will continue forever.

No doubt we need these techies, but how many of them do we really need before they begin to reduce their own demand, flood the market, and reduce their own income? And what happens when the next tech bubble bursts? Do we face another huge unemployment crisis that affects real estate values and ultimately the whole economy?

Meanwhile, there’s a demand for the trades, whether you want to improve your home, or reupholster your couch. In the last recession, we saw a reduced demand for the trades because of the hiatus in construction. At the same time, we saw an increase in demand for coders. That sent a relatively short-sighted message to the schools to dump the trades in favor of tech. Now we’re faced with a serious shortage of qualified tradesmen, and all the while the specter of automated coding and programming is looming on the horizon.

Vocational training will also reduce the dropout rate by providing skills that are in demand now. But who decides what will be taught in high schools and 2-year colleges? Local governments. Don’t they have a responsibility to the community, the students and the economy to bring back vocational training? Sure, it’s not as glamorous as tech training, or academic courses, but what does the rest of the world know that we have forgotten?

According to Marc Tucker of the National Center on Education and the Economy, writing back in 2012, “Japan, Singapore, the Netherlands, Denmark and other leading industrial countries lived in the midst of the same global economic forces we did, but they did not do what we did in response. They doubled down to improve both their academic and their vocational programs. They built education systems designed to support the middle class as well as an elite. They built vocational education programs that require high academic skills. And they designed programs that could deliver those skills. They did not sever the connections between employers and their high schools; they strengthened them. They made sure their high school vocational students had first-rate instructors and equipment. Their reward is a work force that is balanced between managers and workers, scientists and technicians.” He goes on to explain how democracy itself is dependent on a strong middle class and vocational education is essential to providing a balanced economy.

For a real eye-opener, read his entire article and send it to your local high school and community college board members. The demise of vocational education he warned about in 2012 is a reality in 2016. It’s time to bring back the trades!

Who We Are

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

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4 Tips to Avoid Drowning in Startup Expenses

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 18:00:36 +0000

Worcester Polytechnic Institute near Boston may not be a familiar name. However, many major tech and engineering companies regularly recruit WPI grads. They appreciate the well-rounded education of many of their students who also take classes in business, management, and entrepreneurship.

We recently spoke as part of their executive speakers series about the three core competencies of entrepreneurship: Cash Flow Management, Personnel Management and Distribution Management. We shared with the WPI students and faculty lessons we learned from our experience building the Barefoot Wine brand that we believe all businesses must master in order to survive and thrive.

Many wanna-be entrepreneurs fear failure or loss of control of their companies due to lack of funds. They know many startups fail because they have made too many financial commitments before achieving positive cash flow.

Actually, what they really need is sales! Sales earn investments in real estate, equipment, and personnel, and not the other way around.

In our talk about Cash Flow Management, we offered these tips designed to avoid unnecessary expenses and lengthen the runway until sales take off:

Use Your Hidden Assets. Maybe you have a garage or an unused room you can use as an office to get started. We used our laundry room for the first two years. Maybe you have family members who can do some of the work. Bonnie’s mother and nephew came to live and work with us. What can you repurpose for your workspace? We used an old door on two sawhorses for our desk. This allowed us more funds for the surprising cost of sales required to get our business off the ground, as you too will soon discover

Outsource to Local Producers and Service Providers. Right in your own region are companies that can provide you with many of the goods and services you need. You can pay as you use them, eliminating the need to tie up capital in manufacturing, hardware, or office space. In fact, if you write your contracts properly, you don’t have to take delivery of any products not up to you strict quality control guidelines. We succeeded without ever owning an office, a vineyard, or a winery.

Hold Minimum Inventory. Strive for just-in-time production. Although it’s tempting to go for the quantity purchases to reduce your cost per unit, sitting on unsold inventory can be costly and get your business in trouble. Sales volume must justify quantity purchases. Instead, find suppliers who will warehouse goods for you until you need them. And offer buyers quantity discounts for cash to help your cash flow. We found when buyers buy big, they sell big – and reorder quickly!

Extend Your Credit and Terms. Treat your vendors as strategic allies. Grow together, each benefiting from the growth of the other. Gain you supplies trust by monthly or quarterly meetings where you share your goals, opportunities, and challenges. Show them empathy when you can’t pay your bill on time by giving your vendors advance notice and payment plans. Give them a long-term contract so they see your loyalty. Be patient. Your positive performance over time will win you the higher credit limits and terms you need to save your cash flow.

There’s more than one way to achieve a positive cash flow in the early days. These are some that worked very well for us. And, if you are lucky enough to have investors, they will be more comfortable working with you when you demonstrate resourcefulness by reducing your need for cash.

Who We Are

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

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A Better Way of Teaching Entrepreneurship?

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 16:51:45 +0000

When it comes to teaching entrepreneurship, it’s still the Wild West out there. Every school has a different twist on how to do it. Many outside academia say “You can’t teach entrepreneurship. You just have to do it!” As successful entrepreneurs, we believe that if we had the right kind of entrepreneurial training, it might not have taken us so long to monetize our brand equity. But what is the right kind of entrepreneurial training?

Business form and function would have certainly helped. Sales training would have helped even more. And distribution channel management would have been essential. In retrospect, we have identified 20 guiding principles that we wish we had known. If we had used these guiding principles when we started our business, we would have saved half the time and over half the money. If you want to know more check out “Spend Less, Monetize Faster,” our new free webinar.

We are squarely in favor of formal entrepreneurial education, and have spoken at more than 40 schools of entrepreneurship internationally. Should entrepreneurial education be an offshoot of the Business School, the Management School, or even, as we favor, the School of Liberal Arts?

No matter what form the education takes, the vast majority of schools focus on getting the students to launch phase as quickly as possible, and many are encouraged to take the leap even before graduation. Hubs, incubators, and tech gardens are springing up across the country usually associated with an entrepreneurial school. But is there another way to teach entrepreneurship?

We recently had the pleasure of meeting Jon Atkinson of Loyola University in New Orleans. He has different take which we feel may be more practical and realistic. Instead of “pressuring” students to come up with a business concept either before or immediately after graduation, he focuses on preparing his students to go to work first for other startup businesses as employees. He wants them to experience what it’s like to be in a startup first hand.

We appreciate this approach, since in our own case we both had work experience which taught us the value of many principles we later applied to our own business, such as how to set priorities and how to organize new information. Sure, there was still a lot to learn, but at least we had some practical reference for the some of the basics.

Working for a startup is going to make you painfully aware of the value of sales and channel distribution management, two of the most overlooked requirements of startup success. It rapidly becomes clear that if there aren’t enough sales, your livelihood is in jeopardy. It becomes clear that getting products to market requires constant vigilance of the myriad of people between you and the consumer. It also becomes clear that imaginative cash flow management is essential, and that credit is based on positive relationships with every supplier, vendor and buyer. You become aware that key strategic alliances are the backbone of startup success. The big message is that it’s not about the product as much as it’s about the management and relationships.

Formal education can give you the form and function of the various aspects of entrepreneurship. It can help with planning, modeling, and projections. It can even help you better communicate what you want and need. But there’s nothing like “boot camp” in the real world to tie it all together and bring home the big lessons.

We feel that Jon Atkinson’s approach is a more reasonable and natural progression. After a few years of employment with a startup, you may be better prepared to take on that next great opportunity that presents itself.

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