With the new year upon us, and folks determined to make resolutions that will truly make a difference in their business, health and peace of mind, it seems like this is the perfect time to embrace the Barefoot Spirit with what we call the 3 E’s: Empathy, enthusiasm and ecotherapy.

1. Empathy

Resolve to be more empathetic. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes at every level of business and community.

This practice forces you to understand what the other person wants. It may not be what you are offering, it may even surprise you, but knowing what they want will help you understand how what you are offering better fits into their plans.

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.

The post 3 New Year’s Resolutions to Improve Your Bottom Line appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

With the new year upon us, and folks determined to make resolutions that will truly make a difference in their business, health, and peace of mind, it seems like this is the perfect time to embrace the Barefoot Spirit with what we call the 3 “E’s”: EMPATHY, ENTHUSIASM, AND ECOTHERAPY.

1.  EMPATHY. Resolve to be more empathetic. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes at every level of business and community. This practice forces you to understand what the other person wants. It may not be what you are offering. It may even surprise you, but knowing what they want will help you understand how what you are offering better fits into their plans.

Be sure to asks lots of questions of everyone who touches your product or service. Do more listening than selling. Remember, the world’s greatest sales pitch is, “I can help you achieve your goals!” That means you know what their goals are and you know how you can help.

We had a buyer that said, “I’m trapped in this office all day but I love buying from you guys because you always update me on my competition, the current trends, and what going on in the marketplace!” We had a customer who said, “I buy your products because you supported my community fundraiser.” And we had a salesperson who said, “I love working for you guys because I get to go where I want!”

2.  ENTHUSIASM. Resolve to be more enthusiastic. If you’re excited, they’re excited. Enthusiasm is contagious. It’s probably the best way to motivate folks and to get them on board with your plans.

It’s not easy to stay in a constant state of enthusiasm, but you can certainly resolve to be more enthusiastic. Get yourself in the right frame of mind in the morning, before you start your day. Think about your long and short-range goals and how much value they will bring to everyone upon completion.

When we started we couldn’t get into the big chains stores. We were kind of depressed until we realized that there was a whole market of smaller independent buyers out there that were glad we weren’t in the chain. They wanted a product the chains didn’t offer. We got excited about making lemonade out of lemons!

When our salesperson came in one day all down and out, we said, “Hey! What’s the problem?” He said, “The competition’s tearing down our signage in all my stores.” To which we replied, “Great! That proves they’re scared of us and we’re on the right track!” He enthusiastically returned to those stores and replaced all our signage, determined to prove to the competition that we were in the stores on a regular basis and they could not stop us! Then we heard the rumor going around, “Barefoot is a brand that will not die!”

3.  ECOTHERAPY. Resolve to take a walk in nature every day. Sure, you will skip a few days, but making it part of your routine will help you improve your mental and physical health. It will also improve your business by boosting your creativity, attitude, and determination.

Last month NBC News reported that 50 physicians in 11 states believe so strongly in the health benefits of connecting with nature, they have joined together in a non-profit organization, Park RX. These doctors actually give prescriptions to take a walk in the park! Finally, we are getting official endorsement for something we have been advocating for decades.

It’s great to get off the screen, out of the office, and beyond the confines of a man-made environment. You’ll think more clearly, make better decisions, and put things in perspective. Your stress will go down and your enthusiasm will go up. You’ll become more resourceful, solve problems faster, and get your priorities straight.

Once, we were perplexed because our business was expanding so quickly, we didn’t quite know how to handle it. So, we just took off to Kauai. Went hiking for a week! No screens, no phones! On the plane, on the way back, a whole new organizational plan hit us all at once in every detail. We just had to spend some time in natural surroundings to give our brains a chance to reboot and solve the challenge.

People ask us “If you are business advisors, why do you post so many pictures of nature on your Instagram?” We say, “We are promoting the best way to get ahead!”

So, practice the 3 E’s and your new year will be happier and more prosperous – all the way around! Thanks for following us in 2017, and we look forward to sharing more with you in 2018!  Happy New Year everybody!

Who We Are

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

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

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

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

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

The post 3 New Year’s Resolutions to Improve Your Bottom Line appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

That’s why we were so surprised with what the commencement speaker, Professor Ken Goodson, Engineering Chair, had to say. It was far from what we expected for such a defined science, but very appropriate for this occasion.

He began with the congratulations and acknowledgements these new grads deserved for all the long hours and sacrifice that brought them to this incredible milestone. He then went on to describe a world where every day you hear and read about the demand for the very skills they studied. He recounted the threats of global warming, food, water and power shortages, as well as shelter and transportation challenges that are becoming acute. He said the grads were well armed with technical information and the knowledge of how to use it. He hoped, with the education they had gained at Stanford, they would take the lead in solving these problems.

Then, he said there’s nothing holding you back …except possibly your own personalities. He said strict focus on the technical skills can hurt you in the social skills department. And it is social skills that inevitably make the difference in your success.

He recommended three important social traits that he hoped the grads would develop that would propel them in their careers:

1. Empathy (and its cousin, Humility). Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Find out what they want first. Look at it from their standpoint. Don’t think because you have the technical answers that you have the hubris to dismiss their concerns. On the contrary, embrace others and you will be more respected, have more credibility, and be more successful at helping them.
2. Expect a solution. Look for the answer. When you do, you will be more likely to find it. Don’t be discouraged by cynical news or discouraging media chatter. Focus on the job at hand and follow through. When you work with others, look for the best in them and know they will improve. Your attitude can make the difference.
3. Passion for Impact. Allow yourself to be driven by a burning desire to change the world for the better. Know you have the state-of-the-art tools available to handle the world’s challenges, and use your relentless passion to make a positive impact. Apply your education combined with your enthusiasm to overcome all obstacles. Your passion will keep you going and your vision will guide you.

Wow! We couldn’t agree more with these thoughtful sentiments. It’s the best advice we’ve ever heard for young technical grads.

There was a time, not too long ago, when technical folks were in such demand and on such pedestals that the rest of us wondered if social skills were taking a back seat to algorithms.  But as long as people are working with others to accomplish their dreams, social skills will be required in every direction of life, even in engineering. Getting the approval and cooperation of others will always require Empathy, Optimism, and Passion.

All of us can benefit by making these skills a part of our lives. Congratulations to every 2017 graduate, no matter their school or course of study!

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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1. Time: For years we called on a big buyer who never gave us an order. But when he finally did buy, he bought big! We asked why he hesitated, and he said he had to get to know us first. He said our persistence proved we were dependable! When we asked a supplier for a higher credit limit they initially said no. But after years of sharing our plans with them quarterly, generally making timely payments, and calling in advance when we were late with a plan to bring us up to date, they dramatically increased our credit. Time is the ingredient that turns an acquaintance into a trusting supplier or buyer who will work with you to help grow your business.

2. Integrity. Do what you say you are going to do. Show up when you say you are going to. Honor your pricing and delivery dates, even when it hurts. Be reliable. Remember, you are judged by your behavior and that behavior can make the difference between business as usual or a growing business. Your buyers and creditors want to trust you. They make money when you are dependable, so give them no reason to worry about your company. Eventually we had buyers who said, “Keep me in stock on your products and let me know when you want to promote them.” That relationship was built on integrity.

3. Empathy. Put yourself in your customers’ and suppliers’ shoes. Find out what is important to them. From your buyers, find out the products and suppliers they like and why, and the ones they don’t and why. From your suppliers, understand their concerns extending you credit. Have their interest at heart. Demonstrate this with suggestions, products, and the kind of dependability that puts their fears at ease. If you show that you are concerned about their needs, sooner or later you will find an opportunity to provide them with a solution that solves their concerns – and yours!

4. Resolution. When there’s a problem, solve it quickly and in a way that makes the offended party whole. Then show them how you will prevent the problem from reoccurring. Remember, you are judged more by what you do when you’re “bad” than what you do when you’re “good.” So go beyond just apologizing and “make it good.” Make up for the time and hassle you caused, even if it costs you to do so. That will impress them more than a hundred great performances where everything went smoothly.

5. Loyalty. Give special treatment to the buyers and suppliers who took a chance on you and your product. Think twice before making a move that may hurt anyone’s business with whom you have been working with for years. Remember, they helped you and were expecting to benefit by your growth and success. When suppliers and buyers help you get off the ground, look for a ways to keeps your relationship strong, and give them your loyalty.

Sure, there’s more but these are the deal breakers when they are missing, and they cement the relationship when they are followed. Building relationships is the most important part of successful business. Take the time and show them what you are made of. It doesn’t cost, it pays!

Who We Are

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

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

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

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

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

The post 5 Key Elements of Productive Business Relationships appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

Have you put them in the same room with a top performer so they can listen, observe, and learn the techniques, subtleties, and nuances necessary to close a sale? Many salespeople say they have their own style but unless they perform, that style needs improvement. New salespeople are sometimes skeptical about whether anybody can achieve your sales goals, which often are set by folks who have never sold themselves.

When we were in our growth phase building the Barefoot brand, many sales to out-of-state distributers were done over the phone. We had a key salesperson who was not closing. He was busy alright – phoning, emailing and taking copious notes, but not closing. We paired him up with a super performer and put them in the same room for a month so they could hear and see each other work.

The super performer continued to close sales, but now the underachiever was watching this happen right in front of him. So now he had peer pressure and daily demonstrated examples of how it was done – with a variety of tough customers. He improved big time! In fact, he went on to become our top salesperson!

We have a friend who was looking for ways to reward his salespeople for hitting and exceeding their sales goal. He thought a great reward would be to have the performers get their own office and no longer have to work in a big bay with other salespeople. The plan seemed to work at first. Everyone tried harder and sales went up. The top salespeople got their own offices and were the envy of the rest of the sale staff. Many of these top performers became even better performers as a result of having the privacy of their own offices.

But a funny thing happened out on the main sales bay. Sales started falling off. Why? Because the folks the salespeople were looking up to, the top performers, who were inadvertently teaching them and supplying the peer pressure to perform, had been moved out of the room!  Now the room was filled only with newbies and low performers. Comments were made such as, “It was just a bad day,” or, “Nobody else in the room was capable of hitting the numbers,” or even worse, “The goals are unreasonable.” They certainly had a majority in the room with which to commiserate.

Ultimately our friend changed the policy and kept the top performers circulating through the main sales floor. He also paired up newbies with established salespeople one-on-one in their offices where the experienced salesperson could show the newbie winning sales techniques and give them friendly support by critiquing their calls and offering suggestions about alternative ways to handle objections. Sales improved all the way around.

A key ingredient necessary to turn a good salesperson into a great salesperson is confidence. When they hear and see a top performer demonstrate pride in their product, empathy for the customer, and social skills in action, they know it’s possible for them to do the same. They’ve seen “blood from the beast,” and now they want it for themselves too!

Who We Are

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

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

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

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

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

The post Demonstrate Sales to Your Salespeople to Give Them Confidence appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

Unlike other degrees, a degree in Entrepreneurship can’t really be used to land a job or impress anyone. It’s all about self-employment – creating and running your own business. Today there is an explosion of interest in entrepreneurship and in entrepreneurship education.

The advent of USASBE couldn’t have come at a better time and we are avid supporters. Last year we spoke at their annual conference in San Francisco and we were honored to be invited back to their 2014 conference in Ft Worth. During 2013, we traveled the country, speaking at colleges and universities that teach entrepreneurship.  We spoke about how to navigate your business from here to there given the unforeseen and seemingly insurmountable challenges ahead.

In business navigation, like tennis, boxing, or almost any sport, you have to assume the action-ready stance with your knees bent, ready for anything. You don’t know where the ball or the blow will come from, but you do your best to be prepared for it. You make yourself both as stable and as flexible as you can. You also need a few tools like a compass, a hard hat and a flashlight, because you can easily get lost, take a hit, and lose sight of your objective.

Having a set of “Guiding Principles” to hold every decision up against can help you make more right decisions. We attribute our success to those guiding principles which we collectively refer to as “the Barefoot Spirit.” Here is a very brief summary of the top 7:

1. Empathy. For every major decision, put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Understand what they want first. Then figure out how to get what you want by helping them get what they want. This goes for your customers, investors, employees, vendors and especially your community.
2. Alliances. Who are your strategic allies? Who benefits when you benefit. Look around you and see who’s going in the same direction. What suppliers will sell you more if you sell more? How can you help the community achieve its goals and give them a social reason to by your products?
3. Mistakes. Instead of blaming others, ask what you can do to make the mistake less likely to happen again. Identify and improve the documents that will prevent them from reoccurring. Maybe it’s a sign, label, check-list, sign-off sheet, policy, procedure, contract clause or a job description, but document it somewhere and fix the problem! Never waste a perfectly good mistake, and give your people permission to make them.
4. Sharing. Always take a smaller slice of a larger pie. Include those you depend on most in your success. Don’t be put a limit on your sales people’s commission so they can “sand bag” you, leave for a better paying job, and take your customers with them. Don’t be concerned if they make more than you; it’s “found” money.
5. Two-Divisions. Your company only has two divisions, Sales and Sales Support. Everyone who is not in Sales is in Sales Support. This includes Production, Marketing, Legal, Accounting, and even the Receptionist. Sales advises Marketing, not the other way around.
6. Performance. If you pay for attendance alone, you will hear, “I was there, pay me.” Give bonuses based on profitability. That way the non-producers can’t afford to stay and the producers can’t afford to quit. Turnover is the #1 hidden cost of doing business. Make sure everyone knows exactly where their salary, bonus, commission, and benefits come from, and that’s the customer!
7. Partnering. Treat your people like partners. Share the good and bad news with them. Publically acknowledge people for improving your company. Treat your bankers, investors, suppliers and vendors as partners, too. Share your challenges and your accomplishments, and ask them for their help and advice. 

Our talks are beyond the structure, organization, and function of entrepreneurship. They are about the business philosophies and attitudes that can help prepare you for the unexpected and help you navigate your business to success. We are grateful to have the opportunity to promote the Barefoot Spirit to the next generation of entrepreneurs, and give them a big head start.

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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