Holidays | The Barefoot Spirit

Happy Holidays to One and All!

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 18:00:26 +0000

Before we get all excited about the year ahead, we thought we’d take this opportunity to share some of our highlights of the past year.

We’ve been blessed with many new opportunities, new friends, and positive developments!

Sustainability is Spreading

As you may know, we are environmentalists. However, our background is building a successful consumer packaged goods product (CPG). The “P” in CPG stands for packaging. Today we see clearly that irresponsible single-use plastic packaging threatens our environment. So, this year we are especially grateful to see the Nielsen ratings finally confirm that people now prefer to buy products that are made and delivered with sustainable practices! The good word is spreading! And – it shows that being sustainable increases sales! What could be better.

Your Outdoor Classroom in the Wine Country

We are so jazzed that our initiative to share the lessons we’ve learned with students of entrepreneurship has expanded this year. Two more highly-rated international universities are interested in taking a break from all the tech, campus visits, and VC talks on their Silicon Valley tours. They will spend the day with us in the bucolic Sonoma County talking about such things as “How Soft Skills Earn Hard Cash!” We refer to our presentation as “Your Outdoor Classroom in the Wine Country.”

Business Publications Contributions

This past year we were also happy to expand our contributions to such important business publications as Entrepreneur.com, The Business Journals, and the C-Suite Network. We believe we’re bringing a down-to-earth, back-to-basics, practical and empathy-focused approach to solving business problems and marketing products.

The Barefoot Spirit Audiobook

We also started two new exciting projects this year! One is a theatrical audio book version of our New York Times bestseller, The Barefoot Spirit. Actors voice the parts of the characters and listeners are entertained by stories with lessons. Produced by The Sherwood Players and scheduled to be released in early 2019.

Online Course

The other new project is an online course on how to get the entrepreneurial spirit in your business. It offers tips on how to hire, orient, train, compensate, and acknowledge your people to reduce turnover and engage them in problem solving. It is multimedia and interactive. It is scheduled to be released in 2019.

We are thrilled to be able to help startups and small businesses avoid some of the mistakes we made and benefit from the lessons we learned building the Barefoot Wine brand! We are most grateful that we have been in a position to make a positive difference in people’s businesses. All of our clients have made significant steps forward toward their goals. We congratulate all of you on your success!

New Friends All Over the World

But what we are especially thankful for is all the new friends we have made in education, business, and conservation from all over the world. We are all working together to encourage the next generation to bet on themselves and create sustainable businesses that benefit their customers and the world at large.

And thanks to all our readers who have encouraged us to continue to celebrate businesses that provide healthy alternatives we can support with our purchases.

We wish you all a very Happy Holiday! Please join us in our New Year’s goal of promoting a sustainable future for all.

Cheers! With love and appreciation – Michael and Bonnie.

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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Don’t Let the Holidays Take Your Eye Off the Ball

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 18:00:37 +0000

You had some good momentum going toward the end of the year. But as the Holidays began to approach, you got increasingly put off with “call me after the Holidays,” or “I’ll be out of town ‘til after the first of the year.” Projects you’ve been working on all year have been put on hold. You yourself have taken a break and may have lost track of where you were with this person and that project. This time of year can be downright frustrating and confusing!

The new year seems to favor new projects. Who wants to go back and rehash old ones? You might say, “Hey, if they didn’t get closed by year end, it seems futile to resurrect them now.” We have faced this “holiday” problem for years. And yes, it’s always better to finish out your initiatives before the end of the year. We all feel the pressure to do so. But with so many other folks trying to complete their projects at the same time, the competition itself can put a drag on completion and cause you to miss that all important “holiday” deadline.

Here are some ways we have found to save the day and remove a little of the pressure, guilt, and frustration the Holidays can bring:

Calendar. Check your calendar for any meetings you may have had in October, November, and December. Re-acquaint yourself with the attendees, the goals for those meetings and the follow ups you and others have committed to. Reschedule with those folks for follow-ups now.
Call Log. A quick review of your call log will remind you of the conversations you had at year end. You will be able to quickly identify the ones that you still need to bring to a conclusion. Make a list and prioritize.
Email. We like to review our sent items, the ones that have yet to respond, or the ones where we were the last message in the chain. Schedule some time to piggy back on those sent items, include the chain of correspondence, and resume the discussion.
Make Appointments. After reviewing you calendars, calls and emails, and setting priorities, reach out early to set up appointments even if they are a month away. Just knowing you have taken action will relieve your anxiety.
Set Deadlines. Try to get all of last quarter’s business completed, cleared, or resolved by the end of the first quarter of the new year. You’ve done most of the ground work already in the fourth quarter, so why not capitalize on that “head start” in the new year?

Remember, January looks like a long month on the calendar, but consider that New Year’s Day and Martin Luther King Day holidays take a bite out of January’s work weeks. Consider also that many use January to take a winter vacation. So, get going and set reasonable deadlines for yourself – and others! Pick up where you left off, keep your eye on the ball, and see some early home runs in the new year! It’s time to follow up or foul up. Happy New Year to you all!

Who We Are

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

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Impulse Buying in Retail Stores is Exciting for Everyone

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 18:00:37 +0000

Online shopping for the Holidays is great fun! You avoid the crowds and can usually get your entire gift list knocked out in an hour. But you feel a little empty, like something’s missing! You pretty much have to know what you are shopping for in advance, look for the best price, and have it delivered with a type written note.

No matter how sincere you try to make that note sound, just doesn’t hold a candle to a hand-written one, personally delivered in a festively wrapped package, topped with a colorful bow. On line shopping is so perfunctory. Sure, you thought of the person and bought the gift with them in mind and even thoughtfully chose the words for the card. But they got it in a plain brown shipper with a commercially prepared note. It’s somehow mechanical. It just doesn’t feel right.

On the other hand, when you physically go out to the stores, something wonderful happens. You are excited about the effort you are making on behalf of others. You enjoy getting dressed for the occasion and being seen in public. The stores are decorated and there is an air of entertainment and Holiday spirit that adds to the occasion. You through in a great lunch or even some holiday cheer!

And something else happens that’s hard to do on line. You are liable to buy something you hadn’t planned on. The notion buy, or impulse buy, is something that you have to be there to experience. You weren’t shopping for it, but there it is. You discover it. You might think, “That would be perfect for Jim!” It’s a pleasant surprise and you are thrilled to make it your gift. We have found that impulse buying is half the fun of physically shopping.

Retailers know they have this old-fashioned advantage over online shopping – and so do producers. It’s a perfect opportunity to get a new product out there at a time when there’s plenty of traffic and plenty of motivated buyers. Customers get to see it for the first time, touch it physically, appreciate its quality and compare it to other like products. They know what they are buying and they get the instant gratification of taking it home the same day.

Last year 97% of retail sales were sold in bricks and mortar stores. 70% of shoppers polled said they would rather shop in a “real” bricks-and-mortar store. No question, online is the fastest growing segment of the retail market, but retail stores still provide shoppers with that real shopping experience.

Retailers certainly feel the heat from online sales but they are not taking it sitting down. They are stepping up the shopping experience with more decorations, more entertainment, and more events, with additional live and in-person customer service, better inventory control, and more surprising new items just waiting to be discovered by shoppers just like you.

So, if online shopping leaves you feeling a little bit like a purchasing agent and a little empty in the excitement department, why not get dressed up and go shopping? You just might find that perfect gift for that special someone. And you will enjoy doing it! We say go check out the stores this year. Happy Holidays everybody! And happy shopping!

Who We Are

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

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5 Reasons to say Thank You and Get More of What You Want

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 04:00:07 +0000

Sometimes we get so busy, we forget to say thank you to acknowledge a great referral or appreciate a job well done. We tend to get overwhelmed by today’s news and financial pressures. Rather than appreciating what’s going right, we tend to focus on what’s going wrong. We are challenged to meet our deadlines, show a profit, and put out the fires. We wish there was a way to make things a little easier.

There is. Say thank you more often.

Do it with intention. Don’t just say thanks and move on. Get specific and say what you are grateful for in detail. Personalize it. For example, we recently got thanked by a client for an introduction we made on her behalf. She sent us a note that said, “I want to thank you guys so much for putting me together with Peter. He introduced me to Mary and now I am doing more business as a result.” Our reaction? Send her more introductions, of course!

We have found that the best way to get out of a slump is to take inventory of what you do have and thank the folks who helped you get it. Several beneficial things start to happen:

Improve Your Focus. When you take the time to identify the things you are thankful for, you are less likely to overlook those same kinds of things when they come around. Tune up your focus and dial in on what you want, instead of what you don’t.
Improved Your Attitude. When you focus on what’s wrong it’s easy to get nervous, pressured, and downright depressed. The sore thumb is only one out of nine fingers. Let the other nine “stick out” occasionally and you will realize that you already have a lot going for you. That should raise your spirits. And people want to do more business with someone who is happy and positive – rather than haggard, hurried and hassled. You will be more effective in all your relationships.
Get More of the Same. By acknowledging the folks who have helped you and thanking them in specific terms, they will be more likely to do more for you. We all like to be appreciated; it’s part of our human nature. So, acknowledge others for what they have done and see if you don’t get more of the same. Friends, employees, vendors, suppliers, customers, and your network of associates all want to be valued and will be even more helpful if they know you appreciate them.
Be Aware of the Process. When you thank someone sincerely and specifically, you see their reaction and renewed efforts on your behalf, you notice more opportunities that you may have overlooked, and you improve your own productivity by being more agreeable, happy, and friendly to others. You become aware that the process itself of giving thanks, showing appreciation, and giving acknowledgement actually helps get you more!
Demonstrate Your Thoughtfulness. Giving thanks shows folks that you didn’t just take their efforts on your behalf for granted. You actually took the time to send a short email, or even better, a hand-written card.

It’s appropriate that “The Holidays” start out with Thanksgiving. It reminds us that the best gift we can give each other on every card and memo we write is a sincere and specific “Thank You!”

We want to thank all of you for reading our articles and sincerely thank YOU for all your help with connections, introductions and suggestions to help us better serve other entrepreneurs. Happy Holidays!

Who We Are

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

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Happy Holidays!

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 19:30:48 +0000

Well it’s that time of year again when we reach out to friends and family to let them know that they are important to us. It’s even better when we can spend some time with them. We love this time of year because it reminds us that family and friendship is what it’s all about.

During the year, it’s easy to get wrapped up in work, carried away by “making progress,” and becoming so focused that we forget to say, “Hey, you’re important to me” to the people that matter most. But no matter what your faith, the holidays force us to put on the brakes and spend special time with those we love. In fact it’s an institution that is hard to ignore. If it’s not the familiar holiday music, it’s the decorations everywhere. They’re all signaling us that it’s time to get back to basics, it’s time to touch base, and it’s time to be a real human being again. And do it quickly before this year is history!

Thank goodness for this annual reminder! Sure, it always seems like it arrives way too fast and we’re always unprepared. As the clock counts down, we may even feel pressured to visit friends, buy presents for family, and call everyone we can’t see. But wait! Let’s get back to what’s really going on here. We’re being reminded by these holidays to show appreciation for who’s really important to us in our lives.

And if we haven’t connected as much as we would like to during the year, we are reminded that this is our last chance before the year is over. In the process, we are also reminded how busy we have become that we may have inadvertently relegated some important relationships to a lower priority than our work, career or projects. In fact, if it wasn’t for the holidays we may even lose track of some of those important relationships. We ourselves certainly fit into that profile more than we would like to.

But this is what we are all working for; this is what we all have at the end of the day and the end of the year, family and friends. So try not to see it as a chore and don’t feel under pressure. Be grateful that you have some folks that you care for and who care for you. Be grateful that you can spend some time and show them that you truly appreciate the relationship you have with them, even if you don’t express that during the year. As far as business is concerned, it’s OK to hang it up for a while. You have permission to take some time to give and receive appreciation!

We want to take this opportunity to give appreciation to each and every one of our readers, all of the students of entrepreneurship who have listened to us, all of the professors and academicians who have hosted us, and all the organizations that have brought us in to keynote their events over the past year. We wish you all the happiest of holidays and the very best for you and yours for the New Year. And yes, you are important to us!

Happy Holidays!

Michael and Bonnie

Who We Are

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

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