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  • BOOKS
    • The Barefoot Spirit (Audiobook)
    • The Barefoot Spirit (Paperback)
    • The Barefoot Spirit Book Endorsements
    • The Entrepreneurial Culture
    • The Barefoot Startup’s GPS
    • Shelf Smarts
    • Skyrocket Your Sales
  • ADVISORS
  • SPEAKING
    • HIRE MICHAEL & BONNIE
    • Speaking Topics
    • BUSINESS SCHOOL TESTIMONIALS
    • Conference Testimonials
  • NEWS
  • PRESS
    • Contributed Articles
    • Media Resources
    • Media Hits
  • ABOUT
    • CONTACT
Base Compensation on Sales, Growth, and Profitability

Base Compensation on Sales, Growth, and Profitability

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog, Sales

Brian Tracy once said that most employee behavioral problems are caused by compensation systems. In short, you get what you pay for. Nowhere is this more critical than in how you compensate your sales team. For years we paid our salespeople a commission based on sales...
Entrepreneurs Must Decide Between Volume or Margin

Entrepreneurs Must Decide Between Volume or Margin

ARE YA FEELING LUCKY, KID?

by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog

Our friends Larry and Laura Martin of Food and Wine Trails are a creative and energetic entrepreneurial couple who have inspired us for years. When the airlines decided to sell seats direct on the internet, they were faced with reinventing their travel agency...
Problem Solving Barefoot Spirit Style

Problem Solving Barefoot Spirit Style

TAKE A CHILL PILL

by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog

Entrepreneurs learn to eat problems for breakfast. It seems like there is an unending onslaught of daily challenges starting, growing, and keeping any new venture afloat. As soon as one is solved, another one pops up just like the arcade game whack-a-mole. If it’s not...
Gaining Traction in the Marketplace takes Tenacity and Focus

Gaining Traction in the Marketplace takes Tenacity and Focus

IT JUST TOOK OFF! – NOT

by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog

You may hear about a brand that “just took off.” From our perspective, very few brands just take off. What’s more likely is that they started out small and sometimes took years to gain traction. As we’ve said many times before, it’s not the quality of the product, the...
The Advantages of Being a Small Start-Up – Part 1

The Advantages of Being a Small Start-Up – Part 1

WHY LIGHT-ON-YOUR-FEET TRUMPS BIG-AND-POWERFUL

by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog

Today we need new products, new services, and new ideas to invent our way back to prosperity. Small start-up producers have always been the backbone of the economy, not just because they provide the most new jobs, but because they improve the very quality of our lives...
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Keynote speakers and New York Times Best Selling Authors Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey

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About Michael & Bonnie:

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey help companies become more entrepreneurial. They co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built Americas #1 Wine Brand. Read more about their humble beginnings to their creation of an international best-selling wine label HERE.

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