By SCOTT STEEPLETON NEWS-PRESS CITY EDITOR

March 7, 2013 5:59 AM

When he returns to Santa Barbara for a speaking engagement this week, Barefoot Cellars co-founder Michael Houlihan will be treading familiar territory.

He attended City College 1965-67 and it was here, in the early stages of Barefoot, that Mr. Houlihan, who founded the brand with partner Bonnie Harvey, pounded the pavement making the sales.

Mr. Houlihan and Ms. Harvey will speak at the Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at City College at 4:30 p.m. Friday, the first of 10 stops on a nationwide tour to get people fired up about starting a business and to promote their upcoming book, “Barefoot Spirt: How Hardship, Hustle and Heart Built a Bestselling Wine,” which comes out in May.

Admission is free, but seats are limited. Attendees will get access to the eBook version of “The Barefoot Spirit.”

The wine’s roots date to 1965, when San Francisco writer and reporter Davis Bynum created Barefoot Bynum Burgundy at his home in the Bay Area. In 1986, Mr. Houlihan and Ms. Harvey came aboard and Barefoot Cellars was born – in their home.

From 1987 to 1995, Mr. Houlihan personally serviced every account in Santa Barbara.

In 2005, the brand was sold to E. & J. Gallo Winery, the world’s largest family-owned winery and the largest exporter of California wine.

In 2007, Barefoot and Surfrider teamed up to create the Barefoot Wine Beach Rescue Project, a nationwide initiative to keep our beaches “barefoot-friendly.” Each summer, the Project goes coast-to-coast, calling on community volunteers and local Surfrider members to come out and clean their shores.

Not bad for a couple who knew nothing about the business when they started out.

“It wasn’t easy, man,” Mr. Houlihan said in a phone interview Wednesday.

But it was clear from the beginning who would do what.

“Bonnie is very good with what I call minutiae,” Mr. Houlihan said with a chuckle. “But that covers things like money and legal and contracts. She also ran the bottling lines and was in charge of all promotion at the beginning. I am the swashbuckling sword-wielder. I do things like sales and marketing, long-term planning.”

“We respect each other for our different skill sets,” he added.

While the company has gone through lots of change, Ms. Harvey’s footprint is still the label iconography for Barefoot Cellars, which includes still and sparkling wines.

In the talks, as well as in their new book, the couple speaks to an audience much broader than people who want to get into the wine business.

“The three things you gotta know in any business is personnel management, distribution management and cash flow management,” said Mr. Houlihan, whose varied background includes productivity and process improvement.

“You have to know how to treat people so you can maintain and grow relationships. Also you have to know strategic allies. ‘Who’s going to make out if we make out?’ ”

He puts a premium on distribution management. After all, you could have the best idea for a product in the world, but if you can’t get it to customers, what good is it?

“Warehouses are full of good ideas that are sitting unsold. I’m sorry, but it’s more about distribution than the product or how good it is for the price.”

These days, Mr. Houlihan is a principal in the wine consulting business Houlihan and Jones, and he and Ms. Harvey produce free business blogs on two sites every week, www.barefootwinefounders.com andwww.thebrandauthority.net .

Their book is available for download at both sites.

While his work in the wine business these days is more focused on helping others make their brands successful, Mr. Houlihan says one thing about the industry that hasn’t changed – the regulation. Each state has its own rules when it comes to what you can sell, where you can sell it and how much you can sell it for.

“We’re the United States of America, but from an alcohol beverage standpoint, when you’re trying to sell wine interstate, it’s a loose confederation of independent countries held together by Oprah Winfrey and Ricky Lake,” he said.

“We’re selling ideas now, not wine.”

email: ssteepleton@newspress.com

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 Santa Barbara News-Press Article on Michael Houlihan appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

On February 22, Michael and Bonnie were honored to be interviewed by the legendary Jim Moriarty of The Surfrider Foundation. To read the article and listen to the podcast, please click HERE.

Also, if you use iTunes, please click HERE for Jim’s iTunes podcasts

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 Jim Moriarty of The Surfrider Foundation Interviews Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

None is more exemplary in this practical, hands-on approach to teaching entrepreneurship than the Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Santa Barbara, California. Scheinfeld is particularly unique because it is a two-year school in a community college that serves aspiring and established entrepreneurs. Further, it has a novel cutting edge program that we are donating our time to support:  the Enlightened Entrepreneurship Series.

It all began with an intimate fireside chat with Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia. It has now grown into one of Scheinfeld’s most popular activities. Twice each year, they invite a significant CEO/Founder to visit and interact with their students to educate and inspire them with the entrepreneurial spirit. For two hours, up to 150 students and attendees have a casual, unrehearsed conversation with entrepreneurial thought leaders who have already been there and done that. It’s unscripted and based on questions from the audience about real world issues facing all aspiring entrepreneurs. And it’s free! Scheinfeld also posts videos of the series on their website.

We are honored to be the featured guests for the March 8^th event. We hope to inspire the students and attendees with what we call The Barefoot Spirit (the American entrepreneurial spirit, West Coast style). Ironically, Santa Barbara was the first town in the country to get Barefoot wine, giving the town a 25-year history with the brand. It’s also surrounded by some of the most active chapters of the Surfrider Foundation, Barefoot’s longtime non-profit partner.

We are very excited about speaking at entrepreneurial schools to share our experience and lessons learned. As we enter the Age of the Entrepreneur, several dovetailing dynamics are giving birth to this new renaissance of creativity, making the timing perfect.

1. Unemployment and under-employment. Due to off-shoring , downsizing , and automation, the number of jobs just isn’t there anymore. Many educated folks are facing self-employment as the only form of employment.

2. The Information Revolution. Just like the industrial revolution was the catalyst for thousands of applications of industrial technology, the new information revolution is a fertile breeding ground for applications of information technology.

3. Knowledge and Communication. Never before has so much information been available with such ease of access. Worldwide communication and collaboration are now literally at our fingertips.

4. Reduced Costs. Everything from rent to labor, and from communication to the cost of money, is less expensive now than a decade ago. The economic downturn itself has provided advantages to start-ups not seen in years.

5. Acquisition Climate. Due to their large budgets, strict divisions of labor, and legal department domination, big business today often acquires new ideas. If you can demonstrate sufficient market share for your idea, you now have a much better chance of being acquired and monetizing your brand equity.

6. Schools of Entrepreneurship. When we started Barefoot Cellars, there were few if any schools of entrepreneurship. Now they’re all over the country. Like the Scheinfeld Center, aspiring entrepreneurs now have schools dedicated to what they need to know. These are fantastic resources we wish we had access to when we started.

See you at Scheinfeld!

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 Can Entrepreneurship and Innovation be Taught? You Bet! appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

On February 23, we were honored to receive the 2012 Wavemaker Award by The Surfrider Foundation in Dana Point, CA. The Wavemaker Award, is presented to supporters who have gone the extra mile in their efforts on behalf of the Surfrider Foundation. We couldn’t be more happy and proud, of all of the hard work that The Surfrider Foundation does. They are truly amazing people, that work very hard to keep our beaches clean, safe, and fun! Feel free to check out their website 

Please check out some of these great photos that we took while we were visiting!

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 Surfrider Foundation Wavemaker Award Ceremony appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

Barefoot Wine’s Founders Do Well By Doing Good

The story of how Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey in 1986 launched a scrappy new brand that would transform the US wine industry is one of accidental opportunity and the vision and courage to seize it. “We fell into business backwards,” Harvey says today.

And seize it they did. Houlihan, a wine industry business management consultant, and Harvey, an office manager, got their accidental opportunity when one of Harvey’s clients, a grape grower, was left on the hook for three years’ worth of grape crop by a winery that turned out to be in the roes of bankruptcy.

In the course of negotiating payment for his grower client, Houlihan persuaded the winery to bottle up and repay the grower in Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc bulk wine – wine made from the very Alexander Valley grapes, it turned out, that had come from Harvey’s grower client to begin with.

That was a start, but once they had the bottled wine, they still needed a label, licenses, a distribution system and marketing, Houlihan says. “We didn’t know what we were doing. That started a period of research.”

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey toasting to your good health with one of their favorite Barefoot Wines.

They began to research the wine business, talking to government officials, suppliers and retail stores. One of the first companies they approached about carrying their as yet unbranded wine was Northern California-based Lucky Stores. A Lucky executive advised them on what type of wine would sell. The ideal label, he told them, should be visible from a 4-foot distance, should stand out from other labels, be an easily pronounceable name, and the label image should match the name.

The plan hit another snag, though, when Harvey’s grower client decided he did not want to be in the business of
marketing and distribution. The solution: Harvey and Houlihan hired him to be their winemaker.

Now that they knew a little more about what they were doing, it was time to create their label. The label image – a bare foot – came to Harvey in a vision. They sent the concept to an artist for development, but the perfect shape and angle of the foot eluded her. The perfect foot, it turns out, was at the end of Harvey’s leg. Using the biggest inkpad they could find, Harvey stamped her foot on a piece of artists’ paper, and the famous Barefoot label was born.

Meanwhile, they converted the laundry room of the Sonoma County farmhouse they rented into their winery HQ, removing the door and placing it across two sawhorses for a desk.

Now that they had their bottled wine, their licenses and their label, they went back to their Lucky Stores contact – only to come up against yet another roadblock. They Lucky exec said he couldn’t buy their unknown brand of wine until the two had spent a couple million dollars in TV advertising. Without $2 million to spend on branding, he said, “You can go out and sell to every little grocery store there is.”

So they did, starting in the Bay Area, then expanding to independent grocers in Santa Barbara, Mendocino, Lake Tahoe and Sacramento. In 1988, Lucky Stores become the first chain to carry the Barefoot brand.

Harvey and Houlihan hired Randy Arnold as Barefoot’s National Sale Manager after noticing Arnold was outselling other distributors. Shortly after joining the company, Arnold decided to come out publicly as a gay man. It was 1990, a time when AIDS was devastating the gay community, and ignorance and fear of contagion were widespread. Arnold was concerned the resulting prejudice, particularly in the conservative wine industry, might damage the Barefoot brand. “For us to hire a gay national sales manager for a food product was very gutsy at the time,” Harvey recalls.

With no marketing budget, but with a large stock of wine, Arnold expanded Barefoot’s “worthy cause marketing” plan by donating Barefoot to LGBT organizations and causes. Other staff members questioned the strategy. “Aren’t you worried that your wine will be known as the ‘gay wine?’” they asked. “We said, we’re worried that it won’t be, we are putting so much energy into that community,” Houlihan recalls.

Barefoot has also donated wine and sponsored fundraisers for environmental organizations such as the Surfrider Foundation. The strategy has paid off. Before long, the Barefoot brand was a top seller in LGBT communities and in beach communities.

Their marketing success, and the causes they support, Harvey believes, are connected to that vision she had of the Barefoot label. “When you see a bare footprint in the sand, you don’t know if it’s gay or straight, black or white, or what religion the person is,” she says. “That’s the print humans make on the earth when they put their foot down. The footprint is symbolic. We are all out here on the same beach together.”

By the time Harvey and Houlihan sold Barefoot Cellars to E&J Gallo in 2005, its sales had reached almost 600,000 cases annually in North America, Asia, and Europe. The two served as consultants to E&J Gallo for the next year, and Gallo has continued Barefoot’s tradition of worthy cause marketing as its primary means of advertising.

Today, Houlihan and Harvey are putting their branding and marketing expertise to use as consultants to start-ups and entrepreneurs and are volunteering their services to non-profit groups seeking to keep California parks open in the face of budget cuts. In their spare time, they’ve written a book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle and Heart Built A Best-Seller, which is due out later this year. Visit BarefootWineFounders.com to pre-order.

Outword Magazine May 24, 2012 Volume 25 Issue 10 No. 457
Words by Bonnie Osborn

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 Outword Magazine Interview appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.