The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America's #1 Wine Brand

by Bonnie Harvey, Rick Kushman, Michael Houlihan Narrated by Alamada Karatihy, Ed Asner, Gigi Perreau

Overview

Full Cast Performance

From the New York Times bestseller, The Barefoot Spirit, Comes a NEW style of Business Audiobook:

Learn Valuable Lessons While Hollywood Actors Perform this Entertaining & True Story of Barefoot Wine.

A Sherwood Players Production, FULL ENSEMBLE CAST ¿including Hollywood Legends ED ASNER and GIGI PERREAU¿, ORIGINAL CINEMATIC SCORE, SOUND EFFECTS, and BEHIND THE SCENES INTERVIEWS with the REAL Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey (creators of Barefoot Wine) with author Rick Kushman 

It is amazing that such an iconic brand as Barefoot Wines began as a startup in the laundry room of a rented farmhouse. Even more surprising is that it was started by a business couple with no money and no knowledge of the wine industry.

They regularly ran into difficulties that nearly killed the brand. It was their unshakable belief in Barefoot's potential that kept it going, along with the use of classic business principles, and a never-say-die outlook. Hardship, hustle, and heart are the essence of The Barefoot Spirit.

This book is a testament to the power of out-of-the-box thinking. It is a guide for anyone in business, and a great read for everyone who loves a rags-to-riches story. Filled with encouragement, inspiration, and empowerment, including:

• How Worthy Cause Marketing out performed paid advertising
• How boot-strapping was used instead of conventional financing
• The surprising advantages of being small and broke
• How creating a fun, yet hardworking company culture encouraged innovative leadership

If you like wine, the wine country, or a story about how a plucky couple disrupted an industry, what it takes to really succeed in the face of adversity, how to use your core beliefs to build a national brand, then The Barefoot Spirit is for you.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

New York Times named "The Barefoot Spirit" a Top 10 Bestselling Business Book for June & July 2013

"This is a warm, wonderful, inspiring book that entertains and motivates at the same time."
--Brian Tracy, Author of The Power of Self-Confidence

"Great read, great book. This story is beyond wine and the love of wine, it's about starting a business."
--Fran Tarkenton, Hall of Fame NFL Quarterback, Entrepreneur, & Sirius XM Radio Host of The Fran Tarkenton Show

"It's an inspiration to see how they broke all the rules and still succeeded against all odds. For anyone contemplating starting a business, there are lessons to be learned here and an entertaining story as a bonus."
--Alan Caruba, Book Reviewer, National Book Critics Circle, Author and Columnist

"I try to read all the books of the authors on my show and am just getting into The Barefoot Spirit. It's one of the best books on entrepreneurship I've read."
--Kip Marlow, Entrepreneur & Host of Entrepreneurs Club Radio

"I thoroughly enjoyed The Barefoot Spirit. I will make it required reading because it tells a lovely story and it embodies so much of the entrepreneurial mindset. I loved the 'voice' of the book and storytelling is such a wonderful way to communicate. I believe students will find it a fun addition to their library and in the process they will learn the most important lessons of entrepreneurship!"
--Rebecca J. White, Professor, Entrepreneurship and James W. Walter, Distinguished Chair of Entrepreneurship Director, Entrepreneurship Center, The University of Tampa, John H. Sykes College of Business Tampa, Florida Outgoing President, United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship

"Fun beach reading for small business inspiration. The Barefoot Spirit is an entertaining rags-to-riches story of American entrepreneurship. It's the first-hand tale of California rule breakers Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey, the founders, of the country's top-selling wine brand"
--Adrienne Burke, Yahoo! Small Business Writer

Pat Dickson - 2013 President

I picked up Michael and Bonnie’s book chronicling the Barefoot story with the intention of a quick scan and found myself spending the better part of a Sunday thoroughly enjoying myself reading cover-to-cover. I believe students will find The Barefoot Spirit both a great read and an important lesson in creative problem solving in the face of critical challenges.

Cyril Penn

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey’s lack of familiarity with the wine business was an asset. Because they didn’t have preconceived notions about the business – and because they were creative and resourceful - they were ultimately successful.

Ric Payne

This book is arguably the best book I have ever read that details the real life challenges that every business has in getting established and growing to a substantial size. More importantly you should read the book and after you’ve done that give it to some of your clients.

Andrea Keating

Michael and Bonnie’s book is a must read for anyone who is looking to start a business that will make it in today’s economy. Whether you are starting a company from scratch or investing your money or someone else’s, ‘The Barefoot Spirit’ illustrates the hands on and no cost best practices that will make your company a success.

Michael Tate

The Barefoot Spirit will appeal to entrepreneurs, business people, non-profit leaders, and anyone who is passionate about activism, unlikely stories, and – oh yes – wine. In content, message and even writing style, it’s smart, funny, self-deprecating.

Rebecca White

I thoroughly enjoyed The Barefoot Spirit. I will make it required reading because it tells a lovely story and it embodies so much of the entrepreneurial mindset. I loved the “voice” of the book and storytelling is such a wonderful way to communicate. I believe students will find it a fun addition to their library and in the process they will learn the most important lessons of entrepreneurship!

Brian Tracy

“This is a warm, wonderful, inspiring book that entertains and motivates at the same time.”

Hope Katz Gibbs

As an entrepreneur, publicist, and publisher, I found great insight in ‘The Barefoot Spirit.’ Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey’s tips on how to survive on less than a shoestring are clever, practical—and best of all, provides a good giggle to any entrepreneur in panic mode. This book is one that I’m already recommending to my readers, colleagues, and clients in start-up mode—as well as those who are ready to take their business to the next level. Here’s to going Barefoot!

Kirkus Reviews

2020-06-04
Novice winemakers upend the industry’s pretensions while taking on the jungle of the retail beverage sector in this rollicking business saga.

Houlihan and Harvey recount their adventures as founders of Barefoot Wine, which began in 1986 as a shoestring venture and swelled to a 600,000–cases-per-year success before being bought by E. & J. Gallo Winery. The book is in part a story of innovative marketing around a new image of fermented grape juice: a tasty, cheap, reliable wine that ditched haughty connoisseurship in favor of a friendly, approachable brand image—“California in a bottle”—aimed at harried supermarket shoppers. In addition to the offbeat brand name, the authors came up with a label with an iconic footprint logo instead of curlicued pseudo-French designs. They also created goofy but effective sales aids, like footprint decals marching across liquor store floors straight to the Barefoot shelf, and pioneered a “Worthy Cause Marketing” strategy of donating wine to charitable events in order to build brand awareness and goodwill. (Priceless free advertising came, they recall, when the elite French vineyard Château Lafite Rothschild threatened to sue over Barefoot’s printing “Chateau La Feet” T-shirts; the ensuing media hoopla sent sales soaring.) But it’s also a revealing look at the demanding slog of the mass market beverage business. The authors spent years making sales calls at mom-and-pop stores and trying to force their way into supermarket aisles that are usually closed to unknown brands. Houlihan and Harvey, assisted by amanuensis Kushman, distill from their experiences perennial business lessons along with tips on everything from negotiations to employee compensation, all wrapped in an entertaining, anecdotal picaresque. (“After Michael read the card carefully, he looked up and gave a slight bow, then presented Mr. Matsumoto with his Barefoot card, the one with the foot and the title, ‘Head Stomper.’ ”) Houlihan and Harvey make the wine trade seem a little less glamorous but a lot more interesting.

An irreverent, eye-opening business memoir.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173684523
Publisher:	Footnotes Press LLC
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	936,450

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