Michael and Bonnie are the Authors of the New York Times Best-selling Business Paperback, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. Conference chairs, business leaders and professors of entrepreneurship alike highly recommend them as inspirational speakers, role models, and entrepreneurial thought leaders. Their experience is an excellent extension of business education into the real world of practicality… to motivate, enlighten and inspire!
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Resources Mentioned:
- Your Big Idea: Successful Entrepreneurs have One Big Idea. Follow JLD’s FREE training & you’ll discover Your Big Idea in less than an hour!
- Audible – Get a FREE Audiobook & 30 day trial if you’re not currently a member!
- Barefoot Spirit– book authored by Michael and Bonnie
- Outwitting the Devil – book mentioned by John
- The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways to Engage and Empower Your People – New book from Michael and Bonnie
- Barefoot Spirit– Bonnie and Michael’s company
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill – Michael and Bonnie’s Best Business Book
- Skype & GoToMeeting – Michael and Bonnie’s Small Business Resource
3 Key Points:
- Personal relationships build the best business relationships.
- Ask questions… find out what people really need.
- When you go into business, you wind up doing work you didn’t think you were going to do when you came up with your concept.
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Time Stamped Show Notes
(click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.)
- [00:35] – John introduces Michael and Bonnie
- [01:23] –We started the Barefoot Wine brand in our laundry room
- [01:30] – Ignorance is bliss
- [03:12] – How Michael and Bonnie generate revenue
- We have A New York Times Business Best-seller
- New book – The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways to Engage and Empower Your People
- Speaking
- [04:03] – Personal contacts really build the best relationships
- [05:44] – Worst Entrepreneur Moment –Bonnie’s client hadn’t been paid for the grapes and the day Michael got there to negotiate, they had filed bankruptcy
- [06:33] – Instead of getting cash, we got bulk wine and bottling services
- [06:48] – Michael narrates his experience with trying to sell to a chain
- [10:10] – It’s important to go out there and ask questions… Find out what they need
- [12:07] – Entrepreneur AH-HA Moment
- [12:24] – Even though Barefoot appeared to be the ideal product for Hawaii, we didn’t get a reorder
- [14:28] – We really need somebody in that territory to look after the accounts
- [14:58] – We had to have somebody representing our company who was in the market place wherever our product was… We can only rely on our own sales person.
- [16:44] – What Bonnie and Michael are most fired up about today? –The number of millennials who are majoring in entrepreneurship
- [17:55] – When you go into business, you wind up doing work you didn’t think you were going to do when you came up with your concept
- [21:01] – The Lightning Round
- What was holding you back from becoming an entrepreneur? –We didn’t have enough money to get started and we didn’t have any knowledge of our industry
- What is the best advice you have ever received? – Work with your early adaptors-people who buy your product or services
- What is a personal habit that contributes to your success? – Writing blogs
- Can you share an internet resource, like Evernote, with Fire Nation? – Skype & GoToMeeting
- If you can recommend a book for our listeners what would it be? – Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
- Imagine you awoke in a brand new world, identical to Earth, but you knew no one. You still have all your experience and knowledge. All you have is $500 and a laptop. What would you do in the next 7 days?– Subscribe to GoToMeeting, Skype, and start contacting people.
- [29:48] – www.thebarefootspirit.com
- [29:58] – Start small
Killer Resources!
1) The Common Path to Uncommon Success: JLD’s 1st traditionally published book! Over 3000 interviews with the world’s most successful Entrepreneurs compiled into a 17-step roadmap to financial freedom and fulfillment!
2) Free Podcast Course: Learn from JLD how to create and launch your podcast!
3) Podcasters’ Paradise: The #1 podcasting community in the world!
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