Using Entertainment Elements to Tell a Business Story
Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey are the Managing Members of Footnotes Press LLC, the Founders of Barefoot Wine, and co-authored The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s#1 Wine Brand. The book chronicles the humble beginnings of the world’s largest wine brand and is a case study in more than 50 schools that teach entrepreneurship. Their original New York Times Bestselling paperback has been transformed into a dramatically performed audiobook – with voice work from actor Ed Asner.
“I think that it’s good for us to think about story as a series of small stories so people can tune in when they want and tune in when they want.” - Michael Houlihan on serving stories
Follow Passion or Find an Opportunity?
Michael and Bonnie pioneered game-changing marketing concepts such as worthy cause marketing, saving a fortune on expensive commercial advertising; while creating a profitable model of performance-based compensation. They successfully monetized their brand equity, winning many coveted awards along the way.
But they didn’t follow a passion for wine when they got into the business. They followed an entrepreneurial opportunity to buy a failing vineyard’s wine and equipment and turn it all around. Hear the full story at 27:50. From uncollected invoices to a bankrupt winery, it’s quite an adventure.
“Wine was not our passion. Business was our passion. We took advantage of an opportunity we couldn’t let pass up.“ - Bonnie Harvey on success
Connect with Bonnie and Michael:
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The Storytellers Network with Dan Moyle publishes every Monday at 7 AM EST.
