I am a big fan of Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey, founders of Barefoot Wine. I interviewed them for my book, Strategy for Good: Business Giving Strategies for the 21st Century as I love the story of how they built the company without spending dollars on advertising. Instead they focused on worthy cause marketing and did good while doing well!!
I met them in person at Book Expo America in NYC last summer which was a great treat! I just got this email which I thought I would share with you. I can’t wait to read their book!
Dear Sue,
As you may know, for the past couple of years we’ve been writing a book about our experiences building the Barefoot Wine brand. Well, it’s finally finished! We call it “The Barefoot Spirit” because it’s really about the guiding principles behind the success of the brand.But, don’t worry, it’s not another boring business book. And it’s not just about wine. It’s an adventure story filled with fun tales. It’s about how we started in our laundry room with no money and no knowledge of the industry, and how we built a national bestseller without advertising.Our goal is to encourage other people by showing examples of successful business philosophy. We learned lessons the hard way, and we share them to give others a head start. The book was written for students, the unemployed, under-employed, and small business owners, just as much as it’s for people who’ve been very successful. And we wrote it to promote the value of worthy cause marketing.You can read a free sample from our book on our site www.TheBarefootSpirit.com . If you like it, you can get the eBook now and the paperback (delivered hot off the press in January 2013!) with free US delivery – in a 2-for-1 pre-release special. This special offer is only available on our website, and it expires December 31st.We would greatly appreciate your help getting the word out. Share this message with anyone who would enjoy reading about the humble beginnings of the top premium wine brand in the country, and about how it got there without advertising. And pass this on to everyone who wants to know more about bootstrapping a business, the challenges they will surely face, and the solutions we discovered.Thanks for helping us share The Barefoot Spirit, How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built a Bestselling Wine.
Michael & Bonnie
Barefoot Wine Founders |
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I hadn’t heard this story about Barefoot Wine – thanks so much for sharing! Stone Brewing Co. is another company (local to me in San Diego) that grew tremendously without paid advertising, focusing on in-kind charitable giving instead. Now they’re the 14th largest craft brewery in the U.S.! So glad to see more companies succeeding through their generosity.
Renee: I am glad to hear you found the Barefoot Wine story compelling! I know I do! I hadn’t heard about Stone Brewing Co. so thanks for mentioning that. I am always on the look out for great examples. I will definitely check them out!
Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey, the Barefoot Wine Founders, will be sharing their great story of starting and growing the company during the Strategy for Good Summit (http://www.strategyforgoodsummit.com) on Thursday, February 28th at 1pm ET. Hope you can join us for their session and the others. We have great folks sharing about businesses doing social good.