The Storytellers Podcast

Dramatic Business Storytelling with Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey (#116)

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