At the International Executives Association (IEAweb.com) Leadership Conference 2016, hosted by the founding chapter, the Executives Association of San Francisco, learn about the wine business and How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand.
Sonoma & Napa Valley, known worldwide as California’s Wine Country, is a short distance north of San Francisco.
Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey took a start-up wine business – launched in a laundry room of a rented farmhouse in the Sonoma County hills – and turned it into an iconic wine brand. Michael and Bonnie sold the brand to E&J Gallo in 2005, after having won numerous awards and helping to transform an entire industry from being stuffy and intimidating to fun, casual, and socially aware.
They admit that in 1985 they had no idea what they were doing. They had no money or experience, but they made up for that with creativity, resourcefulness, and guts and grit. Their passion is to share their expertise with Fortune 500s and start-ups alike to help others avoid the costly mistakes they made early on, and to spend less and monetize faster.
Their business principles apply to industries across the board to help organizations gain the leading edge in the marketplace. Topics include:
- DISCOVER AND MAKE THE BEST USE OF YOUR HIDDEN ASSETS
- IDENTIFY AND PARTNER WITH YOUR STRATEGIC ALLIES
- USE YOUR SUPPLIERS AND BUYERS AS BANKERS
- DRIVE RESULTS WITH PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION
- ENGAGE AND EMPOWER YOUR PEOPLE WITH AN ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE
- OUTSOURCE TO REDUCE YOUR COSTS AND INCREASE QUALITYPREVENT TURNOVER (THE #1 HIDDEN COST OF ANY BUSINESS)
- GET THE WORD OUT AND GAIN LOYAL CUSTOMERS WITHOUT COSTLY ADVERTISING
- IMPROVE PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION AND VOLUME
- REALIZE YOUR BRAND EQUITY AND PLAN FOR A CAPITALIZATION EVENT (INVESTMENT PARTNER, PUBLIC STOCK OFFERING OR ACQUISITION)
- SURVEYS, REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE YOUR BRAND, CUSTOMER RELATIONS, HUMAN RESOURCES AND CHANNEL DISTRIBUTION
