https://booktrib.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Michael-Houlihan-Bonnie-Harvey-e1573484520279-300×300.jpg
Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey
Business Audio Theatre – Full Cast Performance
Founders of Barefoot Wine provide a new approach to audiobooks where actors play the parts in the entertaining story of their humble beginnings — complete with sound effects, music and interviews
Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey help “start-up, build-up, and build-out” companies mitigate risk and maximize brand equity. The founders of the Barefoot Wine brand (now owned by E&J Gallo) are New York Times bestselling authors of The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand and The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways to Engage and Empower Your People, and regular contributors to business journals across the country. Their work has appeared in major business publications including Entrepreneur, Inc., CEO Forum and Forbes and they are regular media guests on radio, television and podcasts.
From the humble laundry room of a rented farmhouse to the boardroom of the world’s largest wine company, E&J Gallo, the duo has learned valuable lessons crucial to any business. They are keynote speakers, consultants and trainers for startups and Fortune 500 companies on brand building and company culture, helping their clients increase sales while engaging, empowering, and inspiring their people. More information on their services can be found on thebarefootspirit.com and consumerbrandbuilders.com.
Read our review of The Barefoot Spirit audiobook here.
https://booktrib.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/barefoot-banner2-scaled.jpg
BOOKS:
The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand (2013, 2018)
The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand (Audiobook, 2019)
The Entrepreneurial Culture, 23 Ways to Engage and Empower Your People (2014)
Your biggest literary influencers:
Brian Tracy, Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill and James Allen
Last book read:
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
The book that changed your life:
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, because through interviews with numerous successful people he extracts and conveys the guiding principles they used for success. Many books have been written since but they are based on this classic. These principles are timeless and we have used them successfully in our business. As a startup with no money and no knowledge of our industry, we were able to overcome huge obstacles by engaging our employees, vendors and customers using these time-proven principles. Luckily, we were given a copy of this great American business bible just before we started Barefoot Wine, which ultimately upended the entire industry and became the largest wine brand of all time.
Your favorite business leader:
Steve Jobs, because for all his faults he was a true visionary and steadfastly held onto his vision of clean and elegant solutions, the democratization of information, and the building of a loyal customer base. He set the tone for CEOs to come. He was highly visible, transparent and inspirational. He was able to engage his people to achieve breakthroughs and disrupt his industry in spite of overwhelming challenges. He was focused but open-minded enough to work with and incorporate suggestions from his team, associates and customers. He envisioned how his products would look and work even before it was possible to bring those visions into reality. Those visions—and his confidence that they could be achieved—brought them to the market. Our visions for Barefoot Wine as an approachable, affordable and accessible wine was a similar challenge overcome by adherence to the same principles of belief and leadership.
Currently working on:
The launch of our new business, which produces audio-theatre-style business audiobooks where Hollywood actors play the parts in scenes with dialogue, action and outcomes the listener can enjoy—complete with sound effects and music.
Words to live by:
“Put yourself in the other guy’s shoes”
Advice for aspiring authors:
Your readers care more about the problem your story solves than the story itself. Give your readers a story that demonstrates how to solve a problem they face.
ARTICLES OR REVIEWS:
https://thebarefootspirit.com/book/book-endorsements/
TESTIMONIALS:
The Barefoot Spirit Business Audio Theatre Audiobook
“Any company that works intentionally on their culture will like your product for on-boarding.” —Bill Higgs, Host, Culture Code Champions Podcast
“The lessons were made indelibly memorable through the theater of the mind that is audio.” —Cynthia Conrad, Audio Book Critic, BookTrib
“Like Barefoot Wine, this is revolutionary!” —Brett Trainor, Host, Hardwired for Growth Podcast
“A great way of preserving a legacy!” —Randy Gage, Host, Power Prosperity Podcast
“Tradespeople considering a new business now have an entertaining and convenient way to learn what it takes.” —Warrick “Waz” Bidwell, Podcaster and Co-founder at Tradies In Business (Austrialia)
“This is an exciting new way to engage, entertain and educate people!” —Jeff Morgan, President and CEO, National EWP, Inc
“Using theatre to communicate story makes the lessons easier to recall and apply.” —Elizabeth Barry, Podcast Host, The Kind Communicator
“This is the next step in business audio. Much more compelling!” —Wade Taylor, Host, 2020 Business Vision
“I LOVE this idea!” —Ben Vandenwymelenberg, Founder and CEO, Woodchuck USA
“You’ve used your background and the lessons you’ve learned building the Barefoot wine brand to communicate in a new and creative way with the Barefoot Spirit audiobook! I love it!” —Chris Cicchinelli, President & CEO, Pure Romance
“Business audio theatre brings the story to life to educate and engage employees, suppliers and customers.” —Ben Biddick, Host, Get Up Nation Podcast
“A real breakthrough. I love the concept!” —Brian Smith, Founder, Ugg Boots
“Tremendous potential for CEOs to tell their story in a new way!” —Robert Reiss, Founder, CEO Forum
“A new, fun way to entertain and educate!” —John Warrillow, Host, Built to Sell Radio
“An absolutely terrific story, full of sizzle and color!” —Barry Goldwater Jr., former U.S. congressman
“This approach really brings the story to life and makes the lessons memorable!” —Park Howell, Host, Business of Story
“This is a great way of engaging people in business culture.” —Rick Tay, Director, Technopreneuership, Nanyang University Singapore
“This is an amazing new form of business inspiration and training!” —Bert Terreri, Law Offices of Herbert L. Terreri
“From disruptive wine startups to iconic brand, featuring actors, music and sound effects.” —Deirdre Newman, Founder, OC Startups Now LLC
“I’ve never heard anything like this! So much more engaging than simple narration or text. You’ve brought the story to life!” —Mark Hinderliter, HR specialist and corporate culture trainer
“You have completely reinvented something old for a new generation!” —Carol Scott, Bigger Pockets podcast
“This is a great tool for business onboarding! We want to work with you on this!” —Tyler Hayzlett, C-Suite Network
“The dramatization engages listeners by requiring them to imagine scenarios, which makes the content more personal and more memorable. We expect to see some ‘me-toos’ before long.” —Epi Ludvik, Crowdsource Week
“Phenomenal 3-D listening.” —Mike Midgley, #The Open Mike – UK
“You are removing chaos from the minds of young entrepreneurs. The Barefoot Spirit is a kaleidoscope of understandings!” —Aubry Padmore, Caribbean Voice Radio
“Very cool! This is a whole new ballgame in audiobooks. It is edutainment at its best! When listening to the story, I am right there in the action!” —Tyler Wagner, CEO, Authors Unite
“Business Audio Theatre is a unique, creative, and effective new concept.” —Doug Sandler, Host, The Nice Guys Podcast
“This is taking audiobooks to a whole new level. This could be the beginning of a whole new trend in audiobooks.” —Jim Beach, Host, School for Startups podcast
“Terrific concept! Wonderful potential!” —Randy Turrow, Line Producer/Unit Production Manager, Producers Guild of America/Directors Guild of America
“The audio sounds wonderful. Congratulations on creating such a meaningful audiobook and telling such a great story! I’m excited for it to hit stores!” —Kelly Lytle, Title Creator & Head of Findaway Audiobook Distributers
“Amazing stuff!!” —Shelley Pernot, owner, True North Coaching and Development
“This is really exciting!” —Michael A. Gurevich, venture capitalist and business consultant
“A great achievement and unique product.” —Thomas Maier, Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of San Francisco
“Bravo!” —Jake Wachtel, Hollywood producer
“Great concept! Exciting!” —Grayson Shockley, Orange Orchard
“Very impressive!” —Mike Bernard, entrepreneur
“Excellent!!!” —Michael Ellis, world traveler, tour guide and lecturer
“Fantastic! Such a cool project!” —Alicia Dunams, Bestseller in a Weekend
“A fantastic piece of creative work. Awesome. Hats off!” —Brad Stuart, “Tenacious Doc”
