26: Fail Fast? No, Start Slow! Secrets from Building (and Exiting) the World’s Biggest Wine Brand with Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey

How would you run your business differently if you started with the end in mind? Today’s show is all about forming your exit strategy up front… and there’s no one more qualified to talk about that than the co-founders of Barefoot Wine. Bonnie Harvey and Michael Houlihan weren’t even “wine people” when they went into business. Yet they found a way to outsell everyone else and eventually had giant companies competing to buy THEM. (They happily sold to Gallo in 2005.) In this episode, you’ll learn the strategies that drove their explosive growth and the way in which you can apply them—no matter your experience level. From the simple question that launched their business, to the pitfalls of “falling in love with your product,” to why every entrepreneur should meet business brokers for lunch once a month, this show is packed with practical, hard-won wisdom you can immediately implement. Download this one, subscribe to the BiggerPockets Business Podcast, and share this episode with just one person who you think you would get value out of it! In This Episode We Cover: Barefoot’s (crazy!) origin story The one-sentence piece of advice that guided their launch Identifying a hidden opportunity in a competitive market How to design an iconic logo Why your market is more crucial than your product Avoiding the unnecessary expenses that kill most businesses How “worthy cause marketing” transformed their customers into advocates How to take other brands' followers The importance of ensuring your product display is correct How to think about what retailers want Preparing to sell a business Using narrative storytelling to teach entrepreneurship And SO much more! Links from the Show BiggerPockets Forums The Barefoot Spirit Audiobook Listen on BiggerPockets: http://biggerpockets.com/bizshow26 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices