Conquering My Piles

I am surrounded by piles. Piles of business cards. Piles of correspondence. Piles of meeting notes. Piles of work everywhere I look.  Buried beneath the piles is a large stack of resumes. And right on top is the one from my new DREAM GIRL!  Yep, I'm pleased to announce I've finally found the perfect candidate for my open position. I actually tried to hire a DREAM MAN, but as luck would have it, no one of that gender presented themselves. (Calm down all you HR types, I'm only kidding here!!) So, very soon I'll be busy training, coaching, and mentoring my new Executive Assistant/Marketing Administrator, Jennifer. She's got some big shoes to fill, but I'm confident she's up to the task as she brings loads of administrative, marketing and wine industry expertise to our dynamic little team. And, she's even passed her Level 1 Master Sommelier exam which is kind of cool too.

So, now that I can check “hiring” off my to-do list, I've got to get back to my piles. Top of mind is finishing the follow up from my recent New York trip. I've already committed to going back in September, which is just about the time I will have recovered from my last trip! Let me explain.

If you've never gone on a sales and marketing trip to New York, you don't know what you are missing. In fact, spending a week in New York should be REQUIRED for anyone thinking about getting in this business. Because let me tell you, it is a humbling experience. Even for a veteran winery like ours, this market is tough. Luckily we make wines in the price points that people are actually buying these days. And it helps that we've got a bit of name recognition along with the delicious quality and fantastic press/accolades. But, clearly we need to get out there and work the market more frequently. Just like anywhere else, it's a relationship-based business, and who you know is just as important as what you have to offer.

While my last trip seems like a distant memory (boy, a lot can happen in 3 weeks!) the trip entailed a 7 hour distributor trade show, several days of