Laura Kendall’s Post

I love being able to work remotely, but it is sooooo powerful to spend time in person. The InnoVint sales and marketing teams got together for a couple of days last week in the heart of our industry: Napa 🍇 🍷 I’ll be the first to admit that I got far less “work” done than I had hoped. I’m feeling a bit behind on emails and other tasks. But I feel more energized and connected to my teammates. That is the power of spending time in person. Right?! 

I'm fully aware that my network here is not primarily winery professionals (yet 😉), but this initiative is too exciting not to share. Access to industry benchmarks is such a magical thing. Whether that is for revenue or growth targets, brand awareness, or employee satisfaction. Without them, companies are flying blind and unsure where to focus their efforts. How many times have you wondered... How am I doing compared to my peers? Unfortunately, there hasn't been a #wineindustry benchmark report focused on the overall health of their business. 🌟 At InnoVint, we're going to change that. We've just launched a first-of-its-kind industry survey to assess the financial, operational, and cultural health of wine businesses across the nation. 🌟 So, if you are one of my new wine industry connections on here, I encourage you to take the survey and help us build an industry baseline. If you're not and have a connection with any winemakers or industry professionals, please tag them!! The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete (more like 6-8), is completely anonymous. Plus all participants will get priority access to the results and takeaways AND will be entered to win one of two $500 gift cards. 🔗 Grab the link in the first comment or head to innovint.us

"Pay it forward" Remi Cohen said this several times throughout her keynote at the North Bay Business Journal Wine Industry Conference yesterday, which focused on mentorship and successful strategic planning for wineries. What a great reminder to help others, particularly professionally. Take a chance on someone. Lean on your community for support. And then, well, pay it forward. Coincidentally, as I also learned from Remi, April 28th is national pay it forward day! Thanks for setting such a great example of running a culturally and operationally successful business, Remi! Everyone at Domaine Carneros Winery is lucky to work for you 👏

Ensuring long-term success is crucial for any business, regardless of the industry. Nobody starts a business with the intention of seeing it fail. The #wineindustry is no exception. While winemakers excel at the craft of making wine, they often lack resources to ensure their businesses thrive in all aspects - including financially, operationally, and culturally. Today we published a new resource with the specific goal of helping wineries run better businesses (the mission we are all on here at InnoVint). Our Healthy Wine Business Framework highlights 5 essential tenets of a thriving, successful winery: 💰 Is Profitable: Do you understand how much it costs to produce your products? How do your financials compare to other businesses of similar size and scale? 🏆 Pursues Operational Excellence: Are you losing money due to inefficient workflows? Can you improve processes to decrease bottlenecks and costs? 📊 Relies on Data: Are you using the best technology in each segment of your business? Are decisions made based on data? 🌟 Builds a Positive Work Culture: How are you recognizing and rewarding your top talent? Does the business have a strong vision and plan for success? 🤝 Is Community-Centric: Are you regularly sharing lessons learned with others? How wide is your network? Do you intentionally seek new perspectives? Again, I’d argue these are likely relevant to many businesses and industries. What do you think? If you’d like to see the full framework, check out the link in the comments!

My biggest realization after almost 6 months of working in the #wineindustry? Wine businesses have been underserved in terms of technology. 😭 That said, it is sooo rewarding to help these family-owned, generational businesses ditch their legacy systems and upgrade to intuitive, cloud-based technology that is purpose-built for winemaking. Yes, referring to something as “cloud-based” is still revolutionary in this world of wine. 🤯 🤯 🤯 But, I’m confident this is quickly changing!! Hill-Smith Family Estates, a large six-generation South Australian wine business, recently partnered with InnoVint and discovered the power of 100% API-based technology. The flexibility and modern codebase allow them to build custom solutions that connect previously disjointed processes. Congrats to the team at HSFE for their innovative approach! 👏 🍷

While this article is positioned for wine producers, the takeaways are applicable to many other industries. Basic financial understanding goes a long way in running a business, but it is unfortunately not a skill most business owners have. I'm excited to work with Ashley Leonard and the rest of the InnoVint team to continue to bring education like this to help wineries (and beyond) thrive, especially during challenging times!

We are #hiring a Community Evangelist to lead InnoVint’s community and events strategy as we set forth on a mission to help wineries operate like modern businesses. If you or someone you know has #wineindustry experience, is passionate about bringing people together to learn, and is looking to crush it (🍇 pun intended) in 2024 - I’d love to chat with them. Check out the role here: https://lnkd.in/gXzQN9zZ Feel free to send me a DM if you have any questions!