Stephen Griessel is a serial entrepreneur who started his first business at the age of 25. Since then, he has run several companies both in his homeland of South Africa, as well as here in the United States where he resides with his beautiful wife Bridgette. Steve and Bridgette came to the United States in 2002, and today they are the managing owners of Betz Family Winery in Washington state. Steve is uniquely positioned for this business, in that his love for wine started at a very young age while touring the centuries-old winemaking heritage of South Africa. He has decades of experience with diverse wine regions of the world.
What you will learn in this episode:
- Why and how Steve and his wife left South Africa and started over as entrepreneurs in the United States
- What challenges Steve and his family faced when relocating to the US, getting their green cards, and Steve commuting out of state for work
- How Steve dealt with working at a real estate company that collapsed during the 2008 real estate market collapse
- How Steve works with others to operate a South African winery founded in 1699, and to educate people in the United States about the history of South African wine
- How Steve and his family work to integrate their family time with their passion for their work at their family-owned business
- What plans Steve has for his vineyards and new wine launches in the future, and how he stays ready for any potential economic recession or slowdown
- How Steve handles the extraordinary complexity of the wine industry, and how he and his family work toward long-term results
- Why Steve finds working in the vineyards and out in nature to be a calming and centering experience
- Why Steve is guided by a sense of higher purpose, and why vision, passion and discipline are key to his work
- What advice Steve would offer to anyone looking to manage the complexity of today’s business world
Resources:
- Website: www.betzfamilywinery.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/betzfamilywinery
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/betzwine/
- Twitter: @stevewinebets
Additional Resources:
- Website: sharonspano.com
- Book: thetimemoneybook.com
- Events: sharonspano.com/workshops
- Contact: sharon@sharonspano.com
- Twitter: @SharonSpano