Sandra Guibord, Sandra's Wine Life
Name: Sandra Guibord
Company: Sandra’s Wine Life
In less than three sentences tell us about your company and what you do.
Sandra Guibord is the founder and CEO of Sandra's Wine Life, a multi-media wine lifestyle and wine industry resource platform that celebrates selecting and enjoying wines for entertaining. Sandra is also a sought-after corporate wine educator, working with top corporations to educate and entertain their VIP clients and executives.
What lesson or skill did you take with you from a prior job to help you succeed in your role today?
It is nearly impossible to build a business by yourself from the ground up and not experience failure, roadblocks, and negative feelings. When I started building my business, this was a huge theme I made sure to keep in mind throughout the years so I could try to experience that warped perception of reality as little as possible. I have loved the mantra “fail big” and that has been something that’s guided me through the ups and downs and lows and highs that come with being an entrepreneur. Making mistakes and having some failures is how you learn to better build your business and yourself, essentially. Therefore, to keep my head on straight and not get mislead by warped perceptions, I welcome failure and see it as something that keeps pushing me onward.
What is something you do differently from the industry standard?
It has always been clear to me that the wine industry has missed the mark in educating people in the USA. Wine has not been a part of our culture as it is in Europe, so many Americans basic knowledge of wine, regions and varietals is limited. My company, Sandra's Wine Life, has a multi media Wine Education platform that focuses on the average wine enthusiast that is interested in expanding their knowledge. Traditionally, the Wine Industry has focused on Wine Competitions and Industry experts to validate their products and then market these validations to the public as if that is all the information that is required to peak the consumer's interest. I have taken my message directly to consumers by explaining varietals and pairing this information with Holiday meals, Romance, Business dinners, Friendly gatherings. All the opportunities that s consumer has to experience a new wine in an environment that it fits. "Wine Solutions" for everyday wine life, for enthusiasts to broaden their palate.
What would you do differently if you were starting your business today?
If I was starting my company today, I would push myself to jump in the water head first! I took my time to build slowly as it felt more comfortable from my hesitations. I had advisors, friends and influencers pushing me along and saw what I wouldn't allow myself to see.
What are three strategies you use to market your business, grow brand awareness and generate bottom line growth?
1- Make family time a priority
2- Exercise, sports are important to clear your head
3- Having a partner that I can share my concerns with and talk through issues.
What was an obstacle you overcame to get your business where it is today? Please share the story behind it.
Having too grand of an approach and needing to scale back my services. While I don’t necessarily think it’s a mistake to have a grand vision, I do believe that it needs to be feasible within the timeline that you set for yourself. For example, I’m currently on the first leg of my Northeastern book tour to promote my first book, Find Your Wine Identity. When planning this tour, I made sure to give myself enough time in between each book signing to still focus on Sandra’s Wine Life and other aspects of my business, not letting those fall to the wayside because I’m overwhelmed with traveling. While my ultimate goal is to continue this book tour across the county, I’m taking it step by step as to not overwhelm myself and in turn, potentially neglect other important aspects of my business.
How do you support other female founders and women in business?
I am always pleased to meet other female CEO's, Business Leaders and up and coming executives. I have participated in "She Speaks" and other organizations, that give women in Business Leadership roles a platform for networking and business partnership building. It is great inspiration to meet these women and learn from them. Tracey Thomas Publisher and Founder of Venü Magazine, has become a strategic media partner of my company. I have been influenced by her passion of what she calls "positivity through partnership". Which is choosing to work with uplifting and positive people and business partners. This is an association and mission that our companies enjoy together.
What does BEING a FoundHer mean to you?
The entrepreneurial and FoundHer journey is definitely one of self-discovery and as long as you keep building and working, you keep discovering new things about yourself; it never stops. In my past careers, I had always been a ‘supporting role’ in companies and never was the one who lead the pack. While building my business, I also built a better sense of confidence for myself. I learned right away that I could be the one to ‘lead the pack,’ take charge, and spearhead movements. I did not need the approval of anyone anymore and I found that I could take on even more than I ever thought possible. This one self-discovery has been so important in my journey because it gives me a solid foundation to keep building my company on. No company will succeed if the person does not believe that they can reach their end goal and keep leading themself to greatness.
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