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| Passion v. Arrogance: A Dana & Goliath Story of Wine, Women and Wrong! | 
 enlarge | Author: Margaret E.j. Broderick
Publisher: Passion Power Press, Inc
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $4.74
You Save: $25.21 (84%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 2265959
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 1.1
ISBN: 0976259761
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.2209772
EAN: 9780976259763
ASIN: 0976259761
Publication Date: February 14, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: postal tracking emailed, new
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 6 | | NEXT » |
 Truly a must read. January 18, 2006
Reviewed by Joanne Benham for Reader Views (1/06)
In the early nineties, the author and her partner, an award winning winemaker, had a dream, a passion if you will, to open a unique, female owned winery. They succeeded in their quest, going international with their own private label wine, until 2002. As the country dealt with the aftereffects of the dot-com economy crash and venture capital money sources dried up, they realized that they had no option but to close the business.
They carefully structured a plan which would allow them to fully satisfy all their creditors and even realize a small remuneration for themselves. Armed with this plan, they met with the bank holding their loan.....and the nightmare of their passion versus the bank's arrogance began.
This book follows them as they attempt to execute a dignified closing of their pride and joy while dealing with a life-threatening illness. You share their journey as they deal with arrogant, corrupt attorneys and bankers, enter the courtroom to go before an incompetent judge and watch their dream, literally, go down the drain.
The author takes great care to make a clear separation of facts and opinions, drawing heavily on e-mails, letters and trial transcripts to lay out all the facts in an unbiased manner.
I found myself unable to stop reading, getting up early in the morning to finish the book. I can only hope writing this book was a catharsis for the author. I shared her passion, her pain, her disgust, her hopes and her fears.
Finally, in the author's own words: "....this story was designed to be an education in passion versus arrogance, right versus wrong and even, at times, women versus men."
Truly a must read.
A cautionary tale for small businesses August 17, 2005
This is the true story of two women, Margaret (the author) and Angee, who decide to start a woman-owned winery in Indiana.
In general, things go exceptionally well. There are the usual ups and downs as with any startup, but for Margaret and Angee, it's mostly up. They experience double-digit growth each year, their winery becomes known internationally, and their business reputation is excellent. They also go through a number of salespeople, of varying degrees of competence.
After six years of long nights and weekends, and after failing to get financing for expansion, the decision is made to close the winery. Margaret and Angee already had a plan in place to take 90 days to complete the closing. That way, the creditors would be paid, and it could all be done the "right" way. The bank said No; they wanted their money now. Throughout the whole closing process, the (unnamed) bank exhibits a level of professional incompetence that borders on unreal. At one point in the process, Margaret and Angee are refused entrance to the winery, by the bank, in order to sell bottles of wine already on the shelves to raise money to pay off creditors. At another point, a barrel of unbottled wine has to be dumped because it has gone bad. Margaret and Angee are refused entrance into the winery in order to bottle and sell the wine.
Around this time, Angee contracts an undiagnosed, chronic pain condition that puts her out of action for much of the closing process. A poorly planned auction for the winery's assets is held by the bank. It nets them a couple of percent of the value of the assets; if the bank had followed the Margaret and Angee Plan, they would have received over 90 percent of the value of the winery's assets.
The reason for the bank's strange behavior is discovered later in the book. They are in trouble with the FDIC over their debt level, and have been told to reduce it, now. The American Dream of entrepreneurship becomes a nightmare of lawyers, bureaucracy and court appearances.
This is an excellent book. It isn't just an interesting startup story, it's also a must-read cautionary tale for all small business owners. Don't assume your bank is one of the Good Guys; prepare yourself, financially, ahead of time. A good place to start is to read this book. At the risk of sounding like a cliche: This could happen to you!
 Definitely passionate... July 3, 2005
I'm a bit of a sucker for true stories, so I was interested in reading `Passion v Arrogance: A Dana and Goliath story of Wine, Women and Wrong'.
Margaret and her partner operated a small winery that went `sour'after mismanagement of their financial affairs by their banking institution. This book tells the story of the struggles the owners faced through trying to do what was right in the face of incompetent handling of their financial affairs from various outside sources.
I enjoyed reading the beginning of this book but feel that the later part of it could have been improved by summarizing some of the details regarding the discussions between the financial institutions and the owners of the winery.
Passions v Arrogance would appeal to those of you interested in women's issues, small business management (especially the financial aspects of this if you are in America), and also those of you interested in the basic human need in most of us of wanting to see the right thing done
A truly great read May 7, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In a groundbreaking partnership Angee Walberry and Margaret Broderick collaborated to launch a business venture called Gaia Wines, Inc. This was the first solely women owned American winery. Gaia Wines won them the "Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist" award. Gaia Wines also achieved six years of consistent double digit annual growth -- no small accomplishment in the volitale and highly competitive field of wines. In "Passion v. Arrogance: A Dana & Goliath Story of Wine, Women and Wrong!", Margaret Broderick vividly recounts the compelling story of this small Midwestern winery under female ownership, competing in what was traditional considered a "man's world". With their impressive start and remarkable international growth, the women were eventual to face the difficult business decision to close down their enterprise. "Passion v. Arrogance" details the results these women faced from the business world, as well as revealing the excitement, the commitment, the dedication, the hard work, and the dream that they (like all aspiring entrepreneurs) must possess when they start a commercial venture. "Passion v. Arrogance" also chronicles the inevitable changes in relationships, fluctuating economic times, and just how government involvement with a financial institution's operation in a private venture caused a cascading of ultimately disastrous actions leading to the demise of a once promising and successful entreprenurial venture. Of special note is Margaret Broderick's candid discussion of the mistakes, the struggles, and an ultimate belief in the leadership and management that allowed her and her partner to continue a final two year struggle against the rising odds against them. Highly recommended for Women's Studies and Business Studies supplemental reading lists, "Passion v. Arrogance" is informed and informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking, and from first page to last, a truly great read.
Wine, Women and Banks! April 23, 2005
PASSION V. ARROGANCE is like the journal of one woman's account of love and commitment to herself, her partner and her dream. This is the story of two entrepreneurs, both women, trying to find their place and make their dream of a successful winery in the Midwest come true, instead they come face-to-face with the realities of success and of failure. The author shares the ups and downs of owning a business and the circumstances which lead to its ultimate demise. She also shares a very personal and poignant side of her relationship with her partner Angee. PASSION V. ARROGANCE is not a comfortable read but it is honest and insightful.
Author Margaret E. J. Broderick has done entrepreneurs (and lovers) a favor by writing this cautionary tale of business, banking, bottom lines and continued faith.
Vannie(~.~)
Work & Family @ BellaOnline.com
http://www.bellaonline.com/Site/workandfamily
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