This compact new book published by one of the wine industry’s most successful women shares how being both charming and uncompromising, kind and steadfast, profitable and socially responsible can help small business owners gracefully manage challenges head on.
 
Susan Sokol Blosser knows what it takes to achieve the right balance.  A pioneer of Oregon’s highly acclaimed wine industry and co-founder of Sokol Blosser Winery, she expertly captures 30 years of experience in her new book Gracious & Ruthless: Surprising Strategies for Business Success.  Little in size, but big in ideas, the 55-page book is packed with practical advice from someone who has lived the challenges of running a business and not only survived, but thrived.

Both nurturing and tough, Susan commiserates with the aches and pains of the entrepreneur but doesn’t hesitate to demand excellence in all circumstances. “If your neck hurts from lying under the bathroom sink to repair a leaky faucet, your shoulder aches from hunching over a computer, and your mind is numb from designing a new sales strategy, you epitomize the small business owner,” Susan reflects in her self-published book.

The Oregonian’s award-winning political cartoonist Jack Ohman contributed lighthearted, self-deprecating illustrations of Sokol Blosser to accompany her straight-forward advice on such topics as dealing with workplace gossip, knowing when to let go, keeping your cool and being authentic.
 
“We face the same challenges as larger businesses, but without a staff of specialists to support us or the funds to cushion us against blunders,” said Sokol Blosser.  “Our businesses may be small, but collectively we form the core of the economy.  This book is written for those hard working individuals who are taking the plunge and willing to pour their energy enthusiasm and savings into something that gives life purpose and meaning.”
 
Gracious & Ruthless is the capstone of Sokol Blosser’s successful career and heralds the next chapter in her life as a writer.  Her first book, At Home in the Vineyard: Cultivating a Winery, an Industry and a Life, was published in 2006. Susan retired in early 2008 at the height of her career, appointing her children co-presidents of the family business, Sokol Blosser Winery. An innovator in sustainability and the triple bottom line approach, Sokol Blosser has earned two Lifetime Achievement Awards for helping create a world-class wine industry in Oregon.