Can We Talk About Gary V? (Vaynerchuck)

[PedroG]

I could understand taking some advice for prioritisation, automation and mindset from Ferriss, but wonder if Robbins could provide any value for someone willing to bet his pants on own business created according to TMF ideas?

Could you point to some of his books / materials? Maybe I lost something valuable...

I just read "Awaken the Giant Within." One of the best books I've ever read. It's a blueprint for how to understand yourself and then change yourself. Our beliefs, values, rules, and our identity determine all of our behavior. He teaches techniques on how to change all of them so you can become the person you want to be. I highly recommend it.

 

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[Rickchise23]

Let me weigh in briefly as I can see both sides. First off, below is a photo of me and Gary V in 2009 I believe. He flew into town and even though he looked physically exhausted and sick (pale as hell here) he gave a 50 minute talk at a bookstore and then sat and shook every single persons hand and signed their books. He also talked at length with every single guest. I watched as person after person went up and asked him multiple questions. He was in no rush and took the time to try and help everyone. This is why I will always have mad respect for Gary and why his early work motivated me so damn much to do things differently. He is truly authentic and has an unprecedented level of work ethic and energy.

That being said I understand why he rubs people the wrong way. I laugh often when I see friends of mine who are peddling MLM bullshit who will post Gary V hustle videos everyday and talk about how they are business owners. For us real business owners its like "ya.... ok bro, I don't want any body wraps or skin cream."

I think because he is authentic and so high energy and motivating, he does attract the dreamers who love to be inspired but never really end up doing shit but I don't think that is his fault. I don't watch too much of his stuff these days, a lot of it is regurgetated, you can only say get off your a$$ and provide value so many times. But I do buy his audiobooks and I always will. I think he is a bright guy and a trend spotter and if nothing else I like to see where he thinks the markets, tech and social media are trending toward.

My advice, watch his earlier stuff and read his books. Don't worry about seeing all his videos, if you've seen every single dailyvee you probably are not successful...

 

[ravenspear]

Yeah, I guess you're right. I just always feel like his stuff is a sales funnel.

I just saw him at an event with about 7 other speakers and he was literally the only speaker to not give a sales pitch for something at the end of his talk.

He also said plenty of other points that came up in this thread, like too many people just watch his content as a fake and never take action.

 

[EN_VY]

Gary Vee is dope. The definition of a hustler IMO. I stopped following him a while back because he says things that I already know. Every video is like seeing his last video. He has said a few times to stop following and watching his videos, and to get to work.

 

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[Bosch Fawstin]

I knew Gary V as a customer in a restaurant I worked at, and he was a very kind and a very generous one. He used to have wine tasting parties at the restaurant. And a handful of years later, I saw how far he had gone. Well deserved.

 

[Jose L. Nimmons]

A common line of criticism against Vaynerchuk is that he is a snake-oil salesman, one of a growing number of Internet celebrity marketers who make their money telling eager beaver entrepreneurs that they, too, can get rich and famous by self-marketing on social media.

“As for me, I like him.

 

[solaris1972]

Resurrecting this old thread....

I came across one of his videos earlier today and tried searching the forum for him.

For what I can tell, he is very motivational, I like his personality. And the messages he pass. But I think the crowd get it wrong.

He is just like: MEN, WAKE UP, TAKE ACTION. START ANYTHING, EVEN A SHITTY BLOG, BUT START. I mean, he is not saying you are going to be rich by blogging, but inspiring you to TAKE F*ckING ACTION. And then, after you start, you'll get the feedback from market and will start seeing a lot of niches where you can act. That's where his marketing material will apply. You will see some niche somewhere (ex: like he saw with selling wine online) and having your blog established, you can use it as a tool for marketing (via blogposts promoting you own company, positioning your blog on the top of Google Searches for your niche and putting banners about your product, etc).

And as the time passes, your blog will become less and less relevant for your income, as your business will naturally grow. But it's important that you START something first. That's the only way you can get some feedback from what the market demands. I know this because I wrote to a web magazine some years ago and the ads weren't selling. So we analysed setting up a crowdfunding campaign, like Patreon. But Patreon didn't support our country's currency and it added a lot of bureaucracy for receiving the money (yeah, always the government F*cking you). And then I came with the idea of using some APIs from payment gateways as a way to set up a landing page that processed the donations in the same way Patreon does, but with lower taxes (as all the platform was made by ourselves, we just paid like 1 to 2% to the processing gateway) and, of course, support for our currency.

And it worked EXTREMELY WELL. The crowdfunding was a F*cking success. I even envisioned expanding it and building a Patreon-like platform with the same structure and charging the fees myself, pretty much a Patreon competitor, but using my local currency. I didn't stick with the plan because I saw an even more profitable business niche (and didn't want to handle the money-related responsibility and bureaucracy), but some months later someone did it and the platform is still growing nowadays (FYI the name is "Padrim", it's the "brazilian Patreon").

Also, during that period, I saw some performance-related problems with the magazine that I solved with my previous IT knowledged. And then, I spotted A LOT OF BLOGS suffering from the same problem. I also envisioned building a business based on this, a powerful cache-layer PaaS for blogs in order to reduce the hosting costs (some blogs pay like $300+ a month for IT infrastructure when they could be spending like $10 to $20. We did just like this, from $400+ we went down to $20). I got close to build an entire business on top of this, and also I didn't stick to it for much time because I saw an even more promising niche, where I'm now for about 1 year.

Do you see? You have to be in the market to spot those hidden demands. So, the idea is, start a F*cking blog about something you KNOW. Get in contact with your fans. Get in contact with other blogs. Get in contact with brands. Someday, you may receive a comment like "oh, it made me wonder why X thing don't exist yet..." from some fan. And a tip like this could become YOUR F*ckING FUTURE BUSINESS. Just look at the case of the Paintbrush Cover. You may start some videogame blog and find that you can build or import and resell some console accessory, you can start some surprise box monthly system, you can start reselling videogame servers as a service, etc.

The sky is the limit.

 

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[Vigilante]

I just bought his book as I saw it on the shelves at the airport. Haven't read it yet. Anyone else read it? Interested in your review. I am not a huge fan of his, but everyone has a story to tell and I can learn from anyone, even self-aggrandizing self-promoters.

 

[Andy Black]

Resurrecting this old thread....

I came across one of his videos earlier today and tried searching the forum for him.

For what I can tell, he is very motivational, I like his personality. And the messages he pass. But I think the crowd get it wrong.

He is just like: MEN, WAKE UP, TAKE ACTION. START ANYTHING, EVEN A SHITTY BLOG, BUT START. I mean, he is not saying you are going to be rich by blogging, but inspiring you to TAKE f*cking ACTION. And then, after you start, you'll get the feedback from market and will start seeing a lot of niches where you can act. That's where his marketing material will apply. You will see some niche somewhere (ex: like he saw with selling wine online) and having your blog established, you can use it as a tool for marketing (via blogposts promoting you own company, positioning your blog on the top of Google Searches for your niche and putting banners about your product, etc).

And as the time passes, your blog will become less and less relevant for your income, as your business will naturally grow. But it's important that you START something first. That's the only way you can get some feedback from what the market demands. I know this because I wrote to a web magazine some years ago and the ads weren't selling. So we analysed setting up a crowdfunding campaign, like Patreon. But Patreon didn't support our country's currency and it added a lot of bureaucracy for receiving the money (yeah, always the government f*cking you). And then I came with the idea of using some APIs from payment gateways as a way to set up a landing page that processed the donations in the same way Patreon does, but with lower taxes (as all the platform was made by ourselves, we just paid like 1 to 2% to the processing gateway) and, of course, support for our currency.

And it worked EXTREMELY WELL. The crowdfunding was a f*cking success. I even envisioned expanding it and building a Patreon-like platform with the same structure and charging the fees myself, pretty much a Patreon competitor, but using my local currency. I didn't stick with the plan because I saw an even more profitable business niche (and didn't want to handle the money-related responsibility and bureaucracy), but some months later someone did it and the platform is still growing nowadays (FYI the name is "Padrim", it's the "brazilian Patreon").

Also, during that period, I saw some performance-related problems with the magazine that I solved with my previous IT knowledged. And then, I spotted A LOT OF BLOGS suffering from the same problem. I also envisioned building a business based on this, a powerful cache-layer PaaS for blogs in order to reduce the hosting costs (some blogs pay like $300+ a month for IT infrastructure when they could be spending like $10 to $20. We did just like this, from $400+ we went down to $20). I got close to build an entire business on top of this, and also I didn't stick to it for much time because I saw an even more promising niche, where I'm now for about 1 year.

Do you see? You have to be in the market to spot those hidden demands. So, the idea is, start a f*cking blog about something you KNOW. Get in contact with your fans. Get in contact with other blogs. Get in contact with brands. Someday, you may receive a comment like "oh, it made me wonder why X thing don't exist yet..." from some fan. And a tip like this could become YOUR f*cking FUTURE BUSINESS. Just look at the case of the Paintbrush Cover. You may start some videogame blog and find that you can build or import and resell some console accessory, you can start some surprise box monthly system, you can start reselling videogame servers as a service, etc.

The sky is the limit.

I agree with just start.

To get “market feedback” I’d recommend joining communities online and helping people there and then though.

 

[Andy Black]

I just bought his book as I saw it on the shelves at the airport. Haven't read it yet. Anyone else read it? Interested in your review. I am not a huge fan of his, but everyone has a story to tell and I can learn from anyone, even self-aggrandizing self-promoters.

Which book @Vigilante? He’s got a few.

I think he’s smart, but he’s not a role model for me.

 

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[solaris1972]

I agree with just start.

To get “market feedback” I’d recommend joining communities online and helping people there and then though.

It depends on the market you are heading. Some market demands you'll never see people talking about in communities.

I'm in a lot of Facebook groups, from IT to blogging, and never saw people talking about the niches I mentioned. Communities tend to have much noise, you see lots of posts and it's nearly impossible to distinguish real business demands from amateurs scrambling things and seeking help. Being at the "eye of the cyclone" is a much more privileged position.

 

[Andy Black]

@Vigilante / @everyone ... I think you’ll like this short video by Gary V

Gary Vaynerchuk: How to build a personal brand from nothing

 

[Veloman]

I watched a lot of his content earlier this year before getting more into TMF . Now, I mostly skip past his posts on facebook and what not. The content is the same. Which is fine, but time to move on. I get his philosophy for the most part, but it does go against TMF a bit since he suggests following your passion.

I think he has great expertise in his fields, but it's not so applicable in other industries.

When I first found him, I was really into his content, but have moved on.

 

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[Jakeeck]

I like Gary Vee a lot because his attitude is contagious. That and I like the fact that he accepts and embraces the world for what it is instead of bitching about how it should be. (people always on their phones, people less social... he thinks it's a beautiful thing)

He's quite motivating and he has helped me put things in perspective... mainly the "being a millionaire is F*cking hard" bit I've seen in some of his more recent videos... that you need to respect how difficult it is to become a millionaire.. 99% of people will never do it. It helps me push through the stress when I start to respect that what I'm doing is really F*cking hard and that I need to be that 1 in 100 guy who accepts the stress and sacrifice it takes to become very successful.

That being said, it's a lot of "just F*cking GRIND" kind of stuff that really isn't practical for today's population because of brain chemistry changes resulting from super high dopamine instant gratification hits that almost everyone is addicted to nowadays. Virtually no one can do what Gary does or preaches (put your head down for 8 years and expect nothing... people of my generation and below would rather die than work hard for 8 years and get nothing before reaching success)

I personally don't have that entrepreneur blood either because I was always a non-disciplined kid doing w/e the F*ck I wanted.. video games, mostly, so my brain chemistry is fukked up. I'm an instant gratification monkey. It's the biggest thing I'm trying to fix.

 

[ChrisV]

I think he’s a loud, obnoxious, dipstick.This mistake is rampant in the successful:

Just because you are successful, does not mean you can teach other people to be successful.


Period. And gary Vee is the perfect illustration of the Guru syndrome

The dude started making 6 figures off his wine-advice videos, Wine Library TV and all of a sudden he’s writing books on how to be successful.

I mean the advice I’ve heard from him is just generic fluff. It’s like most TED talks. They’re not wrong. You can’t argue with them. They’re just vacuous, hollow, useless and probably will not have even a shred of impact on your life.

I was just talking in PMs with someone about Gary V:

re gary vee:

I’ve met gary vee.. he’s kind of a dick lol

I’m really not a big fan of his retarded little anecdotes

i honestly have a hard time dealing with non-sciencey people because they never learned how to think

like this comment at 2:16 is a prime example of how gary eve just spews bullshit:

View: https://youtu.be/Q5jiifErFEE?t=134


if someone made a video saying that ‘fashion should be high low’ what would have really happened would be: no one would have gave a f---, then when that style took over fashion they would be one of those crackpots saying “i said that 6 months ago!” and people would be like “wow, i still don’t give a f---“

like he just says things regardless of how true they are but he’s successful so people listen to him... watching successful people give success advice is often mind-numbing... it’s like basketball stars giving basketball advice... i mean the first step to basketball success is “be 6’7” and black”

Guys like me and peterson can take people from A to B because we’ve studied the literature.. even MJ.. 90% of the people who join this forum never achieve anything. i do think that successful people disproportionately hang out on here

I think his advice is pretty useless.

 

[Jeff InfoPreneur]

I have followed Gary for a few years now, listen to him on and off - sort of adds new observations and insights about every 6-months I find despite the enormous amount of content he puts out so listening daily for days on end is not really necessary.

I do try to follow more of what he is DOING versus what he is saying...he is a "stream of conscious" type speaker so you get everything...not all of it is useful with a LOT of repetition.

His main messages (at least as far as I have pulled out of both his content and his actions are...)

1. Recognize trends in attention - and then act fast (most people hesitate, question or look for proof of ROI where he tries and that's how you catch the "attention wave")
2. Put out a LOT of content, your best content that will attract attention...you will always be able to monetize attention so go ahead and share your best stuff
3. Find your best mode of communication - for him video is clearly IT...he is charismatic, talks a lot and is quite influential on video...then that content is re-purposed by his team into written and audio content
4. Don't wait until you have it all figured out...go with your hunches and try (fail fast) mentality...in my experience this is critical and he does it so well. In fact, my belief in why he is so popular is he simply is willing to take things to market that much faster and learn as he goes...99% of others are not willing to do it so they follow him instead
5. Dominate a market and then take the learnings from that success and turn THAT into a parallel business. He grew his father's liquor store business revenue by taking it online...the learnings from that he turned into Vayner Media (new spin on Ad agency), he started gaining the attention and ad agency business of hip-hop, sports and celebrities which he is now trying to evolve into an endorsement business (running shoes) and sports business (he has his own sports streaming gig in incubation. Keep pivoting as you learn about markets first-hand...find a viable model to share that knowledge with others (agency, coaching, products, consulting, etc...)

Actually fun to follow what these guys are REALLY doing, less about following every piece of content they are talking about.

Jeff

 

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[James Fake]

Just like with everything else in life.. The best results usually happens when you take the good parts of everything and mash it into your own.

This applies to entrepreneur influencers as well. Too deep into just one person (style, topic, and perspective) limits you.

For me; I don't listen to what they say... I observe how they move. (how they market, how they engage, how they adjust content to times/trends, their process of pushing out so much content, etc. etc.)..

 

[Sanj Modha]

I don't dispute his success but I disagree with Gary Vee's fundamental principles.

His glorification of 'hustle porn' is dangerous. A lack of sleep, rest, food, time with your family/friends/dog outlook to business isn't a badge of honor in my opinion.

Plus, he's just too angry for me.

 

[Andy Black]

Totally agree with the last 3 posts. Watch what he’s doing, how he’s doing it, and why he’s doing it. Adapt for your own use if you see fit.

Don’t like the “hustle-porn” either (new word on me).

 

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[Primer]

I find it absurd that he talks about the hustle etc when he started with multi million dollar family business under his belt.

 

[Xeon]

One thing I have to admit which is good about Gary V is how he talks and behaves in speeches. It inspires confidence and makes your clients/customers feel that you absolutely know your stuff.

 

[Andy Black]

I find it absurd that he talks about the hustle etc when he started with multi million dollar family business under his belt.

Watch the first few of his Daily Vee videos. He hustles hard. Not my thing, but he does seem to walk his talk.

 

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[Primer]

I do get that but still.... he started from an extreme advantage given the type of advice he gives. I’ve read both of his books And he really hammers home on the “you can start from nothing and make it if you hustle hard enough and suffer long enough” routine. However he started with a multi million dollar business.

Watch the first few of his Daily Vee videos. He hustles hard. Not my thing, but he does seem to walk his talk.

 

[Sanj Modha]

I find it absurd that he talks about the hustle etc when he started with multi million dollar family business under his belt.

Is that true though? His dad owned a mom and pop store in NYC. From what I remember - it was nothing special.

He grew it into a titan with Wine Library TV.

 

[Sanj Modha]

My counterargument to every Gary Vee argument is - if 'hustle' is the secret ingredient to success, why do 75% of Silicon Valley start ups fail?

They have venture capital, technology, manpower and hustle on tap. Clearly, there's more to it.

China's start up failure rate is 85% and they literally work themselves to death.

As far as I'm concerned - we need a new narrative.

 

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[Get Right]

I like his older stuff. The problem is he doesn't deliver for the long haul (like the fastlane). If you need some ra-ra to keep your motivation up in the initial stages of your business then go for it. Once you get rolling you will probably see it as more of a hindrance.

 

[The Abundant Man]

One thing I have to admit which is good about Gary V is how he talks and behaves in speeches. It inspires confidence and makes your clients/customers feel that you absolutely know your stuff.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlJ1XzicKw0

"Good! Pick your phone and start dialing!"

 

[Primer]

Yes it’s true. He talks a lot about how he took the family business from $3million to $30million. However the point he doesn’t focus on ever is that he started with a business doing $3million annually.

Is that true though? His dad owned a mom and pop store in NYC. From what I remember - it was nothing special.

He grew it into a titan with Wine Library TV.

 

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[Sanj Modha]

Yes it’s true. He talks a lot about how he took the family business from $3million to $30million. However the point he doesn’t focus on ever is that he started with a business doing $3million annually.

Creating a business and scaling a business are two different things. Trust me, I'm at that point now and there's a ton of challenges.

That being said - a $3m family biz to sharpen your tools with is a great start. I never had that.

 

[LleixG]

I don't dispute his success but I disagree with Gary Vee's fundamental principles.

His glorification of 'hustle porn' is dangerous. A lack of sleep, rest, food, time with your family/friends/dog outlook to business isn't a badge of honor in my opinion.

Plus, he's just too angry for me.

If you watch his new videos you'll see he hustles because that's what he likes. He actually says to do whatever makes you happy, not what he's doing.