Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk

[Russ H]

Crush It!

"Why now is the time to cash in on your passion"

Great book. Easy read-- 135 pp.

If you like Gary's over the top presenting style, you may be a bit surprised at the more sedate tone of this book. Few four letter words, and not as many "you can't touch me" taunts.

But the rest is pure Vaynerchuk.

Which for me meant learning lots of things that related to who I am and where I'm going-- all presented in a clear, concise format.

*******

He starts the book by saying he lives by 3 rules:

1. Love your family
2. Work Superhard
3. Live your Passion

Gotta say, he's preaching to the choir on this one. As soon as I read this, I knew I was going to enjoy what was coming.

Chapters:

1. Passion is Everything
2. Success is in your DNA
3. Build your Personal Brand
4. A WHole New World
5. Create Great Content
6. Choose Your Platform
7. Keep it real . . . Very Real
8. Create Community: Digging your Internet Trench
9. The Best Marketing Strategy Ever*
10. Make the World Listen
11. Start Monetizing
12. Roll with it
13. Legacy is Greater than Currency

* Chapter 9 is only one word, in large type: CARE.

********

This is NOT a "how I got rich on the internet" book.

It's about using social media to build your brand.

And it's very Gary-- very much from his POV.

So if you like his stuff, chances are you'll love this book. I did.

But watch a video or two to see if he's your cup of tea (a sample is below):

Happy to answer questions. There was so much good info packed into so few pages that I'm prolly going to read it again.

-Russ H.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhqZ0RU95d4]YouTube - Web 2.0 Expo NY: Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine Library), Building Personal Brand Within the Social Media Landscape[/ame]

Gary talks to CNN (and they really don't "get it"):

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNM9kA1bSHk&feature=related]YouTube - Gary Vaynerchuk Teaches Basic Social Media Principles to CNN[/ame]

 

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[Russ H]

A few more vids:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rv1dCKVvTc&feature=related[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3sSnfFmPU0&feature=related[/ame]

-Russ H.

 

[ZDS]

Bought it release week! Excellent book! Plan on reading it again after finals.

 

[Russ H]

Another good vid.

Really excellent observations.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07Uvsl_8720&feature=related]YouTube - Gary Vaynerchuk live at Emerce eDay 2009 (1/4)[/ame]

-Russ H.

 

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[Gymjunkie]

Great book! I read it in like 6 hours probably. Good blueprint for anyone who is starting and some god advice for others.

More of Gary's video on personal branding, business and social media here (in fact almost ALL of them):

Viddler.com - Browsing garyvaynerchuk's public videos

BTW, his newest keynote from LeWeb 2009 is on his homepage now. Gonna watch it! Check it out

Cheers

 

[Bond]

You can also check his interview at mixergy:

mixergy dot com/wine-library-tv-gary-vaynerchuk/

 

[Russ H]

Excellent interview-- thanks Bond.

And Gary answers a big question for me at 14:30 min in ("How does this scale?")

(Answer: He doesn't really scale-- but he does know how to grow things)

Funny how Andrew gets tongue tied!

-Russ H.

 

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[Bond]

Excellent interview-- thanks Bond.

Funny how Andrew gets tongue tied!

-Russ H.

Hehe, that's true
Glad you liked, he has done some very interesting interviews.

 

[Russ H]

Wow-- I'd never seen his first Conan appearance (I don't watch TV)

I've never laughed at wine tasting before-- this was amazing!

Viddler.com - Gary Vaynerchuk on Conan O'Brien - 1st August, 2007 - Uploaded by djsteen

 

[James Fake]

I help out as a mod on startups.com and he did a special one day answering questions; they are giving all of us a signed copy of the book. Can't wait to read it..

 

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[Russ H]

OK, so I've spent the weekend digesting the book, and thinking about some of Gary's concepts and points.

Here's what I came up with:

1. He's an old-fashioned businessman. He believes that personal contact trumps all else. And that being honest and open (what he calls "transparent") are key to developing good relationships-- be they business or personal.

2. He's very social, and determined to give everything he does his personal attention. This is what makes him "un-scalable"-- but it's also (according to him) has made him so popular. He literally works on answering every email sent to him-- personally. He's now 3 mos behind (and you get an auto message saying he's sorry, according to an interview). But prior to this-- for the past 3 years-- he stayed on top of all of his emails, and answered each and every one. Even when that meant he'd spend 8-9 hours a day doing just email.

3. He uses social media like old fashioned businessmen used word of mouth, or the phone, or other personal one-on-one techniques. THAT is his scaling-- he does a wine show, and instead of just him talking to one person-- there are thousands that listen/watch. He tweets-- and instead of just one person hearing what he has to say (like how it was back in the 1940s) -- now, he has over 1,000,000 people.

4. He sees social media as tools-- NOTHING ELSE. This is where he is honest, and refreshing. He'll switch to any social medium that comes along-- and use all of them. Right now he uses vids, twitter, facebook, and several other things. But he describes them as "like a pen, or a stapler-- it's just a TOOL for getting something done-- nothing more". In this regard, he downplays the actual medium (twitter, youtube, etc)-- and instead focuses on what it can do for him. Excellent POV.

5. He believes in working your *ss off to get somewhere. Again, I loved this. My own experience confirms this. He is honest in that the reason he's succeeded-- or gone to the top -- is that he cares more, and puts in more time. Again, this may not be very fastlane-- but it is very old fashioned business sense-- but put in a modern context. The only difference is Gary sees the new tools (like social media) and he's using them-- to the max (for his purposes).

6. He gets his "scaling" by taking percentages (small bits) of startups he helps. So instead of creating a biz that can be scaled (he can't-- because HE is his BRAND)-- instead, he helps others, and they repay him over time. Multiply that a few thousand times (the guy is a dynamo), and you start to see the value in this.

7. He believes, heart and soul, that you need to do something you're passionate about. This is his message at most keynotes. His point is: If you totally are obsessed with and love what you're doing, you won't be counting the hours. You'll be a maniac putting in as much time-- and effort-- and passion-- as possible. You'll stay up late, and wake up ready to go at it some more. PASSION and CARING are big, big, big elements of his "method" or approach to doing biz. I've gotta say-- from my own experience doing innkeeping and home theater design-- I agree. I've gotten farther/faster by loving what I do-- and wanting to be better. I'm driven.

I loved his comments about working on your new biz: "Stop watching f*cking LOST!", or "Don't quit your job. Start your real passion at 7 pm and go til 2 am. Or if you have a family, start at 9 pm and go til 3." Again, this is me-- I've always gotten my greatest success when I was driven, and worked late. Getting rid of TV for me was a perfect adjunct to that.

All in all, Vaynerchuk is not a wunderkind, or a genius, or a mogul. The media is trying to squeeze him into those boxes ("He's gonna be bigger than Oprah!"), but it's clear most folks who interview him just don't get it (the CNN interview above is a perfect example).

What is he?

He's a guy that comes from immigrant stock. Who worked in the family business and took it from a mill or two to 50 million in a few years. A guy who works his *ss off every day of every week of every year.

And loves it.

My kinda guy. :banana:

Why is he so popular right now?

Because he's the poster child for social networking. He was on twitter when it was a small community. He has riden social media harder than most-- and he's done it by himself--- not with a team of people pretending to be one person.

And the media is trying to figure out if that's good-- or not.

-Russ H.

 

[Sparky]

Thanks Russ!

Love the quote:

"...don't come complaining to me that you business or your job sucks when you've got the high score on the Wii".:fryingpan:

 

[Jill]

I just picked it up earlier this week. Some really good stuff in there.

I'm still trying to reconcile the concept of the "personal brand" with outsourcing my life! Tim Ferriss actually does a good job of this, because he, through his blog, books and speaking engagements ARE his brand. And yet, ironically, he seems to outsource everything that he does NOT want to do.

As someone whose consulting business is built on the strength of her resume, I thought the part about resumes becoming obsolete was interesting.

 

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[LightHouse]

Finally got this and the new fhww, started it two days ago but had an issue yesterday, probably get it done by this weekend. I like how it is written like you are watching wine library tv

 

[Russ H]

Jill-

Excellent points-- 4 HWW and Crush It are at opposite sides of the spectrum-- one advocates outsourcing everything, while the other does everything himself.

I'm more of a 4 HWW person. Strike that: I'm more of a reformed "Do everything myself" guy.

But I got a lot out of Vaynerchuk's book. Specifically that social media is just a tool, and you need to use it to keep up. And be prepared for something else to replace it-- soon.

-Russ H.

 

[Jill]

4HWW and Crush It are at opposite sides of the spectrum-- one advocates outsourcing everything, while the other does everything himself.

I know! They are, in many respects. But they do have a few points of intersection. For instance, Tim Ferris spoke recently about the concept of 1000 True Fans, each who has his own sphere of influence, resulting in exponential growth of a message or following, especially as it pertains to social networking. TF created his blog site with the purpose of building this "fan" base that would be instant "followers" of his book once it was released.

But I'm with you. If I AM my business, then I can never leave it! I heard many, many years (decades? eek) ago that a successful entrepreneur is not measured by a $$ amount, but is one whose business continues to grow and thrive whether he's there or not.

 

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[Luke12321]

I got the book over the holidays. I think the best message of the book is doing what you love, doing what you are passionate about. We have discussed this on the forums here....and it is still something I struggle with.

As Jill points out, if I build my brand through social media....when does it ever end? Will my income continue to grow if I stop twittering or whatever the platform is at the moment? I love the message of hustle to make dreams come true. I think everyone would agree here, you have to hustle to make things happen.

Personally, I look forward to watching his career progress....after the social media boom has passed. I like him...I like his message. Doing it as a business model though or lifestyle, maybe not...

 

[CMCarlin]

I love Gary V's approach to life. I could watch his videos all day in the hopes that his enthusiasm and passion becomes contagious. Gary's passion and drive and Tim F's execution and efficiency are the 'take aways' that I get from either of them. Even though the methods they preach may be polar opposite, their real strengths compliment each other very well.

 

[CVentures1B12]

I wish I would have seen this earlier! Finished the book about a year ago. Loved it. Pretty much everything has been touched on here about Gary V. and Crush It that I, also, got out of the book. The main thing I brought away though?

Passion. Have it or lose.

 

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[Gymjunkie]

Can't wait for his new book The Thank You Economy. Will buy it along with Fastlane book and a few others...

Thank You Economy is a thing that not only Gary V mentions, Seth Godin mentions it too applying it to book industry (buying a book is just a symbolic thank you to the author for his thoughts and content). I wonder what Gary V has to add..