#AskGaryVee Episode 229: The Single Best Episode in #AskGaryVee History

This is Ward from
London with one question. How much of the success of being
VaynerMedia do you think is down to the brand GaryVee? I think GaryVee might be the
best content marketing strategy in history so how much of the success of VaynerMedia
is down to that? What if GaryVee the brand was
not there and what if GaryVee was just running VaynerMedia
without producing any GaryVee content out there? So thank you.
– That’s a good question. Ward, I think he answer is both. I think I have the luxury of
proof being in the pudding as a 22-year-old in a five year
period, I grew a business from 3 to 65 million
in the old world. No capital, no real internet at
scale and so I’m proud that if Gary Vaynerchuk CEO not
out in the ecosystem started VaynerMedia seven years ago you
know it would be successful and the truth is of course it would
be because really here’s the punchline Ward nobody in
corporate America, Pepsi Campbells, the NHL, none of our earliest clients
gave a shit about me. You know what? 99% of my clients don’t now. Now, that would be naïve to not
understand that over the half decade that I’ve been really
running the company, first two years I was somewhat involved,
sales, mentorship with AJ and I was involved but I’m full pledge is what
I do for living now. GaryVee is this is my
side hustle, right. I think that
there’s been benefits. You know people walk in here. I can think of a brand we just
won that there’s the truth is it’s because of the
GaryVee stuff and so I think the answer’s both and I think
that’s what’s really cool. I think one day people will realize how much
I like to hedge. I think of it as a hedge like both matter they
help each other. One’s there if the
others not there. It’s kind of a little
bit of immigrant in me. For somebody who’s so on
the offense I’ve a lot of conservativeness and
practicality that is the foundation of what I do and
I think brings a lot of value to a lot of people watching if
they can get through the layers. And so, the answer is both. It’s a really smart question. I think many people
have done both. Plenty of people have done a lot
of business on the back of their brand when they
entered it. Right? Plenty of restaurants that
are named after famous, millions of things. Just clothing lines, unlimited
and many people are just unknown assassins. Met with a guy the other day he’s built two $400
million businesses. Never heard of them in my
entire life nor have you. You can’t even find anything
about him and you know they have the humility and the kind of
personality that allows that. And so everything works,
not everything works for you. Plenty of people built huge
agencies not being known, just operators and there’s been agencies built on the
backbone of individuals. P Diddy’s agency is P Diddy
and great people that he hired underneath but it
wouldn’t have been there.

you a quick question. – Was it challenging for you to
make the switch from selling to consumers wine to selling in to large businesses like
Toyota or Mountain Dew? – And if so how did
you make the switch? Thanks, Gary. – It’s been difficult because
I like selling to consumers a little bit more and I did that and I’m selling to
companies second. So, like in a weird way even
at the height of my career financially, power, brand I’m
doing something that is in the short term, a decade, which is
long-term for every one of you watching which is one of the
fundamental reasons I will win more than most of you because
the level of patience I have and humility to put in the work
is so much greater than you. So in the short term, 10 years,
I’ve decided to do something I don’t like as much because it
builds the platform for them to allow me to do something
that I love the most and so this is the path I decided. Builds the best framework for me
to go out and sell to consumers again one day and I’ve enjoyed
and learned to enjoy and found different nuances and challenges
in selling to B to B to big companies but I definitely it’s
probably the reason I’ve been so hot on the wine stuff lately. You know during my vacation when
I had a little downtime when I was had some downtime when the
kids and family went to go get the fruit stand and my brain
was getting crazy I wanted to do some action I didn’t go and like hit up an executive to
expand B to B work. I started looking at what Wine
Library was selling and try to sell wine to people, right? I still love the speed, the speed in the
day-to-day interaction. As a matter of fact, when things
are just thinking about for our team is that I think
I want to start a little shop. I think we need to sell stuff. I don’t like just GaryVee
t-shirts and stuff like that. I actually mean like
because that’s like whatever. I mean like something. I think we should brainstorm, come up with
something and sell it. – [DRock] That’s be cool.
– Yeah, I think so too.

– Like a shop, like a shop.
The shop has no shot. – [India] I knew you were gonna say that so
I put in this question. Just kidding. So why is
VaynerSports different? – Because AJ’s starting the
foundation and I trust AJ. What happens is you evolve
is, and this is very much why VaynerMedia is important. The level of understanding that
I have about the four people in this room, DRock, India, Garrett
and Dunk varies given how long they’ve been around but boy is that the reason
I’m gonna be successful. Where as in the past I tried to
do business with other people and they’ve been amazing and by
the way for Kyle and Lindsay and for all the other characters I’ve jammed with
it’s been my fault. I’ve overpromised
and under-delivered. Not happy for me, not excited
but what I learned was I don’t have the bandwidth. I thought I could do everything. I can’t do everything and so
what you need to do is have people that can do everything or
a lot and allow me to do magic on top of it and look
Vaynermedia in two years did 3 million. I sold those clients but
AJ knew how to farm it. I can do the hunting and then
when I decided to do everything, 3 to 100 happens in
a heartbeat, right? So I think that that’s what
I’m looking for and I’m trying understand there’s a lot of
people now I trust in here. I can open a lot of businesses
but I want to know be smart about this and things of that nature and
so that’s the difference. – [India] Cool. Think his name is Randy. – That’s down to self-awareness
and delegation but realizing that you can’t, when you’re an
entrepreneur you’re the most optimistic person on Earth. You can’t deploy that optimism
against somebody else that’s driving and so what you need
is context and to be able to delegate to a known
entity within your ecosystem. Investing allows me to bet on
things that I don’t control. I don’t need to do that with
my own businesses anymore.

I want to interact with new
and more positive minded people using the power of social media and how would
I go about doing that? Thank you so much,
I love your show. Hope I can hear
what you have to say. – This is great. What was his name? – [Dunk] Randy.
– Randy. I heard it. Randy, we’re gonna do an
experiment here and DRock by the way I know Other Tyler. Other Tyler! Get in here. There is a flaw. Staphon doesn’t edit anymore
but you what, get Staphon too! Staphon! By the way Staphon’s
new haircut is legit. – [Dunk] I love it. – Staphon looks way better. You do too. Everybody’s
upgrading their hair game. You look good man. I’m proud of you.
(laughter) Even though you’re not
editing anymore I’m making this statement because you made
the flaw you’ve made the flaw even and you love the
think you’re perfect, DRock. Other Tyler
you’ve made the flaw. The amount of times of on this
show that I’ve said link that shit up and then we
don’t is unacceptable. You’re done with it so you can
go back to your thing though you might get called back in. If I’m asking for
something to be linked up, it’s gotta be linked up.
Alright? So cool, that’s it. So like right now when
I link up what’s his name again? – [India] Randy. – Randy, I’m
gonna link up Randy. We’re gonna link his Twitter
account in YouTube and Facebook and I know some people
different and copy, I get it. We’ll also flash his handles. We’re gonna flash his handles
here at least his Twitter and here’s what’s gonna happen. Anybody who’s been watching the
show for 100 to 200 episodes is a positive and
like-minded person. We got the
community for you, Randy. Instead of giving
something philosophical I’m gonna give you
something practical. Vayner Nation if you think
you’re an awesome person and you have big ideas and you love
networking, I want you to reach out to Randy and I don’t
mean just tweet him and be like “Hey.” I mean reach out to him give
your number, email like connect Randy of the 500 people that are
gonna do it, 17 is gonna be a real thing and
there you go, man. 17 like-minded,
positive people for you. – [India] Yay!

– GaryVee, thank you for
taking this question, man. Your friend Gus Fernandez
from Orlando, Florida. I appreciate it, big fan. Here’s my question. The entrepreneurship Hall of
Fame just called, you’re getting inducted man in 2025 but they need to know what
the plaque is going to read. Let us know and which
hat are you gonna wear? Are you gonna have the hat
that says CEO, NFL owner, what? Let us know man. You’re the man.
Thanks. – Gus it would be a
picture with a B on it. My hat would have a B on it
and it would say Honey Emperor. – [Garrett] For what? – I want to build
a honey empire. I want to be known as an
entrepreneur 20, 30, 40 years from now that this was the guy
that came along and he built $1 trillion empire on the way
he interacted with his people. He created a true insular,
you know it’s funny, once in while when
people first kinda meet me they’re like
and for real in a good way they’re like,
“Are you building a cult?” They’re like razzing me a
little but there actually really weirdly like I just
really love leadership. I really love people winning. I love winning and I just
generally believe that I can win and you can win. We all different ambitions and
different wants and if one wants to go and then go do their
thing Mozel Tov, go do it. Go win. Shit, do you know how
interesting it would be for me if somebody left here, if
Garrett left here and created G-Squared Media it started
beating VaynerMedia. I’d be like my God, kudos fuck
I want to kill him but like you know like kudos. Have nothing but
respect for the game. Honey Empire. I’m going to like this is what
I’ve always had difficulty with how much Steve Jobs has
been put on a pedestal. Cool, you invented awesome
shit but extracting value out of people by making them cry and
pushing them to that place it’s just Star Wars shit. You know the Force is slightly
better than the Dark Side. Just slightly and
that I’m fascinated by. And I want to build something,
what do you think this is about? What do you think this is about? It’s about the woman I just met
in the lobby who works in this new building that stopped
me and said, “I work here. “I’m sorry to grab you. “I found out about you. “Everybody that’s working here “has been talking
about your videos. “I watched it. “I’m inspired,
I’m gonna do my own thing.” I can make money. I can get fame and a lot,
I coulda did a TV show like, I could have been on
Top Chef back in the wine day. It was the number one
fuckin’ show on TV. I could have been famous then. Way more famous than I am
right now eight years later. Legacy, changing the game like
creating the framework for so many of you out there to look up
to and aspire to to build your honey empire so that good
can win ’cause that’s good. That’s just good for all of us.