Business Advice: Pivoting Your Career, Fear of Wasting Time, How To Stop Overthinking & Difficult Life Transitions l Best Episodes of 2025

Summary

The GaryVee Audio Experience

Episode: Business Advice: Pivoting Your Career, Fear of Wasting Time, How To Stop Overthinking & Difficult Life Transitions l Best Episodes of 2025
Date: December 29, 2025
Host: Gary Vaynerchuk

---

Overview

This episode features a rapid-fire, no-nonsense series of Q&A with listeners and callers seeking advice on business pivots, overcoming fear of wasted time, career transitions, mindset blocks, social media strategy, and finding fulfillment. Gary Vaynerchuk, with frequent contributions from his associate Mike and occasional input from Mackenzie and other guests, delivers tough love, practical wisdom, and signature mix of empathy and straight talk.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pivoting and Career Fulfillment

(00:10 – 08:45)

• Caller 1, an MMA trainee and coder, shares his plateau in coding and questions whether he should continue or pivot, struggling with fear of wasting time and the pressure of feeling stuck.
• Gary and Mike emphasize the freedom to change one’s mind and reject “sunk cost” mentality.
• Gary’s Core Message:
  • You’re allowed to pivot, even if you’ve invested years in a craft.
  • You can choose to “eat shit” (grind through unfulfilling work for a bit longer for practical reasons) or pivot entirely because youth gives you the runway.
  • The only “wasted” time is time spent beating yourself up about the past.

Notable Quote:

“Everybody’s obsessed with this notion of wasted time… No, you didn’t waste that time. You learned how to fucking code. You learned to process. You had your fucking memories of being with your boys in a house in Puerto Rico.” – Gary (04:08)

• On Ambition vs. Contentment:
  • Gary advises giving oneself grace—appreciating the current reality before chasing another high.
  • Encourage self-compassion and gratitude for what you’ve already experienced.

Memorable Moment:
Mike affectionately mocks the caller's sense of time:

“Of course it’s been the best season of your life in recent memory. You're fucking 23. You were like, sperm six seconds ago.” – Mike (06:57)

---

2. Overcoming Fear of Wasted Time & Mindset Blocks

(03:55 – 08:33)

• Gary reframes “wasted time” as part of the human experience, not a failure.

• Emphasizes the value of learning from every “wrong” turn:

  “How about believing it was just part of your story? You think any book that’s interesting doesn’t have the chapters where there’s adversity, there’s conflict?” – Gary (05:31)

• On people at any age reflecting and regretting:

  “You didn’t waste shit.” – Gary (06:36)

---

3. Finding Direction as a Content Creator

(09:12 – 10:40)

• Alex asks about storytelling and whether ideas can distract from the story itself.
• Gary insists storytelling is about trial and adaptation—success is about the storyteller’s willingness to experiment.

“When something’s not working, it’s the storyteller, brother. Try different shit.” – Gary (10:37)

---

4. Navigating Uncertainty in Business (Recession Anxiety, Product-Market Fit)

(10:44 – 11:51)

• Trisha asks about running a “nice-to-have” business during looming recession fears.
• Gary advises focus on innovation and doubling down instead of succumbing to paralyzing worry.

“If you actually believe your business is in trouble, then you have to go harder and you have to innovate. That’s it.” – Gary (11:34)

---

5. Social Media Growth & Content Strategy

(11:51 – 15:57)

• Tiasha, a violinist, wonders about main vs. niche IG accounts.
• Gary demonstrates with his own TikTok that follower counts matter less than the quality and context of individual content.
• Encourages content creators to test, publish a wide variety, and not worry about some posts performing worse.

“It’s about the piece of content finding the audience. Don’t think about where do I post it, think about how do I make content that’s different and interesting and brings value…” – Gary (15:10)

• On followers unfollowing:

"Who gives a shit. Find new people." – Gary (15:54)

---

6. Brick & Mortar Business Decisions

(16:03 – 17:16)

• Elizabeth asks about picking a retail location.
• Gary: If possible, pay an expert; failing that, thoroughly research using online tools and apply common sense.

“If she can’t afford an expert… she has to start really using ChatGPT, Perplexity, and spend 10 hours getting herself educated… and if she’s too lazy… then use common sense.” – Gary (16:35)

---

7. Social Media Balance and Discipline

(17:17 – 20:24)

• Davin asks: How to build a business with social media without getting addicted?
• Mike and Gary say the answer is simple (but hard): discipline.
• Extended, passionate rant about society’s lack of discipline and culture of blame.

Memorable Rant:

“How do you use Social for your business but not get caught up in it? Discipline… You’re not fucking disciplined, you motherfuckers. Are we allowed to- Can discipline come back?… You want to get fucking happy? Get to discipline. Stop fucking blaming.” – Mike (17:32, 19:50)

---

8. Re-entering Workforce, Single Parenting, and Adversity

(20:53 – 25:28)

• Nez, a single mom facing financial and logistical hurdles after a long break, seeks advice.
• Gary offers gratitude reframes (remote work is possible now!), practical advice (seek flexible, part-time in-person work if needed), and tactical personal brand strategy (shout out her Instagram live to his audience).

Notable Moment:
Gary spotlights Nez’s IG (“thatveganphotog”) and encourages listeners in Boston to connect with her.

“You got some beautiful skills. Now we just need... people if you're in the Boston and Mass area, especially if you're looking for photography… that would be awesome.” – Gary (24:21)

---

9. Knowing When to Ask for More or Move On in Your Job

(25:33 – 26:53)

• Andrew: 10 years at same company, did all their digital, wondering when to ask for equity or leave.
• Gary’s advice: If you’re asking, it’s time now. Don’t fear the boss’s reaction; if they fire you for asking, that’s a sign.

“The answer of when should I is almost always right now. Nobody has been happy that they’ve sat on something that’s been eating away at them in the history of life.” – Gary (26:37)

---

10. Scattered, Overwhelmed, but Ready: How to Find Focus as a Creator/Entrepreneur

(26:53 – 30:33)

• Elizabeth (content creator, mom, full-time worker) wants to leave her job but feels scattered.
• Gary recommends a two-pronged approach:
  • Micro: Review Gary’s free 47-page “attention” deck for practical social growth strategies.
  • Macro: Keep experimenting to find what you love, then double down for a year once you’ve got a strong gut feeling.

“Don’t be crippled yet by you being all over the place… keep playing… then no bullshit, go with your gut and just double down on something for a year.” – Gary (28:15)

• On platform focus: pursue TikTok and Instagram and Facebook – “Your audience is on Facebook. I want you on YouTube shorts. I want you on everything.” (30:18)

---

Notable Quotes – Quick Reference

• “You’re allowed to fucking change your mind... There’s 97 trillion other things you can do.” – Gary (00:49, 02:02)
• “Everybody’s obsessed with this notion of wasted time. … No, you didn’t waste that time. You learned how to fucking code. You learned to process.” – Gary (04:08)
• “How about believing it was just part of your story?… You’re living life.” – Gary (05:31)
• “When something’s not working, it’s the storyteller, brother. Try different shit.” – Gary (10:37)
• “It's about the piece of content finding the audience… Don’t think about where do I post it, think about how do I make content that’s different and interesting and brings value.” – Gary (15:10)
• “How do you use Social for your business but not get caught up in it? Discipline… You’re not fucking disciplined, you motherfuckers.” – Mike (17:32, 19:50)
• “You want to get fucking happy? Get to discipline. Stop fucking blaming.” – Mike (19:50)
• “Nobody has been happy that they've sat on something that's been eating away at them in the history of life.” – Gary (26:37)
• “Don’t be crippled yet by you being all over the place… then no bullshit, go with your gut and just double down…” – Gary (28:15)

---

Useful Timestamps

• 00:10 – 08:45: Pivoting, career fulfillment, fear of wasting time
• 09:12 – 10:40: Storytelling and idea gravity
• 11:51 – 15:57: Social media content strategy; growth advice
• 16:03 – 17:16: Finding retail locations
• 17:17 – 20:24: Social media discipline; tough talk
• 20:53 – 25:28: Life/career transition after divorce
• 25:33 – 27:00: Asking for equity, knowing when to move on
• 27:00 – 30:33: Scattered creators, platform focus, entrepreneurship

---

Tone & Language

• Direct, raw, empathetic, and often profane – Gary and his crew don’t sugarcoat, but always mix tough love with encouragement and pragmatic advice.
• Frequent use of vivid analogies and memorable one-liners, rallying listeners to action and self-compassion.
• Maintains an inclusive, conversational, “no excuses” energy throughout the discussions.

---

This episode is essential listening for anyone feeling stuck at a pivot point, overthinking life and work transitions, or looking for practical, honest insight into making bold business and personal moves.

Transcript

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

This is the garyvee Audio Experience. Morning. Good morning. This is T with garyvee live from New York City. Oh, first question here, my man.

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

Basically, I've kind of like reached a.

Point with these last maybe six months. I've kind of realized that I'm plateauing at work.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay, what do you do?

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

I write code.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay.

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

Inspired by VCon1, by the way. If it wasn't for VCon1, I wouldn't. It's like what got me in the software.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I love it.

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

And I was like, really about it, man. Like hustling. Like, I did nothing for two years but like very little friends, very little, like social life. Just put my head down, grinded and like got to where I'm at now with work, which is like a good spot. I'm making like a good amount of money. I moved down to Puerto Rico and I live with some of the guys from my team.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You're allowed to fucking change your mind, I'm sure. Six months ago, a year ago, you were like, yeah, we're going to fucking. Me and my boys are going to.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Go to Puerto Rico.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

We're not going to fucking pay taxes. We're gonna fucking run into Jake Paul and be in the fucking ring like.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Rips and we're gonna fucking like do.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

All this stuff and it's gonna be fucking awesome.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

And the girls down there are crazy and it's all fucking like exciting.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And now it's nine months later and you're like, yo, we're just sitting in this fucking house. I'm bored of shit, coding and this fucking blows that you're allowed.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

You'Re allowed to feel that way and change your mind and move back to the fucking mainland. You're allowed.

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

Here's the thing.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

I don't want to leave.

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

So.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

So don't leave.

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

Since I got here, I picked up MMA and so I've been training like non stop for the last six months. I have two.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

So become a fighter.

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

But that's the thing. I don't know if I want. I like, I like mma, but I don't think I want to be a fighter. You've met me, dude. I'm like a nice, nice guy. Look at me, I've met a lot.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Of scrawny ass who can fight mma.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Have you ever seen o'?

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

Malley?

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

Yeah.

Yeah.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

By the way, don't be a fighter and don't be a coder.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I don't know if you know this.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

There's 97 trillion other things you can do, right?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Let's keep talking.

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

Well, because with the coding, I'm, like, getting to a point where like. Like, I. I just grind it out of, like. Like, my beginner stages. So now I'm, like, at a point where I can, like, start making.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Right, you've invested into this skill, but you've realized you don't like it.

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

I don't.

I don't love it.

I don't love it.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Right, so you've got two choices.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You eat shit for a while and cash in on the skill that you've built and fucking learn how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable for three to.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Five years, or you check the fuck.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Out of it because you're young as fuck and you can and you go.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Become, I don't know, a fucking working.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Clown or, you know, a hot dog salesman or a fucking, I don't know, ventriloquist or a male nanny or a bricklayer or a fucking snow cone maker or a hairstylist or a fucking toothpick salesman.

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

It's up to me. I can choose to continue eating shit.

And cash in or. That's right, it and go, or.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Or you could do what most people do. You can eat shit for a little while until the shit tastes so fucking bad that you crack and you go on to the next thing. Bro, I ate shit from 22 to 34. Do you know what it feels like to work 100 hours a week to build a business? I mean, I love my dad more than anything, but, like, I was 34 years old and had no money and worked 100 hours and was the reason a business exploded. And then finally, at 34, I was like, I'm done eating this shit. And I felt great about it. I did good for my family, and now it's on to my world. Like, we all have different journeys.

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

Yeah.

Yeah, I guess. Yeah.

No, you're right.

It just felt like I've been kind of, like, wasting, like, just being on the.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No, that's it. That's it. That's it, brother. I was waiting for this moment because it's not just about you. It's about the thousands that are watching. Everybody's obsessed with this notion of wasted time.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Oh, fuck.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I wasted a year learning how to code, and now I don't want to go cash in on it because I hate it. You didn't waste that time. You learned how to fucking code. You learned to process. You had your fucking memories of being with your boys in a house in Puerto Rico.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

You did. Everybody's obsessed with, like, I wasted time. Everyone's wasted time. Always.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Forever and Ever.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

There's people who built 10 million dollar companies, made a ton of money in their life, and they wake up at 42 and say, I wasted time.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I didn't have a. I didn't create a family.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

I made money, but I wasted time.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I didn't create a family.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

There's other people that fucking went balls to the wall. Family fun, chill. They wake up at 41 and they've got $100,000 in debt and they're like, fuck, I wasted time. No, you didn't. You lived the life you wanted to for 20 years, enjoyed the fuck out of it. Now you woke up to something different.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Now we can adjust. You can go get a bullshit job that's high, paying for three years to pay off your debt.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

This concept that we've fucked up all the time fucks me up. I think the reverse. I have things that are obviously a.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Waste of time, obviously a disaster.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Obviously wasn't good. Obviously I shouldn't have done. And I look at it as like, I'm glad I did that shit.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I went through the process. I'm living fucking life. I'm a fucking human being.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

I'm living.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm fucking learning.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

It's fucking life. You think anybody goes to fucking heaven and played it 100% correct? Who the fuck played it 100% correct? Thank you, Mason. You're feeling this one, right? Like the fuck. Everyone's like, stuck on fucking. I wasted time. I made a wrong decision. I married the wrong person. I picked the wrong job. I moved to the wrong city. How about not believing that? How about believing it was just part of your story? You think any book that's interesting doesn't have the chapters where there's adversity, there's conflict. You ever watch a movie, they get you all juiced up and, oh, here comes the up part. But good news, here comes the fucking fixed part. Like, you're living life. How old are you?

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

23.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

You're 23 years old. You're fucking a kid. You've done everything right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Do you know me?

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Fuckers I've met that are 59, that are like, I wish I went to Puerto Rico for a year and hung out with my boys, but I just went right into a real job, bro. You didn't waste shit. That.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Fuck that word. I fucking hate that word and I hate using hate.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

But you didn't waste shit.

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

But it's weird though, cuz like. Like these, like, last like six months that I've been here. It's been like one of the best seasons like, of my life in recent memory. So that's why it's super weird, right?

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Of course it's been of recent memory. You're fucking 23. You were like, sperm six seconds ago. No shit. It's like the best season of your life of recent memory. Your memory's, like, fucking one second old.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

But go ahead.

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

You know, that's. It's true. I've had a couple seasons, though, you know, since turning 18.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Respect. But.

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

But it's going really well, man. Like, I'm really happy. Like, I wake up, I walk to the beach, come, like, write some code. We build. Cool. I. I go train at, like, 6. I'm training till, like, 10, 10. And then, like, call my mom, call my dad. Like, it's a good life, but I just feel like, like the nine of, like, I. I don't know. I feel like it could be a little more fulfilling. And so that's.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Well, listen, I don't.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm never gonna begrudge ambition. Ambition's amazing. But, you know, giving yourself a little grace, you know, be nice to yourself. Like, everything you just described sound like.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Mike was sitting here, like, nodding his head.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I almost. His head almost fell off his body.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

He's like, that life sounded great as shit. Poor fucker has to get here early, prep for tea with Gary V. Stressed if the fucking edit's gonna be good.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

But just give yourself a little time.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Look, look.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Blonde, blondie and blonde said.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

He's so cute.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Learned guitar. You got fucking blondes hitting on you in the chat.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Life is fucking good.

[Mackenzie (producer or assistant)]

The.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Are you upset about, bro? Give yourself. Give yourself a little bit of grace. Just a little bit of, like, you know, your mustache.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Your mustache is coming in now, bro.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You're about to win. Look at that. That mustache is coming in. You know what you're doing? I'll see you later. Hey, everybody. Hope you're enjoying the podcast right now. Make sure you follow the podcast. That's why I'm interrupting. Let's keep going on this, but follow the podcast. It'll make my mom super happy. Next question. My man, what's your name? Where are you from?

[Alex (podcast listener)]

Gary V. Is today in space? It's Alex. What's going on, man?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Alex, Real pleasure. How are things?

[Alex (podcast listener)]

Good, good. I'm staying busy.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Good, my friend. What's your question?

[Alex (podcast listener)]

So I'm doing a lot more storytelling on the podcast, and I am wondering what you think about ideas that have. Can they have too much gravity? Can they distract from the story that you're trying to tell? Or does it Just require. Does it just require, like better storytelling?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Better storytelling? Like, the reality is, when you look at the history of storytelling, everything niche and everything broad has worked. And everything niche and everything broad has not worked. It's been the context of storytelling. It's been the storyteller. It's been the distribution that the story is being told on. Different formats create different things. Right, right, right. One of the things I'm trying to do with tea with GaryVee aggressively is teach people how to integrate content and commerce in this live shopping world. Right. So for example, I can say right now to rips, put this up and it's literally in the show. It's in this video right now for 20 bucks and people can buy it while they're passively watching. You can't do that on a different format. So I. I think it really comes down to the storyteller. And as a storyteller, I would tell you that what you want to really focus on is trying different things. When something's not working, it's the storyteller, brother. Try different shit. Okay. All right.

[Caller 1 (MMA trainee, coder)]

Thank you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Love you. Stay well. Mackenzie, get in here. Sneak in here. One from the text.

[Mackenzie (producer or assistant)]

All right, we got Trisha. Trisha, how do you feel confident in a nearing recession when you're a nice.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

To have product business by doubling down. Like the fact that she knows. First of all, I'm not so sold that there's a recession coming. I don't know about that. The fact is people debate recessions all the time. Now, some would argue that we've been in a recession. Right. So I think she's navigated some sort of version of a micro recession. But if you like in some level. At some level, McKenzie, almost everything is nice to have at some level. Right. Obviously you have to put food in your body, but at some level, almost everything is nice to have. And so I wouldn't. Again, we talked about this yesterday. I think a lot of people put themselves into a negative mindset or into over concerning themselves about shit that doesn't actually exist. Lot of fear in the system. I tell her to not even give a fuck. I think just double down. If you actually believe your business is in trouble, then you have to go harder and you have to innovate. That's it. Next question.

[Tiasha (violinist)]

Hello, I'm Tiasha. I come from Slovenia, but I'm living in Berlin.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Amazing.

[Tiasha (violinist)]

So I have started my. I'm a violin concert violinist and I have my academy.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay.

[Tiasha (violinist)]

And I started my IG profile in when Covet started.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay.

[Tiasha (violinist)]

Yes, yes. Listening to you. And my brother said to me like just, just do unless the market is tired.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's right.

[Tiasha (violinist)]

And yes. And that came. I have now around 90k. This is everything organic. But I have started first with music tutorials and then I switched to music videos.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay.

[Tiasha (violinist)]

I have one another account for my academy where I have around 1000 followers and I want to share now more tutorials and I tried that to do on my main account.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay.

[Tiasha (violinist)]

And it's just I have the feeling that the, the, the, the people. I mean, I don't know what to do. Should I really make separate, like.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, go ahead. So look, I think first of all, accounts are changing right in front of our eyes. I'm going to show you something right now. So this is my TikTok, right? I'm going to show you. Let me show you my main one first. I want to show everybody this very carefully. This is going to answer your question. Okay. I have 15 million followers on TikTok, right. My latest post on TikTok right there has 25,000 views, right? You see it now I'm starting a new account where I'm just going around TikTok and I'm replying to people. Okay. It's called Gary Vee replies. Everybody can follow it now. There's 461 followers, right. This video, the one that I just posted, has 32,000 and I only have 461 followers. It doesn't matter what account you're posting on more and more every day. The quality of the content is what's going to matter whether you start new accounts that have old accounts. Of course, some level of the algorithm is based on the following count, but more, more and more every day. More and more every day. It's about the piece of content. Got it?

[Tiasha (violinist)]

Okay. Because TikTok, I have a mix of everything, I'm sure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, everything's going to be a mix of everything. Because the way the social media works now is content is finding its audience. It's not get what. How it used to be where you get a bunch of followers and they see your stuff every time or a percentage of them see your stuff every time. It's now about the piece of content finding the audience. You can make a p. You should make a video about making a salad. You should make a video today talking about music and vinyl ining while you make a salad. Okay, now I know I'm confusing you with that, but the reason I'm doing that for you and this entire audience is I'm trying to Teach you that different pieces of context, content in different contexts in different environments with different ideas can lead to breakthroughs and insights and new audiences.

[Tiasha (violinist)]

Okay.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Do not think about where do I post it. Think about how do I make content that's different and interesting and brings value to the audience. Okay.

[Tiasha (violinist)]

Because I have the feeling that if I post on my main account how to, I don't know, play. I don't know what that I mean, I see that my followers are not so much engaged because they are mainly watching only my music videos. You know what I mean?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes, but the answer is both. And, and there's plenty of content I put out that doesn't get as much engagement as my normal posts. I don't give a shit. I just post the next day.

[Tiasha (violinist)]

Okay. And if they unfollow me and don't want to follow me like that, that, that's.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Who gives a shit. Find new people.

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No defense. All offense. All right, good luck. Awesome. All right, Mackenzie, what do you got for me?

[Mackenzie (producer or assistant)]

I got Elizabeth. Elizabeth, if you have an idea and want to implement it, but it needs to be a brick and mortar location, how do you know where to look for the best location to set up?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

There's people that literally, for a career, know how to find good locations. I. I think this requires homework. This is not an easy question of like, ah, just do it. Like you can pick the wrong location and be in deep shit. And so what I would tell her is that she needs to find someone who actually does this for a living and give them money if she has it. And if she doesn't have that, she has to start really using Chat, GPT, Perplexity and other and Google and YouTube and spend 10 hours getting herself educated. And then finally, and this is an answer to everybody, common sense. So if she can't afford an expert to find a location, and if she's too lazy to do 25 to 50 hours of homework to get better at understanding how to pick locations for a retail store, then she needs to fucking use common sense.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Like, you know, if you're on a.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Side street that nobody fucking walks down, even though it's a good deal, you're gonna be out of fucking business.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Cuz, you know, nobody fucking walks down that street.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Got it? Awesome.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Mackenzie, what do you got for me?

[Mackenzie (producer or assistant)]

We got Davin, Gavin. Davin.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Davin. What does Davin say?

[Mackenzie (producer or assistant)]

How do people balance their relationship with social media to build their business while not becoming addicted to it?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

For example, discipline.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

MacKenzie, discipline.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Turn it off.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Discipline. Do you understand that's How? How do you use Social for your business but not get caught up in it? The way I do it every day I use it for business and I'm barely on it, unless some crazy fucking jets or Knicks news hits and then I'm using it for research.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know how we do. You've become very good at it. I'm very proud of your career growth.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

It's fucking discipline. That's like saying, yo, how do I fucking not get drunk when there's fucking liquor and beer all over my house? Yes, Dustin, don't put your hand on the face. It's called discipline. Can we get into discipline? Are we allowed to get into discipline? Is discipline allowed? How do I. You tell me to use Social for business, but Gary, when I open it, I spend nine hours scrolling brain rot. I have brain rot. You're not fucking disciplined, you motherfuckers. Are we allowed to. Can discipline come back? We put fucking Aura on a pedestal. We love Aura.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Aura's great. Right, Aura?

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

But we can't fucking focus on discipline. You know why you fuckers are losing? You don't have discipline.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know why?

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

At 38 and a half, my back hurt. I was chubby as fuck and fucking not feeling great. Cause I wasn't disciplined with my food and exercise. You know what I did? I got disciplined.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It got better.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

You're not. You always have bad relationships. Maybe it's your fault. Maybe you're peeking scumbucket dudes because you're insecure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Maybe.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Is anybody ready for us to get out of this last 15 years of, like, surface level? You think an ice plunge is gonna fix your life? You think jumping in a pool with.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Ice is gonna fix you?

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

You think you're Gonna Meditate for 15 minutes when you wake up and it's all gonna be good? We need to fucking get in our.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Fucking feelings of our truth.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Enough of this bullshit.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Stop blaming everybody.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

You wanna get fucking happy? Get to discipline. Stop fucking blaming. Enough of pointing fingers. It's mom's fault.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's dad's fault. It's your boss's fault.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

It's your girl's fault.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's your ex brother in law's fault. It's your fucking ex brother boyfriend's fault.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

As if we're bringing it back the thing from yesterday. As if the Republic of China, the communist engine, is sitting around being like.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Donnie in Idaho, let's fuck him up.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Enough of this shit.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You fucking blamers. You motherfucking blamers. Stop blaming fucking crybabies.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

And you're sitting literally right before this show, looking at your Wells Fargo and see $9.06 in it and BL claiming inflation. 19 blueberries are not you up. Your mindset's you up. Who you spend your time with is you up. How you see life is you up.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Man. Who's on the show? I see a black screen.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Hi.

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

Hi.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

What's your name? Where are you from?

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

I can't believe I'm actually on. My name's Nez in Boston.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's a pleasure. Wait a minute. Are you a Patriots fan, Nez?

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

No, Yankees actually.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I like it. Giants.

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

Jets for sure.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

What?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Let's go, Nez.

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm gonna answer your question. Let's go.

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

You know. Yeah, I get it. So my question that was on there. I am a single mom in the middle of a nasty divorce. I've been a stay at home for the past like 15 years. I mean we've. That's the marriage. But my kids are only six and seven. And I put my career photography on the back burner. Yep. And lost all my contacts and all of that and trying to start that over. I'm not going to be able to pay for rent or anything like that. And I'm still living in the same household. So I just, I don't even know. And I, I need to get my kids to school. School starts at 9:30 and then I have to pick them up. And I don't have any babysitters. Like, it's just me. So I don't. I need to work from home. I think that's the best way to do it because I don't. I can't bring kids to work with me. So I, I'm just looking for guidance on, on how to.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I got you, Nez. So now we're getting into some real shit. This, this is complicated and challenging, but solvable. Let's break this down. Number one, thank. Let's go. Let's go into gratitude. Thank God this is not 1984 where you couldn't work from home. Let's start with that. Right? We gotta, you know, in all the adversity you're dealing with right now, the way you're actually gonna win is if you focus very seriously on the blessings. The fact that you find. The fact that a terrible global pandemic came across that changed everything, that allows you to work from home while you gotta take care of these two little babies is first a huge fucking blessing. Let's get into that. Okay. That's number one, right? Two, Are we talking about doing photography? Is that what you Want to get back in that. That's your love.

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

I would love to, but you can't because that is my passion for sure. But I'm. I mean, at this point I need to just think about them and how to put food on the table, get it and have a roof over their head.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So why now? Let's go back a different way. What about actually getting a job where you go into a place from 10:30 to 3? Work has changed a lot where people are like a lot of companies are not just locked into nine to five anymore. If we're at that place where we're just trying to put food on the table. There is optionality between 10:30 and three. That's number two. Let me, let me ask you another important question. Do you have an Instagram?

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

Yes.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

One of. Honestly, one of the things I want to do right now is shout out your. Are you living in Boston? Yes.

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

Yes.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, one of the things I'd like to shout out right now is potentially your Instagram to let people who are listening to you that are doing work or own things in the Boston area to maybe reach out to you and give you an opportunity. Would that be okay?

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

Yeah, that'd be great.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

What's your Instagram?

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

That? Vegan photog.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I love it. All one word?

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

Yes.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh, first of all, good little work. Little thousand. I like it. I like it. All right, look at this. I'm going to follow you back now. You're welcome.

[Mackenzie (producer or assistant)]

Thank you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You're at 1012. You're welcome. You're welcome. Obviously you're doing. You got some beautiful skills. Now we just need that vegan photog. I just need people if you're in the Boston and Mass area, especially if you're looking for photography on the side or, or if you're. If you got optionality in the Boston area for someone to work between 1030, 1030-2, that would be awesome.

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

I like what's on my Instagram is landscape and astro. But I have experience with wedding photography and everything like that. My website's on there and it has. I have galleries like of my.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And listen, Nez, listen. Now you got this little moment that just happened. A lot of people are following and hitting you up. They're following, they're DMing you. I need you to post two things a day that show your other work for the next seven, eight, ten days. Okay.

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

On the same Instagram. Yep, got it. Even though it's not. I don't have anything new. Is it like just old, old stuff?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yep.

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

Okay, awesome. Gary, you. Thank you so much.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You got it. This. All right, Mackenzie, what do you got for me? Nez?

[Mackenzie (producer or assistant)]

Andrew.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Mackenzie (producer or assistant)]

I've been with the Same company for 10 years doing all of our social and digital marketing.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay.

[Mackenzie (producer or assistant)]

Grown to 200k, Facebook, 76k, Insta. I've done all the work to get us there, plus other stuff. I still make an okay salary. When's it time to ask for equity or bounce and start my own thing?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Right now. Because he's feeling it. He wouldn't have sent that text if he's asking me that question. The answer's now. Roll up on the boss and be like, yo, can I get something? Unlikely. You know, a lot of people don't just give out equity unless he's incredibly important, which he may be. And if that answer is no, now you got to know. And now you can decide, do I want to stay or do I want to bounce and do my own thing. But he's got to start with asking for equity with that person. He's scared because he's scared that person might fire him. Remember we talked about that the other day at a major rant on that. If you get fired for asking for a raise, you're lucky because you've left a piece of shit place. I hope he saw that. But the answer is, listen. The answer of when should I Is almost always right now. Nobody has been happy that they've sat on something that's been eating away at them in the history of life. Breaking up, asking for a raise, changing shit, moving. No one. All right, Elizabeth, how are you?

[Elizabeth (caller, mom and content creator)]

Good. Holy shit.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Holy shit is right where you.

[Elizabeth (caller, mom and content creator)]

My face is next to your face. I'm losing my mind.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

Well, it's lovely to see you.

[Elizabeth (caller, mom and content creator)]

So I love the live shopping. I'm obsessed. But my problem is I'm Scattered Squirrel. So if we can work that into a book, that's what we need is Scattered Squirrel. So I'm a mom of two. I work full time. I've been working at the same place for 18 years. I went out of the rat race, but I'm so trying to change my mindset into a forward business. Like, for. I'm like, I can save millions of dollars for another company. I should be able to come up with enough to live on by myself. So I've been looking into. Watch all your videos. Amazon, KDP Publishing. Writing's always been a thing I've been good at. I'm a better writer than a talker. So I'm like, 98% done a coloring book. So I'M going to publish that just So I do TikTok content, but I'm all just written F bombs. You know, I got like 5,000 people on TikTok, but I don't know where I should be from, like a social media perspective because I don't really have a direction or a thing.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

First of all, let me go in the micro and then I'll go to the macro to your question on the micro. Gary V.com attention. I made a 44 page deck.

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

44, 47.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

47. A 47 page deck for free. I need you to really devour that deck. It's going to show you how to get more views, more stuff in. That's the micro. In the macro. In the macro. I wouldn't be crippled yet by you being all over the place. I like being all over the place too. It means that you haven't found something that you want to quadruple down in.

[Elizabeth (caller, mom and content creator)]

Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know what I mean? And so I would tell you that that is not a negative just yet. I would actually keep exploring more things, parenting advice, cooking, your favorite TV shows. Like just keep playing for a little bit more and then no bullshit, go with your gut and just double down on something and just go for a year on it. That's it. Yeah, that doesn't have to be that complicated.

[Elizabeth (caller, mom and content creator)]

I've been doing that for like a year. So now I'm just like, okay, what the fuck do I like, put it off on?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

What do you know? What do you want?

[Mike (Gary Vaynerchuk's associate)]

What do you want to Rants?

[Nez (single mom, photographer)]

How? Why?

[Elizabeth (caller, mom and content creator)]

Yeah, that's all my stuff is rants. I have like rants and lessons rants, by the way.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Me too. I've been ranting all fucking morning. I need to just know what you know. You need to figure out what you want to sell. And just because you're good at saving companies millions of dollars, it doesn't mean that you're an entrepreneur.

[Elizabeth (caller, mom and content creator)]

Right?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And by the way, that's not a bad thing.

[Elizabeth (caller, mom and content creator)]

I'm a shit fixer, which is my thing.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So I'm like, sounds like it sounds like you're an operator. And sometimes an operator is a good CEO or founder and sometimes they're not. Like, for example, do you have an Instagram? Because I have a funny feeling there's a lot of people that are watching right now that are creative, have good businesses, but they're. But they're not operational and they don't know how to fix. And maybe, maybe they're your natural business partner.

[Elizabeth (caller, mom and content creator)]

No, I'm Ranso Lessons is my Instagram, so I'm primarily on Tik Tok. And I don't. I haven't gone too much into Instagram because it's with the oversaturation that I hear you talking.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No, no, no. Do both. Do both.

[Elizabeth (caller, mom and content creator)]

That was my. That was another part of my question is, like, do I keep pushing on Instagram as well?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Both. And Facebook. You would crush on Facebook. Your audience is on Facebook. I want you on Facebook. I want you on YouTube shorts. I want you on everything.

[Elizabeth (caller, mom and content creator)]

Okay.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

All right, everybody. If you enjoyed this podcast, please go back and look at the prior episodes. They're loaded. I appreciate your attention, and thanks for being part of this journey. See you later.