MicroVee: The Worst Business Advice I Ever Got — And How It Made Me Win or

Summary

Episode Summary: "MicroVee: The Worst Business Advice I Ever Got — And How It Made Me Win"

Podcast: The GaryVee Audio Experience
Host: Gary Vaynerchuk
Release Date: June 1, 2025

In this insightful episode of The GaryVee Audio Experience, Gary Vaynerchuk delves into the worst business advice he's ever received and how rejecting this advice led to his substantial success. Drawing from an interview with Fortune's Massimo Marioni, Gary shares reflections on mentorship, success, and the pivotal lessons that shaped his entrepreneurial journey.

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1. Introduction to Bad Business Advice

Gary opens the episode by recounting a piece of detrimental advice he received early in his career:

Gary Vaynerchuk [00:23]: "The gentleman once told me, Gary, in retail, you can do price selection and service. You've got to pick two out of those and that's how you build a business. And I sat there as a 22-year-old and I'm like, fuck you. I'm doing all three."

Rejecting the notion of limiting his focus, Gary emphasizes the importance of providing comprehensive value to customers, which contributed to building one of the largest wine stores in the country.

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2. The Value of Honoring One's Word

Discussing the best business advice he's ever received, Gary highlights the profound influence of his father:

Gary Vaynerchuk [00:51]: "I think I taught my dad more than he taught me. ... My word was bond and that you needed to honor your word."

He credits his father's emphasis on integrity and honesty as foundational to his character, preventing him from falling into less desirable habits despite his natural salesmanship.

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3. Defining Success: An Ongoing Journey

When asked about his most proud achievement, Gary reflects on his reputation and the high regard in which his employees and others hold him:

Gary Vaynerchuk [01:50]: "The fact that now at 48 years old, there is a substantial amount of human beings that walk around the earth that are asked, what's it really like to work for Gary or what's he really like? And that 93.7% of them have incredibly good things to say."

He considers success as a continuous journey rather than a fixed milestone, attributing his mindset to early encouragement and his father's positive reinforcement.

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4. Inspiration Beyond the Icons

Gary shares a surprising insight about his sources of inspiration:

Gary Vaynerchuk [04:28]: "No one. ... More than the Bill Gates or the Steve Jobs or, you know, JP Morgans. I just, I was inspired that you could be rich, successful, but nice."

He draws inspiration from everyday leaders like Richard Salzman, who exemplified kindness without sacrificing financial success, contrasting with the often solitary narratives of famous tycoons.

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5. Foundations of Success: Core Principles

When discussing the fundamentals of building success, Gary outlines a framework that balances humility with ambition:

Gary Vaynerchuk [06:03]: "Humility. And on the other side, blind, audacious, optimistic conviction. Polar opposites. Hard work, like real hard work, but so much self-awareness that you know when you need to rest. Competitiveness. But you understand it's a game, so you don't actually hate."

These contrasting traits, according to Gary, create a robust foundation for sustained achievement.

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6. Building Resilience Through Perspective

Gary touches on maintaining a detached perspective from his public persona and professional success:

Gary Vaynerchuk [06:44]: "I have a framework of like, aggressive perspective. Every day that something bad is going on, which is every day when you're at the scale I'm at, I just remind myself that if everything was going great and someone in my family was sick, that I wouldn't care."

This mindset allows him to navigate the pressures of success without losing personal balance or empathy.

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7. Conclusion: Embracing Lessons Learned

In wrapping up, Gary reiterates the importance of rejecting poor advice and staying true to one's values. By sharing his experiences and the wisdom imparted by his father, he offers listeners a roadmap to personal and professional fulfillment.

Gary Vaynerchuk [07:21]: "Thanks for tuning into another episode of the Gary Vee Audio Experience. We will see you next week for some more incredible episodes."

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Key Takeaways

• Reject Limiting Advice: Don't constrain your business strategies based on narrow advice; aim to provide comprehensive value.
• Honor Your Word: Integrity and reliability are paramount in building lasting relationships and reputations.
• Continuous Success Journey: View success as an evolving process rather than a fixed destination.
• Seek Everyday Inspiration: Look up to everyday leaders who embody kindness and success without compromising values.
• Balance Contrasting Traits: Blend humility with ambition, hard work with self-awareness, and competitiveness with a healthy perspective.
• Maintain Detached Perspective: Protect your personal well-being by separating your professional identity from your personal life.

This episode serves as a compelling reminder that the best business lessons often come from personal experiences and foundational values rather than conventional wisdom.

Transcript

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Hey, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the GaryVee audio experience. Today we have another micro V for all of you. This one's a deep dive into the worst business advice Gary's ever received. Pulled from an interview with Fortune's Massimo Marioni, this quick hit is packed with reflections on success, mentorship, and the advice Gary wishes he got when he was 25. If you've ever struggled to define success, this one will hit. Let's get right into it.

The gentleman once told me, gary, in retail, you can do price selection and service. You've got to pick two out of those and that's how you build a business. And I sat there as a 22 year old and I'm like, fuck you. I'm doing all three. And I built the biggest wine store in the country, or one of them. And it was because I didn't take that advice and it was bad advice. I think when you operate something, you should do everything you can for a customer.

[Massimo Marioni]

What's the best business advice or career advice you've ever received?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, I probably. I'm comfortable saying what I'm about to say. I, I think I taught my dad more than he taught me. I know that's like, it's just real life. I feel that to be true. But that motherfucker taught me that my word was bond and that you needed to honor your word. And I believe with my personality of gift, of gab, that there was a worse version of myself that was in the cards had I not been parented well. And he tweaked me in a way of, like, old school. My dad literally thinks a slight embellishment is like an aggressive lie. And that was a jolt to me because I grew up as a sales kid. And I would tell Harry would be like, where's this from? I'd be like, oh, it was found in a rare attic. It's very like, I would do anything to get her to buy this bell. And that is that my father changed the course. So that's the best advice. Your word is bond. Like that matters.

[Massimo Marioni]

You're a successful, very successful entrepreneur, best selling author. What achievement are you most proud of?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

The fact that now at 48 years old, there is a substantial amount of human beings that walk around the earth that are asked, what's it really like to work for Gary or what's he really like? And that I know that 93.7% of them have incredibly good things to say. And that is by far my biggest accomplished professional. Was there ever a point where you.

[Massimo Marioni]

Considered yourself a success or is that an ongoing, evolving journey?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Always, Yeah. I think I decided I was success probably when I was 10. I played it reverse. I think in hindsight I. I kind of had this really early framework of I think I figured out that school doesn't matter and that being nice and being good at something does. I've never thought of it as success. Like, I don't think today, like, I'm a success. I kind of feel like I've always felt that I was a success. I think that's really good mothering, to be frank. And I think that I think the luck of the draw of humility as a DNA trait not to be, not to be in conflict to conviction and competitiveness. And I think, you know, it's a funny mix, but honestly, I've never thought that I've made it or I made it. I've never thought in the terms of success.

[Massimo Marioni]

Successful people never often do.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Is that true?

[Massimo Marioni]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, that's cool. Yeah, Makes sense.

[Massimo Marioni]

But I sat next to your parents, I think, for the lunch.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Massimo Marioni]

Very humble, very lovely people.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes, thank you.

[Massimo Marioni]

They do, you know, if they ever considered you, because they must have. You must have done something that they thought, my boy.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, Actually, you know, it's funny, I'm going to go run and ask them right now, actually, I'm not even kidding. I don't think I've ever asked them, like, what was the moment. And they may say when I did the Conan o' Brien show, that was wild. I was running a wine store in New Jersey, started this YouTube thing and six months later I'm on the Conan O' Brien show. Or maybe right away, because I built the family business pretty big. But yeah, I mean, as someone who has a 15 and 11 year old now, I get it. Like, I think, you know, all the little things my kids do. Well, I'm like everyone, you know, like, it's what we do. It's a very fun thing. It's. I'm enjoying getting to an age where my kids are a little bit older, where I can even appreciate more why my parents are proud. Like, I get it. You just. When you love your child so much, anything they do makes you kind of weirdly proud.

[Massimo Marioni]

Yeah, absolutely. And as a father of two, I.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Tell you, you get it, right? Look at how fast they ran, you know? I know. Oh, my God.

[Massimo Marioni]

You know whose career inspired you when you were developing your businesses or maybe still does?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No one. And that's not an audacious bad statement. I just didn't look at it that way. Richard Salzman owned a liquor distributorship. I have no clue how big or not good it was. I love that his people adored him. And ironically, the reason I probably just brought him up is he just passed away. And my father texted me from the wake. I was traveling and he said, you will not believe how many people were there. And I smiled like a fucking motherfucker because I'm like, that's the life. Forget about the accolades or that. And you know, it was people like that, the Richard Salzmans of the world, more than the Bill Gates or the Steve Jobs or the, you know, JP Morgans. I just, I was inspired that you could be rich, successful, but nice. I hated nice guys. Finish last from my earliest of age. And I think now that I'm getting into my middle age part of my life, I hate it even more. And so I was always inspired by kindness that didn't compromise financial success.

[Massimo Marioni]

Sounds like you're saying something like the sum of who you are is, is more important than the sum of what you have.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Do you know any very rich people have four people show up to their funeral? Yeah, I, I think that's life.

[Massimo Marioni]

Yeah, very true. So this is, this is one you've probably been asked in numerous guises over your time, what are the foundations and fundamentals that you need to build success that you think you can narrow down to a few things?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Humility. And on the other side, blind, audacious, optimistic conviction. Polar opposites. Hard work, like real hard work, but so much self awareness that you know when you need to rest. Competitiveness. But you understand it's a game, so you don't actually hate. That's the framework I live in. Very opposite traits that create that strength of accomplishment.

[Massimo Marioni]

And do you have any particular habits or repetitive things that you've done throughout your career which have, you know, stood you in good stead and, and you believe have been sort of the cornerstones of.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, I, I have a framework of like, aggressive perspective. Every day that something bad is going on, which is every day when you're at the scale I'm at, I just remind myself that if everything was going great and someone in my family was sick, that I wouldn't care. And so what has made me very capable is I am completely detached from, from my public Persona and my professional success. I don't get my validation or affirmation from it. And so I would say aggressive perspective.

Thanks for tuning into another episode of the Gary Vee Audio Experience. We will see you next week for some more incredible episodes.