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Side Hustle = Full Time? 30 Min Of Tactical Social Media Advice | GaryVee Backseat Q&A Highlights - The GaryVee Audio Experience | Wave AI Podcast Notes

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Side Hustle = Full Time? 30 Min Of Tactical Social Media Advice | GaryVee Backseat Q&A Highlights

The GaryVee Audio Experience

Fri May 02 2025

Summary

Summary of "Side Hustle = Full Time? 30 Min Of Tactical Social Media Advice | GaryVee Backseat Q&A Highlights"

Episode Information:

Podcast: The GaryVee Audio Experience
Host: Gary Vaynerchuk
Episode Title: Side Hustle = Full Time? 30 Min Of Tactical Social Media Advice | GaryVee Backseat Q&A Highlights
Release Date: May 2, 2025

Introduction

In this episode of The GaryVee Audio Experience, Gary Vaynerchuk curates key moments from the extensive "Backseat Q&A" session, offering listeners a condensed yet comprehensive exploration of pivotal topics related to social media strategy, personal accountability, and financial prudence. Aimed at individuals juggling side hustles with full-time commitments, the episode distills actionable insights and candid discussions to empower listeners in optimizing their entrepreneurial journeys.

Virality: Luck vs. Skill

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the nature of virality in social media. McKenzie poses a question about whether going viral is purely a matter of luck or if skill plays a substantial role.

Dustin: "[V]iral is not 100% skill... it's definitely not pure luck... there's a reason Mr. Beast and others are consistently successful." ([00:30] - [04:23])

Dustin emphasizes that while luck plays a part, skill, consistency, and strategic effort are crucial in achieving virality. He underscores that successful content creators like Mr. Beast leverage both elements to sustain their online presence.

Accountability and Personal Responsibility

The conversation shifts to the importance of personal accountability, with Dustin critiquing the tendency to blame external factors for personal setbacks.

Dustin: "Self accountability sets you free. It's all your fault. And the second you realize that life becomes phenomenal." ([22:36] - [07:52])

He advocates for taking ownership of one's actions and decisions, arguing that this mindset leads to greater personal freedom and fulfillment. Dustin warns against the pitfalls of blaming circumstances, such as economic downturns or generational shifts, for individual struggles.

Materialism and Financial Responsibility

Dustin delves into the societal obsession with material wealth and the repercussions of living beyond one's means.

Dustin: "Everybody on earth gets happier if they live within their means... Most people don't live within their means. That's what's killing." ([07:57] - [12:01])

He critiques the American dream of homeownership and luxury purchases, highlighting how such aspirations often lead to financial instability. Dustin champions financial discipline, recommending that individuals prioritize savings and sustainable spending to secure long-term happiness.

The Role of Community

Exploring the significance of community, Dustin contrasts the unifying power of sports and religion with the divisiveness of absolutist thinking.

Dustin: "Community is so much better when you... keeping friends... building a community." ([16:26] - [18:11])

He praises the role of sports and religion in fostering strong communities but also acknowledges their potential drawbacks when misused. Dustin emphasizes that genuine community connections contribute to personal well-being and societal harmony.

Content Creation and Social Media Strategies

Listeners seek practical advice on navigating the complexities of social media, particularly in regulated industries like finance.

McKenzie: "How do you stay consistent with daily content when you're in a highly regulated industry like finance?" ([18:11])
Dustin: "Excuses, y'all. You got all sorts of excuses... If you don't have 15 bucks, the answer is day trading attention." ([18:25] - [22:36])

Dustin advises that persistence and strategic investment in attention are key to overcoming regulatory hurdles. He highlights the importance of prioritizing content creation over perfectionism and encourages leveraging available resources to maintain consistency.

Q&A Highlights

The episode features diverse questions from listeners, each addressed with Gary's and Dustin's trademark candor.

Barbara's Dilemma:
- Barbara: "I'm working on a book and struggling with the time-consuming nature of social media. Do I need to handle all the marketing myself?" ([26:28])
- Dustin: "You could hire someone to do the social media for the book. It depends on what you want." ([26:51])
Dustin acknowledges Barbara's challenge and suggests delegating tasks as a viable solution, emphasizing the importance of marketing in achieving commercial success.
Kevin's Strategy:
- Kevin: "Should I focus more on sales rather than marketing to accelerate my side hustle?" ([23:52] - [24:11])
- Dustin: "Marketing is better than sales because it's sales that come to you... One post on TikTok and one post on LinkedIn could go viral and outflank everything you're doing in sales." ([24:11] - [26:28])
Dustin advises balancing sales efforts with strategic marketing, highlighting the potential exponential impact of viral content over traditional sales tactics.

Notable Quotes

Dustin on Accountability: "Self accountability sets you free. It's all your fault." ([22:36])
Dustin on Materialism: "Most people don't live within their means. That's what's killing." ([07:57])
Dustin on Virality: "Viral is not 100% skill... it's definitely not pure luck." ([00:30])

Conclusion

This episode of The GaryVee Audio Experience offers a robust exploration of the intersection between personal responsibility, financial discipline, and effective social media strategies. Through candid discussions and actionable advice, Gary and Dustin empower listeners to navigate the complexities of side hustles and full-time commitments, emphasizing the importance of accountability, strategic effort, and community engagement in achieving sustained success.

Key Takeaways:

Virality Requires Both Luck and Skill: Success on social media isn't purely accidental; it demands consistent effort and strategic content creation.
Embrace Personal Accountability: Taking ownership of one's actions leads to greater personal freedom and satisfaction.
Prioritize Financial Responsibility: Living within one's means is essential for long-term happiness and financial stability.
Value Community Connections: Building and maintaining strong community ties fosters personal well-being and societal cohesion.
Strategize Content Creation: Overcoming challenges in content creation involves persistence, strategic investment, and sometimes delegation.

Listeners are encouraged to apply these insights to optimize their entrepreneurial endeavors, leveraging both personal discipline and strategic social media engagement to achieve their goals.

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Transcript

Gary Vaynerchuk (0:00)

Hey everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the GaryVee audio experience. Today's episode are all the top moments from one of our favorite new episodes, the hour and a half backseat Q and A. But if you're tight on time and only have a half hour free, this is the perfect way to hear all of the most impactful moments from that episode. Gary dives deep into why going viral isn't just about luck, why excuses are killing your growth, and how living within your means can actually unlock true happiness.

Dustin (0:25)

If.

Gary Vaynerchuk (0:25)

If you're ready for a mindset shift that cuts through all the noise, you're going to love this one. Let's get right into it.

McKenzie (0:30)

I'm putting the work in on social media, believing it's not just luck, but an element of skill and consistency required. He thinks it's pure luck. So my question is, is going viral pure luck?

Dustin (0:41)

No, viral is not 100% skill. Otherwise I'd go viral every day. But it's definitely not pure luck. Otherwise, like what are we talking about here? Like, There's a reason Mr. Beast and I and others like are successful and consistently successful. What have I just been lucky for 20 years? So I think both of you are right, but you're more right because you're choosing optimism and he's choosing cynicism. Anybody who weaponizes luck in life is really interesting position where they have to really self reflect and ask themselves why they think that. Now. I don't know the dynamics here. By the way, the brother that's asking the question could be in the wrong. He might be not working that much, not working that hard and is like posting twice a day on social, kind of putting in 3 hours of real work even though maybe 10 hours are eaten up. And other bro might be making the candles, running the ops, running the finance, running the bucket, management like doing like 10 hours of real work and might have some sort of feelings. So let's not jump to conclusions. Again, as they always say, there's like two sides to the story and then there's the actual truth. But to answer the question directly, not the underlining question that I can smell in the question, virality is not pure luck. It is also not pure skill. Ish. You have to have the skill to put yourself in a position to be viral, including if you go viral for something silly, you had to have the skill of humor. Like why do we continue to diminish people's things? I do not judge what the consumer values. If they value attractiveness, I do not judge. I understand if they value Humor, I do not judge. I understand. If they value information, I do not value, I understand. If they value communication delivery capabilities, I do not judge, I understand. Like I. If you are a human, this is actually a very important moment in the entire thing. If you are a human being that shits on a piece of content or a human being that has gone viral, you are very likely deploying a massive level of jealousy that is suppressing your ability to have the same thing happen. Instead of saying like the hop to a girl is like an idiot and this is fucked up. And why don't you understand what it means? Like, what does it mean that like sexual innuendo, jokes over index and society. What does it mean? I'll give you an example for me. Does it mean that. Let me use a good one. Does it mean that sexuality and sex is a foundational human characteristic, animalistic characteristic that is a universal understanding that, you know, makes both sexually expressive parts of the world or sexual? I mean, I don't think America, a lot of Americans realize how sexually prude America is compared to most of the world. Is a lot of the world's problems created in our relationship with sex as human being. I would say there's a lot of deep shit to what I just said. I feel like I got a lot of huhs or huh in this answer. But like my framework when I see stuff go viral is why. And I want to go deep, not surface. I want to get in there. Most people are like, that's stupid. This is silly. Fuck her. This is garbage. That's funny. Haha. Cool, silly, blah. It's like people go into like dumb shit.

Dustin (5:16)

I don't like when we create new words like imposter syndrome is insecurity. What about is fucking audacity and lack of humility. I don't need to make a new term for it. You motherfuckers who are listening and watching, almost all of you are deeply grounded. By the way, I'm a human being. Of course I have audacity and insecurity. But my levels like in the same way some people are just fucking diesel and 0% like I'm fucking deep on this one. It's my superpower. I don't need. What about ism coined I need. I know that most people are unhappy because they're audacious and lack humility. And they don't see it in me because they get the version of me that seems convicted confident. But what makes me behind the scenes like really operate is my humility and curiosity. Like when I see humble hedgehog, right and curious crane like in veefriends, I'm much more like attached to that than conviction. Cockroach and confident cobra even. I like those characters too. I'm a mix. But people are lacking humility, which is why they don't have confidence. Tough to get to pure confidence. People call it ego. Ego's insecurity disguised as confidence. True confidence is foundation, is humility. Why would I care what people think? Of course I'm not the right cup of tea for most. Of course most people don't think I'm the best looking, the smart. Like people have different flavors, different tastes. Like what the fuck's the matter with everyone? Your audacity is eating up your life. Almost everything I don't get, I get that's the way it's supposed to be. And I get excited about my curiosity to figure out. I get everything because there's only 13 things I may not get in the nuance. But look where I went with the hoktua thing. I went to core like depths of humans relationship with sexuality. There's only 10 things. There's only two things, good and bad, light and dark. Then underneath there's 10, 15 things that represent that. And that's why everything's easy for me to read. Show me a human, let me audit their parents, where they grew up, in what era, and I'll tell you who the fuck they are. Simplicity is what's complicated for most. Shit's simple out here. You take it all the way to the bottom of like just care about the health, well being of the people you love and fucking if you can Go all the way there. You will skip and whistle through life. Everything you add on top of that will fuck you up.

Dustin (9:12)

I think work is. And this is why I'm treading lightly. Because you see where I was about to go, like everybody has to define it. I think living within your means is not silly. Like, while I'm on this tangent, let's get to the punchline because we're going pretty deep here. Everybody on earth gets happier if they live within their means. I think the credit card has a chance to go down as one of society's biggest vulnerabilities, like in history. You know, it's a new invention. Yeah. I've only been chilling with the credit card for 50 years. Like I think the credit card is. Again, it's not the credit card's fault. It actually could be remarkable if you know what you're doing. I just think most people don't know what they're doing. I think people don't live within their means. That's why I always attack the American dream of owning your house. I love it. Fine, it's an asset. I get it. But motherfucker, people don't play it right. Everybody maximizes their deposit, gives them no cash flow. Anything tweaks Off. Now they're living paycheck to paycheck. This is why I attack fancy cars and watches. Kudos to all the fucking Big shout out. Big shout out to all the ode. All the gangster entrepreneurs who've built something sustainable that allows them to afford a $500,000 watch and they don't even think about it the way most people think about buying a $5, you know, soda. I worry about the people that bought it, that if God forbid, something gets up or they're get quich thing get quick rich thing gets fucked up, they have to sell that to a pawn shop and lose 80%. Like it's nuanced. Live within your means. Have a. Have four Lambos if that's within your means, easy peasy. And you like them. I live that. I buy very expensive pieces of cardboard. I would argue most more people universally think that watches and Lambos are better than trading cards. Too many people don't live within their means. That's what's killing. So is a job, silly. If you're living deeply within your means, it can be, you got tons of savings, you don't need a job for five years. If you guys, I don't know your situation. If both of you had 10 years worth of salary saved, my intuition is you'd be less concerned about losing your job or stressed about it because you would have optionality. I think people do not realize how much money they spend on how many things during the course of a year and how much it is gone. Like people don't think about savings and everyone's like, inflation and we got fucked by the boomers and no accountability. You know what the boomers think? The boomers think like, I didn't go out to eat every day, we cooked at home. You know what the boomers think? They're like, we didn't have seven purses, I had one purse for nine years.

Dustin (14:15)

It was on tv. Gary. Let's clip it. As a matter of fact, there's a lot of indications that the economy might be crashing. Warren Buffett just took all his money into cash. He's usually right. So now back to accountability. Literally right now. Do you understand McKenzie's? How many people right this second? Because we're in it as we're filming everyone. This is the Monday after, like, all this, like, tariff stuff. You could have sold all your stock. You would have made a fortune. Warren Buffett can rebuy all the shit he sold for make a fortune. You could have. I'm not even following public markets. And I was aware that Warren did that. I'm like, maybe I should do that. Whose fault is that? Self accountability sets you free. Sets you super free. It's all your fault. And the second you realize that life becomes phenomenal and to the counter that yes, there is things that happen, like, was it your fault that you crossed the street when that truck came? I guess. I mean, you cross the street, but like, I get it. Like some of us are born with genetic. Somebody who was born right now into the single most poverty stricken part of our world. Of course there's things in life. But if you decide that you are fully not capable of getting out of it, well, then it's a rat and the world's gotta change its tune. That's why I get so mad at 8th place trophies. Because then those kids don't think it matters. And when you don't think it matters, then you don't think you can. And when you don't think you can, when adversity hits, you actually think suicide's the right option. This shit's deeper than people think. And people think it's like, no, no, no. They disguise it, are like, we need. Unless you're a deeply evil person who wouldn't want it to be okay for everybody. Like, I get that, Like, I'm so deep into that. But where does self, like reliance on creating that start and where does it stop? And it's always grounded in wealth. And they're like, why are rich kids like biggest drug addicts and they're the biggest alcoholics? Like, money is not the variable. There's just so much to. We got to get back to. Gotta get back to community, man. I think it's so much better when you, you know, it's my favorite part of being friends, watching these people build a community. It's so cool. That's why I love sports community.

Dustin (18:25)

Very easy because there's people that do it and get ahead of your content. Excuse city, usa regulated industries. Yes, I'm aware that there's things happening for the sec. And by the way, there's things for not marketing to kids. And by the way, there's things for not marketing to with alcohol. Diageo is a client. Mattel and Hasbro both have been clients. Chase and Visa are clients and big clients. I've seen it all. Excuses. Your piece of content may take three days to come out or nine days to come out instead of right away because it has to go through compliance. The fuck does that have to do with making content? That means you're just on a nine day behind cycle. You make a piece of content out comes out nine days. I make a piece of content tomorrow, comes out in 10 days, I make two pieces of content, next day comes out in 11 days. Sounds like if you keep doing this, you're starting your real life in nine days. Fucking excuses, y'all. You got all sorts of excuses. To me, I'm a perfectionist. I'm in a regulated industry. I'm this, I'm that. You don't want to do the work. I got excuses to mackenzie. I got excuses, Mike. I was out late on doing whatnot last night. It's so late. I'm traveling so much from London. I just took a long flight. I got excuses for days when it comes to being in the Gym, by the way. This is why it's so easy for me to understand what people are doing at work in their career because I do it in the gym. I smell it on you because I got it in. Me too. Not in this category. You saw when we were in the off site and me and you worked out. People didn't want that heat. It was like Andy Rips. They don't want it. Right? But Rips is willing to work 19 hours a day and others might not want that. Right. We all have discipline. Some people are disciplined eaters working out parents, readers, you know, like entrepreneurs and other people aren't. But I've also won in the gym in a certain way. That's why like the gym has really mattered to me because I'm so far along compared to where I was. That means everybody here can make progress on their personal brand, on their career, on their entrepreneurial side, hustle on their actual startup, on their we can all get better, every one of us. And that's staying within the walls we work in. Back to the big shit. We can all start new relationships and break up with ones that are hard. Spouse, siblings. I said this the other day. I'm not advocating for divorce. I'm saying we can be accountable. You can move to Thailand. You could like everything is yes, maybe and everyone's a no because they're more comfortable laying in the muck of their excuse. Second you understand that you get happy. People don't see that the last 25 years of parenting is no is the person sucks. You're like no you don't suck, baby. It's just. It's your boss's fault, it's your teacher's fault, it's society's fault. You got fucked. You were born in the wrong era. This Gen Z thing of like wrong era. Best era. Motherfuckers are complaining that the boomers ruined it and making millions of dollars as 22 year olds. There was zero 22 year old millionaire self made fucking 40 years ago. Best era. What 16 year old could fucking grab a phone, make a video of themselves dancing and become a multimillionaire in three years in 1986. Shut your mouth. You should kiss the ground. The boomers lived on. If you're talking about the era separation of wealthy s inflation. Yes, but doesn't mean you can't. You can more than ever. You know what really makes me throw up a lot of these like I like I really know a lot of shit and a lot of people. There's people that make content shitting on boomers whose grandparents left them $5 million. People need to shut their mouth is what really needs to happen if they're spitting poison. Stop being negative, y'all. The only one that's losing if you spew negativity is you.

Dustin (24:11)

I'm cool with that. He's saying if I work on sales, I'll get to monies quicker. That will allow me to then do marketing. I'm cool with that. None of my advice is universal. That's actually a tremendous thing to say in this. I'm glad it came up early. A lot of my advice is like valid to 78%, 91%, 83%. I'm trying to go in the margins now. The stuff I talk about emotionally, not tactically. We're now talking marketing with Kevin. The emotional stuff like, don't be insecure. That's 100. So don't use what I just said to be like, oh cool. I could be fucking. I can use protect perfection as an excuse for. I can be a dick. Like, no, but the tactical shit marketing is, is better than sales because it's sales that come to you, his circumstance. That's the macro. That's 80% in this scenario. Kevin needs to get to that paper to be able to leave his job to. To be able to go into content. Yeah, I'm cool with that. That being said for Kevin included, One post on TikTok and one post on LinkedIn could go viral and outflank everything he's doing in sales. That being said, it's more practical, it sounds like, for him to go ham on sales, get that money up and allows him to jump and start. And then, by the way, he probably has to double down on sales that first year to like solidify it right, to make it stable and then he can go into marketing. By the way, it's what I did with VaynerMedia. I wasn't making content for VaynerMedia in 2009. 10, 11. I was doing sales. I wasn't really doing content until the AskGaryVee show in 14. I was doing Walnutv up until 11. I was MIA ing 12 and 13 and I came back in 14 with AskGaryVee show and then we got a cooking. Now I'm also zeroing in on one thing. Yeah, me doing marketing wine library TV and doing Twitter and Facebook is why I was able to sell. So I started with marketing, then I did sales, then I went back to marketing. Got it. So if I didn't have wine library TV and had a million followers on Twitter, none of the Campbell Soup or the NHL or GE or PepsiCo would have hired me. So it's a little bit, you know.

Dustin (26:51)

If you wanted to sell Barbara. Now good news, Barbara. You could be an author that is one in a million that just wrote such a book that it went viral by itself. Good news Barbara. You could take money you have if you have any. I don't know if you do and you can hire someone to do the social media for the book. Just depends on what you want. My friends, like, I didn't make up the rules. Like I just hope everybody understands that I didn't make up the rules that the way the world works is like people need to know about something to consider it, to buy it. I didn't make up the rules that distribution changes. Like yes, Barbara, in 1967 you might have wrote a book. A, you wouldn't be able to self publish in 1967 without the Internet, Barbara. B, let's just play a fantasy world that you could. Yes. And a bookstore owner that was prominent might put you at the front of the table and hand sell it because they like the book. Just like I did. For wines, there are many wines that I Gary Vaynerchuk. There's one Boudreaux, I think it's Boudreau. There was one Washington state high end wine that I just happened to buy, that I just happened to luckily walk down the aisle at wine library and grab and put on the table that I opened and my palate just happened to think it was remarkable. I freaked out, looked in the back of label, told everybody what the address or email or phone number was, linked it into my wine library TV post and sent hundreds of people, thousands of people to the mailing list and now it's sold when it didn't before. That happens. Luck is life. You don't have to do shit, Barbara. But you're self publishing, which means you're self selling if you want people to read it. If you'd like it to be commercially successful, yes, you have to market. But by the way, you don't have to do social media. Go do 50 podcasts. But who the fuck wants you on without social media? People confuse out here. Barbara, can I ask you something? I'd like to look like an Adonis without eating well and exercising like a freak. Possible she could say yes. Steroids, implants, Ozempic. Sounds expensive.