Still One of the Best Talks I’ve Ever Done | Dutch Bros 2017 keynote/Q&A

Summary

The GaryVee Audio Experience: "Still One of the Best Talks I’ve Ever Done | Dutch Bros 2017 Keynote/Q&A"

Release Date: May 21, 2025

In this standout episode of The GaryVee Audio Experience, entrepreneur and CEO Gary Vaynerchuk engages in a dynamic live Q&A session with the Dutch Bros Coffee team in Portland, Oregon, back in 2017. This session delves deep into leadership, motivation, scaling businesses, and maintaining company culture, offering invaluable insights for entrepreneurs and leaders alike.

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1. Leadership and Motivation

Understanding Realistic Expectations

Gary begins by addressing a fundamental leadership challenge: the unrealistic expectation that all employees share the same level of passion and hunger as the CEO.

“I think it's crazy for CEOs and owners of things to expect their staff to bust their ass and be as hungry as them...” ([00:32])

Instead of imposing his own drive onto his team, Gary emphasizes the importance of meeting with each employee individually to uncover what truly motivates them. He highlights that many people seek a balance between earning a substantial income and enjoying personal life, which is a reasonable and commendable aspiration.

“I want to figure out what you care about. And it's my job to put you in a position to succeed, to be hungry.” ([02:12])

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2. Managing Passion

Balancing Personal Passion Without Overwhelming Others

When asked about whether he ever holds back his passion, Gary shares a candid personal story from a Jets game where his intense enthusiasm led to an inappropriate outburst. This anecdote underscores the necessity of channeling passion constructively.

“The biggest mistake that leaders make is they expect others to care about their shit as much as they do. That's fucking ludicrous.” ([00:32])

Gary acknowledges that while passion is essential, it must be balanced to avoid intimidating or alienating team members.

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3. Scaling the Business

Patience Over Greed in Business Growth

Responding to Erica’s question about scaling her small business to 800 staff, Gary advises against rushing growth fueled by early successes. Instead, he advocates for a patient, step-by-step approach over a ten-year horizon.

“You just gotta close your fucking eyes for the next decade.” ([06:34])

He cautions against the common pitfall of overextension and emphasizes building a solid foundation through consistent, tried-and-true methods.

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4. Hiring and Leadership Qualities

Key Traits for Effective Leadership

When discussing what to look for in potential leaders, Gary identifies empathy, work ethic, and gratitude as paramount. He assigns empathy as 80% of the crucial traits, highlighting its disproportionate importance in fostering a supportive and effective leadership environment.

“Empathy is fucking disproportionately important for leaders.” ([13:22])

Gary stresses that leaders must prioritize understanding and valuing their team members’ perspectives to cultivate a thriving workplace.

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5. Building Trust and Culture

Maintaining Company Culture at Scale

Gary delves into strategies for preserving company culture as businesses grow. He underscores the significance of personal relationships and trust, achieved through consistent one-on-one interactions and fulfilling promises such as timely raises.

“The key is how the fuck do we get everybody to feel good every day, right?” ([09:15])

He explains that trust is built by ensuring that employees know their well-being is prioritized, which is challenging but essential when scaling rapidly.

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6. Work-Life Integration

Integrating Work with Personal Life

Addressing questions about his own work-life balance, Gary candidly admits that he doesn’t distinguish between the two. For him, work is the central component of life, seamlessly intertwined with personal existence.

“I have no idea. I never thought of it differently. I grew up in a family business, so it's super intertwined.” ([25:59])

He advocates for finding joy and fulfillment in work, suggesting that when one loves what they do, the lines between work and personal life naturally blur.

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7. Customer Relations and Depth vs. Width

Prioritizing Deep Customer Relationships

Gary emphasizes the importance of cultivating deep, meaningful relationships with customers rather than merely expanding the customer base superficially. He shares the "Ricky Henderson effect" to illustrate how impactful small, genuine interactions can be.

“Depth versus width. The way you get more customer count in your locations is by over indexing on the ones that are coming in in the first place.” ([37:52])

This approach fosters loyalty and long-term success, as customers feel genuinely valued and connected to the brand.

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8. Personal Stories and Anecdotes

Gary’s Journey and Personal Insights

Throughout the Q&A, Gary intersperses personal stories that highlight his entrepreneurial journey and the lessons learned along the way. From his passion for sports teams to his early days in his family business, these anecdotes provide a window into his mindset and leadership philosophy.

“I knew that I was a fucking terrible student, so education wasn't going to be my path...” ([28:13])

These narratives not only humanize Gary but also serve as powerful lessons on resilience, self-awareness, and the importance of following one’s passion.

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9. Practical Advice for Leaders and Entrepreneurs

Actionable Strategies for Business Growth

Gary offers practical advice on various topics, including:

• Hiring and Firing: Encouraging leaders to fire fast if a hire isn't a good fit, minimizing ego interference.

  “Learn to fire fast. You may pretend they're not [a bad hire] because firing them admits that you were wrong.” ([30:29])

• Listening as a Leadership Tool: Emphasizing the critical role of listening in understanding and addressing team members' needs.

  “It's always listening. Every day, forever.” ([24:21])

• Self-Awareness: Urging individuals to evaluate whose opinions influence their actions and to prioritize their own judgments.

  “Do I. It's so weird to say do everything you think you should do, but that's what I do.” ([18:07])

These insights are grounded in Gary’s extensive experience, making them both relatable and applicable for listeners aiming to enhance their leadership skills.

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Conclusion

Gary Vaynerchuk’s keynote/Q&A session with Dutch Bros Coffee serves as a masterclass in modern leadership and business growth. Through candid discussions and personal anecdotes, Gary imparts wisdom on motivating teams, scaling businesses thoughtfully, maintaining company culture, and fostering deep customer relationships. His emphasis on empathy, patience, and genuine connection resonates as essential pillars for any leader striving to build a successful and sustainable organization.

Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, a seasoned business leader, or someone passionate about personal development, this episode offers a wealth of actionable insights and inspiring stories to guide your journey.

Transcript

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Hey everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the GaryVee audio experience. In this episode, we're sharing one of Gary's most popular keynotes ever. His live Q and A with the Dutch Bros Coffee team in Portland, Oregon, back in 2017. In this one, Gary breaks down why most leaders screw up. Motivation and what actually works. How to scale a business without losing culture or empathy. The difference between leading and managing, and so much more. The Q and A starts off with Angela, who asks Gary how he motivates his team to be just as hungry and passionate as he is. This is what he has to say.

I think it's crazy for CEOs and owners of things to expect their staff to bust their ass and be as hungry as them, because when you own something, it's different. And so what I do is I try to motivate by meeting each and every one of them. The reason you've seen it that I meet with all of them and do those meetings is I don't need that. I want to buy the New York Jets. I need like 7 billion fucking dollars. I work 18 hours a day. I, I wake up at 4:30 to be here today. I'm going back on the red. This was originally I was supposed to sleep here. Nope. I need to get three meetings in tomorrow. I'm taking a fucking bullshit red eye tonight. Like, I don't expect that from others because most people aren't insane to like have this romantic point of view of like not being able to buy a Jets jersey for 20 bucks when he first came to America to owning the team. I've got a fuck you on me. Got it? I don't expect that for anybody else. What I want to know is what makes a every one of them tick? Do you know how many people just want to make 200,000 a year and have great work life balance? That's fucking unbelievable. That's fucking hitting the line. Like if you are the kind of person that is obsessed with making $200,000 a year and be able to go to all the sporting events of your wonderful children, that's incredible balance. And if that's what you want, I want to empower you to do that. I think the biggest mistake that leaders make is they expect others to care about their shit as much as they do. That's fucking ludicrous. I want to figure out what you care about. And it's my job to put you in a position to succeed, to be hungry. And if that means seeing every fucking recital of your little Suzy, I'm gonna Fucking do that for you.

[Logan]

What up G?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

How are you bro?

[Logan]

Good, man. I'm Logan, I work for West Vancouver franchise.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh, is this the thing we do? Right? Like you say where you're from and then you're four people like, yeah, what up? Fucking what's up? Got it, got it. Just trying get it down. Trying to get it down. I got it now. I got it. Y from vaynermedia New York Drock. Give me something. Yeah, all right, go ahead.

[Logan]

One thing that I've learned with working with the company for so long and stuff is the passion. Everybody here has passion, clearly. And we give so much and I mean it could be passion with our job, it could be passion with outside, it could be whatever it is and things.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You guys are so ridiculously lucky. I've. I've rarely met. We have an internal job board. I have full time employees that try to help people get jobs, to leave our company because we want it better for them. I've literally never sensed a truer purity of that mission as much as you guys have as well. And it's remarkable. You guys are very fortunate and it stems from the top and like minded people find each other. It's really rad. I'm really impressed. I'm super pumped to be here. Go ahead.

[Logan]

Basically my question to you is, do you ever hold back any of your passion? Does it ever maybe get the best of you sometimes and that you have to maybe take a couple steps, steps back and realize like I may have gone too far.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Why would you like. So the answer is no. But what's but. But more importantly the question. So for me, it's kind of like I do lots of things out of passion that I'm not pumped about. For example, let's go back to football. Two years ago at a Jets Steelers game, There was like an 80s, right? Very good. Jets are getting. Jets are beating the Steelers for no. This is four years ago for no reason. Steelers were much better. Jets were bad that year. Jets are on the verge of winning. This 85 year old guy is coming up the stairs and I get sports muscles. When I'm in Jets world, I'm not me. It's the only place I'm not me. I get too emotional, right? So the guy's walking up and the jets are winning. It's the fourth quarter and I stand up because I'm ridiculous and I'm like, hey old man, you're finished, old man, you're finished. Right? And everybody's kind of looking at me because it was super inappropriate. And then I go. And I don't mean the game. Right. So my passion went too far there. So I understand.

[Logan]

Hey, I'm a C fan. I understand.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I get it. I guess ultimately what I'm trying. First of all, I think I just wanted to tell you that story because it's so fucked up. I needed to get it out of me. It's so horrible. I'm glad I was able to share. I feel better now.

[Logan]

I guess it's just more just like maybe I feel like sometimes when I give off my passion to.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It makes people creep out kind of.

[Logan]

Yeah, I like creep people out of stuff or basically scare the shit out of them just because I give so much.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Bro, honestly, as long as you're coming from a good place. So I do the same thing. I curse. I've got tons of. But I'm coming from such a good place that I'm not trying to impose any negativity. As long as your passion's coming from a good place and it's not a shtick because you think it's helping you and it's an act and it's not trying to do something that's bad for them, you're fucking good. Let the chips fall. You understand? You gotta. This is back to self awareness. You've gotta ask yourself two very important questions. Number one, is it a shtick? Are you doing it. Cause it's self interest and it's a narrative you're trying to paint to do something selfish for you? Number two, are you doing it to suppress somebody because you're insecure about their skills that you don't have? As long as it's neither one of those two fucking be as passionate as you want.

[Logan]

Thank you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You're welcome. Wow. Yes.

[Erica]

Hi.

[Nick]

Gary.

[Erica]

Hi, I'm Erica. Nice to meet you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Nice to meet you, Erica.

[Erica]

I run the social media pages for the Spokane Dutch Bros. Spokane? Yeah. So six months ago, I was at an ad agency running their social media department. I was miserable. Not my kind of humans, just not my place. I watched your videos for about a year. Telling you to hustle. Telling me to do it. Just work harder. So I quit my job. I started my own social media company. And I feel blessed. But in three months, I doubled my salary. And it's really taken off a lot to do with these people. But. So my next question for you is, how do I go to the next step? You know, I've got this small business. I'm hustling, working 12 hours a day. How do I get to 800 staff.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Is that what you want?

[Erica]

I want to get. Yeah. I picture my company is called Talk Fast Social.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yep.

[Erica]

I picture a TFS on a building every day. And I work for it, love it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So how old are you?

[Erica]

I'm 26.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Good. All right. Step number one. The next 10 years of your life, you have to close your eyes and think about nothing else. Now, that doesn't mean you can't find love. It doesn't mean you can't do other things. But the only way you can build something very, very, very big is you put those on a building and you put it in the back of your mind and you close your eyes. The biggest reason almost everybody fails in their big ambitions is because of lack of patience. You know, I talk about this all the time. People struggle because they want. What they do is they get a little success and then they start getting greedy in a good way. Not like I'm using it as a slang term for like. Okay, right. You got a little momentum. You're like, wait a minute. Fuck, I can do this. And then people start getting greedy and they overextend themselves because. Because they're rushing so fast to do, like. People literally say things to me like, I gotta do 5 million or I gotta put my name on a building. They make up these things, like the jets thing. The jets thing is not even real for me. I've talked about it a little bit. I desperately wanna buy the jets because I think I'm more likely to win a Super bowl for them than any other way. Right. But the chase of trying to buy them is what gets me off, not getting it. I've forever in my life have never needed anything. Not a certain dollar amount, not some vision of the building. And I'm not saying that's what you. You know what I mean? I'm just telling you it's one step in front of the other. Patience and doing tried and true things. I leave money on the table at extreme levels every year because I'm being patient and building real legacy and real relationship step by step by step by step. You just gotta close your fucking eyes for the next decade. Thank you. You're welcome.

[Gumpy]

Hey.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Hey.

[Gumpy]

I'm Gumpy.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

How are you?

[Gumpy]

I'm great. How are you?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Great. Good.

[Gumpy]

I'm from Chico. There's, like, six of us.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Chico? Yeah. So that dude, like, yawned. He's like. Yeah. All right, go ahead.

[Gumpy]

So you have a chief heart officer?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes. Right? Yes.

[Gumpy]

So when you bring her on.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Gumpy]

What's that discussion like, when you talk about her objectives, do you have, like, KPIs, things that are.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yep.

[Gumpy]

Are there incentives? Like, how much detail can you go into? Obviously, tons. You're telling me how much she makes stuff like that, but whatever. How much can you tell me about how to make it something that's as objective as possible for someone like that to be successful at what you put in front of them?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So it's a. So a cheap. So, first of all, it's a great question. And asking about the black and white around it is super interesting to me because it is the most gray role in our organization. Right. So, for example, lifetime retention of employees is not a KPI. Because if we think Karen. I mean, if we meet, like, the young woman we just met, we may encourage her to start her own company. Like, I'm trying to push six or seven of my best people out and be like, you need to start your own company because we're gonna have a problem in three years because you're such an a. And, like, you just need to scratch this itch. So I'll be very honest with you. I micromanaged HR for 20 years that I ran my companies in my entire life. It was until I found a soulmate in Claude who literally looked at all situations the same, and she was on the account side. And then she left Vayner, and I cornered her to come back to do a totally different role. Because the truth is, the KPI is how do you keep 800 people, 1500 people, 4000 people happy with the machine? And by the way, it's impossible. The level of cynicism that is in our society is extraordinary. It's so hard to prove to somebody that you care. Everybody is so scared to trust because they don't want to get hurt, that it's easier to be cynical. I understand, but all that Claude and I do, I mean, the whole flight here, we text about individual people. You know, we have lightweight KPIs, but Claude and I are outside the lines, you know, drawers. We surround ourselves with people, making sure all the things that are black and white that people are getting. I mean, like simple things, like people getting raises appropriately at the time they're promised. Like, not like. Not even, like, just silly shit that, you know, we've got the special part down. We surround ourselves to make sure we don't drop the ball on the commodity. The key is how the fuck do we get everybody to feel good every day, right? That they know that we've got their back, whether they work with us for one more day. Like, every time somebody quits in a weird way. I always grab them. Always. And I'm like, dude, what the fuck, man? I put out content every day. I've told you, I've emailed you, like, why wouldn't you use me if you were so unhappy? I could have gotten you a job for 50. Like, if you felt like the other day I felt I was underpaid. I'm like, dude, you got $11,000 pay bump. A. I would have been thrilled to give it to you. But way more Importantly, there's like 11 people that need people like you that I'm friends with right now. And you could got a 40. Let me help you. Basically, what I'm trying to do is build real trust through scaling the unscalable one on one conversations. The problem is that we're learning is at first it worked unbelievably, but now she becomes too much of the machine. So it's me and her right now. We're like the parents or the siblings. So you gotta bring in other things. I used to have an open door policy not working 2018 mandated. 15 minutes with every fucking employee. I have twice a year mandated. It's gonna take me enormous amounts of time. I don't care. It's all I've got religion, you know, I don't care what the church or the synagogue or the temple or the mosque is decorated. Like I care about the religion and too many people care about, you know, she makes hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nobody's bonus at Vaynermedia. Because I want everybody to be obsessed with the logo. And so when people talk to me about their incentive packages or things that nature, I just match it and put it into their salary. And the way we. Some people go, well, then they're de incentivized. No, they're not. If you don't fucking achieve, we fire your fucking face. Cool.

[Gumpy]

Hey, what's up, Gary?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

How are you?

[Gumpy]

Good, how are you?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Amazing.

[Gumpy]

My name is Nick. I'm with these lovely people from Redding, California right here.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I saw that move. I saw that move.

[Gumpy]

All right, so I took over managing and my stand earlier this year. And one of the more interesting things like challenges I've come across is identifying qualities and people that I think would translate well into them moving into leadership and management. So I was curious for you, if you have someone in your companies here looking at to put in leadership or management, what are some of the most important qualities that you look for?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Empathy. Empathy is fucking disproportionately important for leaders. If you are not capable of thinking about the other person first. You are finished. Empathy, work ethic. I think work ethic matters. You know, it's tough, right? Because if you're not working as hard as your team or harder, that starts becoming a vulnerability. Gratitude is one that I look for quite a bit. Are they actually grateful or are they entitled and think, of course I'm going to be a manager. Like, I look for grat. But empathy is like fucking 80% of it. And then the other 20% is work ethic, gratitude, things like that. Yeah, you got it.

[Minch]

What's up, Gary?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Hey, bro.

[Minch]

I'm Minch. And I guess I'm here with everybody because I think we're all here for the same reason.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Spec'd.

[Minch]

Yeah. Also, this adrenaline rush is like the best adrenaline rush I've gotten since, like, high school. So thank you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Thank you. But real quick.

[Minch]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Paint me the picture of what was happening in high school when you felt this.

[Minch]

Dude, honestly, I'd say it was like my last home run when I was playing baseball.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Respect, probably. That's not what we thought.

[Minch]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

All right, keep going.

[Minch]

So my question for you, you talk about the 7 to 2, right?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes. 7pm to 2 in the morning. Yep.

[Minch]

And I just kind of want to know because I know you're trying to be, you know, that jets owner.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Minch]

By the way, Woody Johnson doesn't have shit on you, that's for damn sure. I just want to know, like, what's your side hustle looking like right now? Because obviously, if you want to get to that, like, what do you. What steps are you taking?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So when I talk about side hustle, I talk about either really wanting something that you don't have right now or getting out of a bad situation. I'm so in my zone. My side hustle is my hustle. Right. I'm working 7:00am to, you know, 10, 11. I don't have. I mean, I don't think I've been home before 10:30 in the last three years on a weekday. Like, you know, my work life balance is in extremes. I take seven weeks vacation. That's my reality. So I don't have that. I would say my side hustle is probably Gary Vee. You know, I'm spending all my time being the CEO of VaynerMedia. But because of the concept that Drock and I and my team have figured out, it feels like I'm me, like, out and about. But it's because I only show, like, the occasion, you know, I only talk 30 times a year. I just am able to create so much content. So I think my side hustle is Gary Vee. Cause I enjoy this so much. I enjoy jamming with you guys. I'm blowing, you know? Do you know what, bro? If I could make you guys feel what I felt like when I heard that young woman say to me I was in a job I didn't like, I. I watched your shit for a year. You pumped me up, gave me the courage, let's call it what it is, to make that leap. And now I'm doing twice as good. And I like, do you know what it feels like to impact people? It's gnarly. So, you know, that's my side hustle. Thanks, brother. All right. Yes.

[Kyle]

What's up, Gary?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

How you doing?

[Kyle]

Doing good. Name's Kyle. Kyle East Vancouver.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

East Vancouver.

[Kyle]

Good job, guys. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Don't affiliate with any gangs, but respect.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Huge mistake.

[Kyle]

Appreciate.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Keep going.

[Kyle]

Appreciate that. So for one, I know there are kids here, but holy fucking shit. Nice job.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Thank you.

[Kyle]

That was pretty impressive.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Thanks, bro.

[Kyle]

I could listen to you for hours. I think you should write audiobooks so I can, like, fall asleep to your voice because it's pretty done, bro.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Done.

[Kyle]

Yeah. Great. So actually stand here. Stand scared shitless. And I. That's kind of the transition. So with these moments in time and these monumental steps that you want to take towards success.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Kyle]

I know how you're talking about being unbeatable in your own head.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Kyle]

You know, reaching that status of your own self awareness. Yes, absolutely. Just kind of like with the basics. What would be your tactics for basic.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

To get to that place? Yeah, step number one more than anything. I alluded to it when I talk, but this is why I love Q and A. You have to figure out whose opinion is dictating your actions beside yourself. You have to figure out who has say. Let's keep it on him right now, because this is going to matter for a lot of people. Let's actually play through this. Who in your life has say when you do shit? Who factors in? Who runs through your mind? Who do you. Who are you curious about on how they would react or think? Who are those people?

[Kyle]

Honestly, that would probably be like, actually Pierce right here. Pierce. If you saw the viral video or. I'm sorry, viral picture. He was the one that was praying. He's a very good friend of mine.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So Pierce's opinion matters.

[Gumpy]

Absolutely.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Good. Who else?

[Kyle]

My girlfriend and my parents and my sister.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Great. You need to get into a place where you respect Pierce. Girlfriend, parents, you love Pierce, girlfriend, parents. You'll do anything for Pierce girlfriend, parents. But you get into a place where you don't give a fuck about Pierce, girlfriend and parents and listen, like, I don't know, you know, it's just. It's pulling so hard from opposite directions. Like, you know, I want to stay on this because this will really be a big unlock if I can get one person to, like, shift a hair. It's huge. It's crazy to me how much I care about everybody's opinion. These two people in the fourth row have hoodies with my quotes on it. I care so much about what they think about me. You would not believe it. While equally really giving no shit about what they think. And it's like this crazy balance. I never let somebody else's opinion matter more than mine of myself. There's just nothing you can say from people that know me the best, my mom, to my acquaintances and friends. There's nothing you're gonna be able to say about me that makes me not realize, of course, you think that you don't really know me. And that goes all the way to my mom, right? Like, you know what you've seen. I know why you think that if this is the only piece of content you've ever consumed for me, this is where I'm most. A little. Like, I'm a different version than I Like, I get it, I get it. I'm empathetic to why. But the way to get there, man, is very simply, you first. Like, do I. It's so weird to say do everything you think you should do, but that's what I do. And I think maybe for me, it's easy because somewhere along the line, I figured out that I could get everything that I wanted for myself by myself. So I don't need anybody, which is a really important thing to be in that place where, you know, you don't need anybody emotionally or financially. It's just a very lonely and very not lonely place. And so it's hard, you know? Like, honestly, I wish I could give it. Like, fuck, man. I think I'm trying so hard to put out so much content because it's the closest way I'll ever get to giving it. I wish I could give it because it's fucking so peaceful, you know?

[Kyle]

Much appreciated, man.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You got it. I can keep going, right? I'm in great shape, right? Like, right, cool. Fuck it. Let's keep. I really want to go long. You guys want to keep doing this?

[Kyle]

Yeah.

[Gumpy]

Thanks for being here. A bunch of fires in this Room.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

We need it.

[Gumpy]

We're always on fire. But this helps.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like double. What are we? Double firing? Yeah. Okay.

[Gumpy]

Big fire. On the subject of self awareness.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Gumpy]

Saw you at the hologram. Super dope set of.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Thank you. Fire. Thank you.

[Gumpy]

On the subject of self awareness.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Gumpy]

I wanted your opinion on someone else's content. They said that a strength isn't something you're good at and a weakness isn't something you're bad at. A strength is something that strengthens you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Gumpy]

Activity that strengthens you. And a weakness is an activity that weakens you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Gumpy]

Just been stuck on that and I.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Wanted your opinion one more time.

[Gumpy]

A strength isn't something you're good at because you can be really good at something and it can bore the shit.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Out of you and you're going to.

[Gumpy]

Have no passion for it whatsoever.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Understood.

[Gumpy]

But you're good at it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yep.

[Gumpy]

Not a strength. A strength is something that strengthens you. A weakness is something that weakens you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. Cool.

[Gumpy]

And how much of that comes into self awareness and work ethic?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think there's a lot there. It makes sense to me when you. Like, now that I've grasped it. Look, I'll be honest with you. I'm for somebody that talks so much and puts out fucking four quotes on Instagram every day and fucking does all this stuff. It's insane how much I hate words. I was just thinking, you saying that to me, I'm like, man, if somebody's saying one of my quotes to their buddy, I hate that. Like, I don't want that. Like, to me that makes sense. But my whole big thing is. And now what? Okay, cool. A strength is a fucking strength, Right? Like, I don't know, like every fucking thing I just said, to me, it's about the engine. To me. Why I like that you brought it up. Is it hit you in a way that made you thoughtful. And now my question becomes, are you gonna do anything with it? Right. To me, what I think has worked for me is the reason a lot of 25% of people don't like me at first is I'm suffocating. Excuses. People wanna think it's other people's faults. It's fun to think you're suppressed. It's fun when you're not a manager. Cause then the manager sucks shit. Right? And then when you become a manager, it's the regional manager that's an asshole. And then when you're the regional manager's an asshole. And.

Some context for our audio only audience in this portion, Gary is Pointing to the Dutch Bros CEO.

But who does he get to blame? And the answer is nobody. At least for this organization or like many CEOs that I've met, my mom did this or my. Here's the thing. To me, I just hope it inspires you to do it. If it broke an insight to you to make you do something differently that then tastes better. That's all I want. The reason I try to suffocate excuses is. Cause it's the thing that holds everybody down, right? It's the thing that you can rely on when you don't want to work 15 hours a day. It's the thing that you can rely on when it's hard or it's painful or you can't figure it out or. So yeah, it sounds awesome. And what is most interesting to me is it meant something to you. Now I'd rather you not care about my opinion on it. That person I want you to like, right, Internalize it and go do something with it.

[Logan]

I swear I'm going to pass out right now.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Thanks, man.

[Logan]

So personally, I think that growth and.

[Gumpy]

Development within a company is like super huge.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like you got to grow your people so that 100%.

[Minch]

So I just want to know what.

[Gumpy]

Are some of the methods that you use to grow somebody? Whether that's somebody that you see potential in or somebody that's listening. Slacking, Listening, listening.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's listening everybody. There's no blueprint. There's 3,700 different things. You could be like, maybe you're slacking because you're in pain because your parents are going through a tough time. Like there's just 8 million things. To me, it's always listening. Every day, forever. So it's not an X ray of today. It's not. Hey, Susan. Oh, Susan. You're a little overconfident cause you were a good student. But that doesn't actually translate to life. So let me deploy a little humility so you understand what the real world looks about. Oh, now you're in a better place. You understand? But then like a leader is always on. It's oxygen. It's forever. So that's how I think about it.

[Kyle]

I got one more.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Go ahead.

[Gumpy]

Can I take a selfie with you?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Sure, dude. Who's next? Go ahead. I. I can double task, dude. What's up with your screen?

[Minch]

They go around over by Go Kart.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Buy a Go Kart. Yeah. You going to get the new one? Yeah.

[Marissa]

Hi.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Hi.

[Marissa]

I'm Marissa. I'm from Eugene, Oregon. First I'd like to say I acknowledge the Russian Jewish heritage. I am too. So I'd like to say a late happy Rosh Hashanah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Thank you.

[Marissa]

Also, I was just wondering, how long did it take you to find the balance between your work and your life? Like, you say you work 18 hours a day. Do you work while you sleep as well?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And I sleep really easy.

[Marissa]

Good.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm glad because I'm exhausted. I've never thought of them separate. Hold on to the mic. Hold on. You know, it was funny when you asked that. I've never thought of them separate. I really haven't. And that's cool because we work a lot. Like, my big. You know, it's funny. A lot of people, like, are confused by my message. It's why I bring up my buddy in California, new jersey, making 50k on 17. Softball. I want that. I don't want the jets or I'm gonna buy the Seahawks. You're gonna buy the jets or I want people to just figure themselves out. I figured myself out. By the way, being a workaholic is frowned upon. Like, by the way, somebody wrote an op ed piece in the New York Times that shit on me, you know, like, because I work too much. Like. Like there's always two sides to these equations. There's a lot of people who judge my parenting style. They think just cause they come home at 6 o' clock and don't really pay attention to their kids, but they're physically in the building, that they're better dads than I am. I respect their point of view. I understand how they can go there. It makes them feel better about themselves. I just understand. But to me, I want you to. To make work and life the same. Whether that's nine to five, whether that's nine to three. As a teacher and having the whole summer off, whether that's 18 hours a day because it's just too big of a percentage of our time on earth. It's like literally what we spend the most time on. It's crazy. So to me, do you know how many people I know make $120,000 a year? Who, if they made 89,000, would be 50,000 times happier? And the only variable difference is instead of driving a BMW, they'd have to drive a Toyota. Like, it's. It's crazy how people get caught up in the wrong shit. So to answer your question, I have no idea. I never thought of it differently. I grew up in a family business, so it's super intertwined. Right?

[Marissa]

That was kind of my question. Like did you? Have you always known that you were going to be a CEO and an entrepreneur and all these big business. Do you have a separate goal?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I knew that I was a fucking terrible student, so education wasn't going to be my path. I knew that I wanted to pay my parents back for being the best parents ever and getting me out of communist Russia. I felt a real passion for that. So I did think, okay, I'm not going to get a great job because I'm not going to have a good education. So I'm going to go into dad's store, I'm going to build it up for him. And then during that time, you start, you know, all of us are still learning about ourselves, whether we're 45 or 14. You just keep learning, right? You know, somewhere along the line I'm like, wow, I'm a really good salesman. Then I'm like, wow, I'm a really good businessman. Oh, I'm a really good manager, I'm a really good boss, I'm a really good marketer. I'm a real, you know, you just start building. And then when YouTube came out and I predicted that would be big after email, after Google, AdWords, then I'm like, I got a knack for what people are gonna do before. And then I invested in Facebook and Twitter and Tumblr and like, you just build. And even now, I never thought that I would inspire people. I thought I was a businessman who thought that entrepreneurship would be like a athlete or a rapper. It's crazy. Like 14. Like I went to the jets game yesterday, 13 year old dudes, I'm like, ah. Like, what the fuck? I'm like, Bieber upping this bitch, you know? Like, so you don't know, right? But I do know one thing. Doing something for a living, eight hours a day. When you sleep eight hours, I mean, it's a third of your life. So maybe half of your life. I'm just desperate for people to do shit they like. And if they like something that pays them less, you don't need fancy shit. You'll be much happier at the end.

[Marissa]

Thank you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You're welcome. Gary.

[Kyle]

Yo, what's up, Gary? I'm Mike. I'm out here from Arizona.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

This is the best. Nailed it, Zona. I'm like, seriously thinking about starting a New Jersey location just so they can be represented here next year.

[Kyle]

Well, Jersey, I grew up in Ridgewood, so love it. You got someone there?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Let's go, man.

[Kyle]

So my question for you is, as managers, we spend a lot of time Hiring people who are like that millennial generation. I'm in it. A lot of us are in it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Kyle]

You talk a lot about self awareness.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Kyle]

How do you recognize that in a 10 to 15 minute interview? How do I know that the person I'm going to hire you don't?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Dang it, Gary, I've got really good hiring advice. Learn to fire fast. If you guys. Especially for what you guys do for a living. I did it. I used to pay people $9.50 an hour, $12.50 an hour, stock guys at liquor store. I did it. I did what you did for a long time in my life. Everybody has their ego tied up in hiring. You guys have your ego tied up in your hiring. You think you're so good at hiring and then you hire somebody and they're shit. But you may pretend they're not because firing them admits that you were wrong. So it's your own ego that's holding you back. My ego is only balanced by my humility. I hired somebody for hundreds of thousands of dollars the other day, six months ago. I interviewed him three times. Three times. That's a lot of time for me. I fired him one day into working at Vaynermedia. One day. Now I fired him four months later. But in my head, he literally got fired the first day. I'm like, fuck. So especially for this business, for all of you guys, check your ego in the door. You're not that great at fucking hiring. But good news, nobody is. Get good at firing.

[Kyle]

Thank you, Gary.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That one's gonna work for you guys. That's gonna be a big one. Watch margin explode. Let me tell you why margin's gonna explode if you're not sitting and dwelling about what you're gonna do with fucking sucky ass Rick. You guys are gonna worry about the customer and maximizing margin fire. Go ahead.

[Kyle]

All right, all right. So my name is Daniel, just like everybody else is doing.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm from Coraline, Idaho.

[Kyle]

Got my group over there. I actually kind of hopped like from.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. I was about to ask you what the are you doing up there when the question line is right there.

[Kyle]

Shorter line, man.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Respect over there. Hack people here.

[Kyle]

There's like one person.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I appreciate the hustle.

[Kyle]

Yeah, I guess.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Smart. But yeah.

[Kyle]

Anyway, so I got a couple questions.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Actually. You know what's crazy about that?

[Kyle]

What's that?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I actually think you're like. I'm actually weirdly intrigued by you now. I'm being dead serious. That's just a smart hack. I like it.

[Kyle]

It worked. I Thought maybe they'd like, give them some more time, but they just. When I hear. So it worked.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Good.

[Kyle]

Very awesome guy. Anyways, okay. Couple little things I want to ask you. First thing, how do you not burn yourself out when you're pushing yourself so hard all the time? I always hear people tell me, like, my whole life, damn, if you're going to push yourself that hard in this area, you're going to burn out.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You'll give up. Do you feel it that way? No, because you love it.

[Kyle]

I.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

If you, if you asked me to hang a picture on that wall, I would burn myself out before I even got halfway to the wall. But if you told me to run like a $500 million business, you know, for the next 17 years, 18 hours a day, I'd be like, bet fair.

[Kyle]

Okay, so another thing I want to ask you, if that's how like you are at that point. I guess great leaders can inspire people.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Kyle]

Bring them kind of the same point, right? The same goal, the same mission. How can you inspire other people to, to feel that same desire to keep pushing and not stop, not feel like they need to take a break every other day, you know what I mean?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Or they just need. By listening to them. It's gonna be the same shit, guys. It's not about us. You're like, you're a great leader. Inspired. I'm like, yeah, by never thinking about my part. I'm a great leader and I inspire because I listen because I deliver when people ask for things, including, hey, I don't like this. I'm like, look, you don't like this. So there's somebody that I'm about to let go, right? She's on her seventh department. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to do that, right? And I've been trying, trying, trying. That's it. I'm over it. That's it. Try. Really? Seven's fucking crazy. You know like, you know like. And so, and so. It's about them, bro. By the way, to build a great organization, you need Bs and Cs. I love C players. Who's gonna do C player shit? If we all had A's, nobody'd be doing anything. Everybody would be strategizing and architecting. I love when people like on my vlog are like, what do you do all day? You don't fucking work. You're in meetings all day. I'm like, Yep, like, understand 16 year old Charlie from Calgary that doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about, like, you'll one day hopefully understand what it is and what you're in is you're thinking all day, you're making decisions all day. That's what an executive does. Like, I'm. I miss the times of stocking shelves, you know? Like, it was easy. It was fucking fun, you know, like. And so, yeah, man, it's about them. And, like, they're not gonna be you. They're not. They're not as ambitious as you, and that's awesome. What you should do is figure that out and then try to make them the best version of that player. Not everybody can be the quarterback, man. Long snappers matter too, Gary. Thanks for watching. Hey, Gary.

[Kyle]

What's up?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

How are you, my man? Good, man.

[Chris]

My name is Chris. First of all, I just. I mean, I'm in heaven sitting here listening to you.

[Nick]

It's amazing.

[Chris]

Stumbled across your USC video a couple years ago, and it's been. I've just absorbed tons of your content.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Thanks, brother.

[Chris]

And I also think it's cool that my wife and I were in New York about a year and a half ago, and I sent a tweet at you asking if you wanted to go to the. The Knicks game. And I thought it was so cool that you actually responded like, you say you do, and. And you sent a video, and I.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Thought that was rad. Thank you.

[Chris]

Yeah. So it was cool.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I appreciate it.

[Chris]

Question that I've had for you kind of in my head.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And by the way, real quick, I apologize. Like, that, to me, is super important, especially for a lot of managers here. When a customer tweets anything about your business, to take the 13 seconds on the way to going, taking a piss, to make a video and be like, thank you, or I'm sorry is so powerful. Like, I'm busy as fuck, dudes in New York. Like, you want to come to the Knicks game? That's not the shit that you're supposed to be answering, but because I did, it builds a deeper relationship with us. He's like, fuck, that's cr. Like, it's just real. So, actually, I got something fun while we're having this conversation. I want everybody to open up Instagram and go to Oprah Winfrey's account. Oprah. And I want you to scroll all the way down, all the way down to her first photo ever. I want you to look at it. While I'm giving this point, I'm sitting with her, and I. I'm putting Oprah on Instagram. I'm in a room with Oprah fucking Winfrey. And I'm like, oprah, Instagram, it's gonna be important. Da da, da, da, da, da. Right? And she's like, da, da da. I'm trying to explain to her why it's so important to reply to people. And I go to her. When you were doing your show at the height of your popularity, when you guys would stop and reset the cameras, right? I'm like, did you ever look at anybody in the audience? And. And she's like, yeah. I was like, did you ever smile or wink at anybody? She's like, yeah. I'm like, do you know that they've been telling that story for the last 15 years? It matters, man. Depth versus width. The way you get more customer count in your locations is by over indexing on the ones that are coming in in the first place. Go ahead.

[Chris]

You know, it's something going along with that that I've told a lot of my crew about is the Ricky Henderson effect that you talk about. And I think that's huge.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You just. That's what I call it.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

When I Just real quick. When I was 10, I went to a Yankees game. It was my first game. We were poor. Like, going to a game was like, crazy. It was like. I think I wore a suit, you know, like. And Ricky Henderson was coming off the field, and I stood up and he winked. Now, what's crazy about the story is it's like If I, like 80 people just thought I winked at them, right? So I don't know if he really winked at me, but if, like, the amount of Rickey Henderson baseball cards and jerseys. And to this, here I am, right, 30 years later, talking about Rickey Henderson depth, man. Depth versus width. And by the way, that's how you gotta manage Sally, who works for you for four months at the front of the store because you really gave a fuck in 13 years, when she's a top executive, does a business development deal with you because you did the right thing. Cause kindness is. Is practical and karma is ROI positive. And honestly, honestly, this was not a big enough reaction to that statement. You gotta really get it through your head, those claps are dick for what I just said. It's a big deal. It's a big deal.

[Chris]

Okay, so my actual question.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Chris]

Where am I now? You know, I've seen you scale from 400 people a couple years ago to 800 now. And we've grown a lot. My wife and I have about 250 people on our crew chief. And it's been really hard on Me. We've grown quickly. In the last year. We've went from about 100 to 250 in year.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

More locations.

[Chris]

Yeah, yeah.

[Minch]

So how do you.

[Chris]

How do you connect with your. Your people? You have technology, VaynerMedia Media.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Do you have everybody on your text?

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Lay in bed and text them.

[Chris]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Here's a big one. Here's a big one. Don't judge yourselves. There's 230 VaynerMedia employees watching this video right now and being like, fuck that guy. I haven't heard from him in seven months. Like, I don't judge myself. I know I'm trying with all my fucking might, but if, like, something slips through the cracks or if I go through a bad rally or. Or to maybe my number one, two, three guy, like, my guy who's like, fuck, you. Don't talk to me. And like, I don't judge myself. I try real hard. But I don't cripple myself by shortcomings because I know that I'm trying harder and better than most, and life is about alternatives. When I'm most down on fuck, I say to myself, would they be better off somewhere else? The answer is no.

[Chris]

That's good. Thank you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You got it. How are you?

[Nick]

I'm doing phenomenal, man.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I love it.

[Nick]

I couldn't ask for any more.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You're the best.

[Nick]

Yeah. And, yeah, I don't even work for Dutch brothers.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You snuck in.

[Nick]

Yeah, I just rolled in and, you know, but I love all these people, you know.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. They're great atmosphere. I get it.

[Nick]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So did you literally break the in?

[Nick]

No, I. I got a free ticket.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh, respect. Respect. Yeah, I was. I would have thought it would have been way cooler if you just snuck the in. All right, go ahead.

[Nick]

I found out you were speaking here, so.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Thank you.

[Nick]

Roll down from Sumner, Washington.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm flattered. How are you?

[Nick]

But I'm doing phenomenal.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Good.

[Nick]

I'm a dishwasher, trapper, Sushi currently, and have been for a few years.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay.

[Nick]

But trying to break out of that and move up in the restaurant and hopefully one day become a sushi chef and, you know, hopefully not cut off any fingers, though.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

If you did, that could bring a lot of awareness to you and maybe create a viral moment that could be ROI positive.

[Minch]

True.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Just keep that in the back of your mind. Okay.

[Nick]

But, you know, between my multiple sclerosis and my traumatic brain injury I had when I was a kid, I have symptoms, defects, whatever, that would hold me back from life like that.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Nick]

But I. I'm still, you know, moving forward. I'm a marathon runner. I run races all the time. That's why I've been up and down.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

My man is, I love it is.

[Nick]

Because my legs are hurting from this half marathon I ran yesterday and the day before. I ran the warrior dash up there in Washington. But at any rate, yeah, I'm, I've written one book and I'm becoming, you know, well, I am a motivational author and wannabe speaker.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Love it.

[Nick]

And thank you. And yeah, I'm just wanting to move forward with that and I'm working on my second book right now and I've started.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Nick]

And watching you in the past few months or year, I've been totally fired up.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Thank you.

[Nick]

And I love you, man.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I love you back and thank you. And are you trying to figure out how to make that more successful?

[Nick]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Are you putting out content on a daily basis?

[Nick]

Yes.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

How?

[Nick]

On, on my Facebook.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

What about YouTube?

[Nick]

I'm, I'm working. I'm, I've started on YouTube. I just haven't done very much at all.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So. What about Instagram?

[Nick]

I've, I've downloaded Instagram and I've begun putting content on there. Just haven't gone full force into it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Is that. What's your name? Shane.

[Nick]

Shane.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Shane. Let's go a different route. Shane, I want you to do me a favor. I want you to send me an email to garynermedia.com okay?

[Nick]

Okay.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You got that? You know VaynerMedia, right?

[Nick]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay. VaynerMedia, say it's Shane. I'm the guy who, you know, spoke at the event and the marathons and you made the joke about the cutting the finger, all that. Put it all in the title. Okay.

[Nick]

Okay.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Instead of me giving you one tidbit, Shane, I'm going to fly you to New York City to VaynerMedia and you're going to spend a day with me and my team and we'll show you what to do.

Thank you all so much for listening to this episode of the GaryVee audio experience. If you made it all the way to the end, let us know in the Spotify comments section and we will see you next time for an all new episode.