The Social Media Crash Course That will Grow Your Business TODAY | Tea with GaryVee Ep. 71

Summary

The GaryVee Audio Experience: The Social Media Crash Course That Will Grow Your Business TODAY | Tea with GaryVee Ep. 71

Release Date: March 27, 2025

Host: Gary Vaynerchuk
Guests: Mackenzie, Herman, Sherry, Sean, Tessa, Simon

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Introduction

In Episode 71 of Tea with GaryVee, Gary Vaynerchuk delves into actionable strategies for leveraging social media to scale businesses. The episode features engaging conversations with several entrepreneurs and creators, addressing challenges and providing insights on branding, content creation, and business growth.

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Segment 1: Building a Unified Brand

Guest: Mackenzie
Topic: Balancing Multiple Ventures and Creating a Cohesive Brand

Mackenzie opens the discussion by sharing her journey from a long-term tech career to flipping furniture and starting the Career Flipper podcast. She seeks advice on unifying her diverse endeavors under a single brand.

Key Insights:

• Unified Branding: Gary emphasizes that disparate activities like furniture flipping and podcasting can coexist under one cohesive brand. He illustrates this with his multifaceted roles, stating, “I’m a podcaster. I’m also a million other things... It is a cohesive brand” (00:45).

• Content as an Overlay: He explains that podcasting serves as an overlay, enhancing all other activities. For Mackenzie, blending her ventures can amplify her overall brand presence.

• Content Distribution: Gary advises leveraging multiple platforms simultaneously, particularly highlighting the importance of LinkedIn and TikTok for business growth.

Notable Quote:

"All the things I do are part of one unified brand. You can do multiple things as long as they complement each other." – Gary Vaynerchuk (01:06)

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Segment 2: Scaling a Small Business Against a Giant Competitor

Guest: Herman
Topic: Strategies for a Small B2B Tooling Distribution Business

Herman seeks Gary's expertise on how to compete with a significantly larger competitor in his local market.

Key Insights:

• Start a Podcast: Gary recommends initiating a podcast to interview potential clients, transforming cold outreach into value-driven conversations. “Cold calling and saying, do you want to be on my podcast... converts dramatically better” (02:50).

• AI and SEO: He suggests utilizing AI for SEO to stay ahead of emerging search engine technologies, though he acknowledges budget constraints for small teams.

• Social Media Engagement: Emphasizing organic content creation, Gary underscores the use of affordable tools like smartphones to produce content without hefty investments.

• Authentic Outreach: Transitioning from traditional sales pitches to offering value through content can foster stronger client relationships.

Notable Quote:

“Provide value versus asking them to buy things from you. Start conversations with potential clients that aren’t starting with like, hey, I’d like you to buy.” – Gary Vaynerchuk (03:40)

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Segment 3: Enhancing Employee Quality in a Company

Question from Brittany: “What’s the one quality you look for in an employee?”
Answer: Self-Awareness and Confidence

Gary highlights the importance of employees possessing self-awareness and confidence. He explains that insecure employees can undermine company culture, while those who are self-aware contribute positively and handle success maturely.

Notable Quote:

“Self awareness and confidence are what I look for. An insecure employee... fucks up the culture regardless of what they do.” – Gary Vaynerchuk (07:35)

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Segment 4: Leveraging TikTok for Business Growth

Guest: Sherry
Topic: Utilizing TikTok for a Pet Products Brand

Sherry discusses her challenges in building her pet products brand's social media presence and launching a podcast.

Key Insights:

• Prioritize TikTok: Gary advises Sherry to focus intensively on TikTok, emphasizing its potential to transform business trajectories. “You must win on TikTok over any other platform” (11:52).

• Consistency is Crucial: Sherry acknowledges her need to increase her TikTok posting frequency, to which Gary reinforces the importance of regular content production.

• Diversify Content Strategy: Although Sherry is launching a podcast and YouTube channel, Gary encourages maintaining a TikTok-first approach given its immediate impact.

• Overcome Regulatory Hurdles: Addressing Sherry's issues with regulatory compliance, Gary reminds her of the importance of adhering to guidelines to avoid business setbacks.

Notable Quote:

“TikTok is the one place where you have the likelihood of getting a post that changes the course of your career.” – Gary Vaynerchuk (11:52)

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Segment 5: Navigating Employer Restrictions While Building a Personal Brand

Guest: Kelly
Topic: Balance Between Corporate Job and Personal Content Creation

Kelly expresses her dilemma of growing her personal brand on TikTok while her corporate employer disapproves of her online presence.

Key Insights:

• Continue Content Creation: Gary advises Kelly to persist with her content creation efforts, even if it risks her current job, suggesting parallel job searches as a safety net.

• Accountability: Emphasizing personal responsibility, Gary encourages Kelly to accept the consequences of her choices without blaming external factors.

• Adaptability: He underscores the importance of being flexible and ready to pivot based on the success and reception of her content.

Notable Quote:

“Keep doing until they fire you... Take accountability. Don’t blame me.” – Gary Vaynerchuk (13:00)

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Segment 6: Adapting Content Across Platforms

Question from Sarah: “When I post the same video on different platforms, it performs well on one and terrible on another. Why?”

Answer: Tailor Content to Each Platform

Gary rebukes the notion that algorithms are the primary issue, attributing discrepancies to the content not being appropriately customized for each platform.

Key Insights:

• Platform-Specific Strategies: Each social media platform has unique audience behaviors and content expectations. Content should be tailored to fit these nuances.

• Customize Elements: Adjust the first few seconds, thumbnails, captions, and editing styles to align with the specific platform’s preferences.

Notable Quote:

“It’s a you fucking problem, Sarah. You’re supposed to do slightly different content. The first three seconds, the thumbnail, the copy, the edit.” – Gary Vaynerchuk (15:00)

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Segment 7: Handling Constructive Criticism

Question:
“How do you draw the line between taking constructive criticism but not giving into other people's worldview or opinions?”

Answer: Balance Humility and Confidence

Gary explains that balancing humility with confidence allows one to accept feedback without being swayed by differing opinions.

Key Insights:

• Embrace Duality: Life involves managing opposing energies, such as being open to feedback while maintaining self-assuredness.

• Avoid Black-and-White Thinking: Flexibility in decision-making ensures adaptability and growth.

• Self-Awareness: Understanding one's strengths and weaknesses facilitates better handling of criticism.

Notable Quote:

“Balancing humility and confidence and self esteem... Decide which one is right in the moment. Confident, confident, confident. It’s not working. You’re getting feedback.” – Gary Vaynerchuk (15:57)

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Segment 8: Competition in Sports vs. Corporate Life

Question from Today in Space: “Do you think competition is healthier in sports than corporate life?”

Answer: Competition is Essential Everywhere

Gary asserts that competition is a fundamental aspect of life, vital for growth and resilience, whether in sports or corporate environments.

Key Insights:

• Life's Competitive Nature: Emphasizes that competition fosters improvement and adaptability.

• Negative Perceptions: Criticizes modern tendencies to demonize competition, which can lead to insecurity and indifference.

• Raising Competitive Spirits: Advocates for encouraging competitive traits to build stronger, more resilient individuals.

Notable Quote:

“If you demonize competition, you’re about to raise an insecure child. Indifference leads to depression.” – Gary Vaynerchuk (20:19)

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Segment 9: Expanding Business Ideas with Limited Resources

Guest: Sean
Topic: Managing Multiple Business Ideas Without a Team

Sean discusses his struggle to execute multiple business ideas due to limited team support.

Key Insights:

• Prioritize and Focus: Gary advises selecting one idea to focus on, potentially using methods like flipping a coin to decide.

• Reinvest Earnings: Encourages reinvesting profits back into the business to build a capable team instead of spending on personal luxuries.

• Patience and Persistence: Highlights that business growth is a marathon and requires sustained effort over years.

Notable Quote:

“Pick one. Flip a coin. Do something. Action only.” – Gary Vaynerchuk (26:19)

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Segment 10: Embracing Authenticity Despite Risks

Guest: Simon
Topic: Being Authentic While Building an Online Brand

Simon seeks advice on maintaining authenticity in his content without offending his audience, fearing it might impact sales.

Key Insights:

• Intent Matters: Gary stresses the importance of intent behind content. If authenticity is genuine and not intended to offend, maintaining it is crucial.

• Overcoming Insecurity: Acknowledges that insecurities can hold creators back, urging them to confront and overcome these feelings.

• Comfort with Discomfort: Encourages embracing discomfort as a path to growth and resilience.

Notable Quote:

“You are allowed to be insecure about this, but that's what's holding you back.” – Gary Vaynerchuk (29:17)

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Conclusion

Throughout the episode, Gary Vaynerchuk imparts practical advice on utilizing social media for business growth, emphasizing authenticity, strategic content creation, and the importance of competition. His candid and no-nonsense approach offers valuable lessons for entrepreneurs and creators aiming to scale their ventures in the digital landscape.

Final Notable Quote:

“Only action.” – Gary Vaynerchuk (26:53)

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Timestamp Reference

• [00:45] Mackenzie's Introduction
• [01:06] Gary on Unified Branding
• [02:50] Herman's Business Challenge
• [03:40] Strategies for Small Business
• [07:35] Employee Quality
• [11:52] TikTok’s Importance
• [13:00] Kelly’s Dilemma
• [15:00] Content Customization
• [15:57] Handling Criticism
• [20:19] Competition Discussion
• [26:19] Sean’s Expansion Struggles
• [29:17] Authenticity and Insecurity
• [26:53] Final Advice

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Key Takeaways

1. Unified Branding: Diverse business activities can coexist under a single, cohesive brand.
2. Content is King: Leveraging platforms like TikTok and LinkedIn effectively can drive significant business growth.
3. Authenticity Matters: Being genuine in your content fosters trust and better engagement.
4. Focus and Prioritize: Concentrate on one idea at a time to ensure successful execution.
5. Embrace Competition: Healthy competition is essential for personal and business development.
6. Invest in Your Team: Reinvest profits into building a capable team to scale your business sustainably.
7. Balance Feedback and Confidence: Accept constructive criticism while maintaining self-assuredness to navigate business challenges.

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This summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from Episode 71 of Tea with GaryVee, providing actionable strategies for entrepreneurs and content creators aiming to harness the power of social media for business growth.

Transcript

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Before you listen to today's podcast, and I know there's background noise, I'm literally sitting on a plane that's about to be taken off. But before you do anything, I want you to go to my Instagram right now. Gary Ve, go on the profile, hit where it says following and add me to your favorites to make sure you don't miss any of my Instagram posts. I've got Fire coming this summer. Lots going on, lots of giveaways, lots of exclusives, lots of partnerships and, and just lots of rants and fire. That's what I want you to do. Please let me know if you did it on Twitter or on text. And now enjoy the podcast. Welcome to another episode of Tea with Gary Vee. Should we go to somebody on the screen or we go to Mackenzie first? Mackenzie first.

[Mackenzie]

Gary. I went from working in tech for 18 years, got laid off, struggled to find a new job, ended up flipping furniture. To make ends meet, I started the Career Flipper podcast. I interview people about their weird career changes. It's been a great learning experience. I want to turn both my podcast and furniture flipping into my full time job. How do you advise people like me who are juggling multiple things to create one unified brand?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think it's one unified brand. You know, I don't, I don't see anything different about being a furniture flipper and a podcaster. Being a podcaster is an overlay like Oxygen around everything. Everybody is a podcaster that is podcasting around being either a creator influencer. Jenny, I think you're, you're beating yourself up or making it more complicated than it is. I'm a podcaster. I'm also a million other things. I'm the creator of Vee friends. I'm the CEO VaynerMedia. I'm a partner of Vayner Sports. I'm a content creator, winetext.com and a million other things. I don't have to go into it. So I think that it is a cohesive brand. People doing academia on themselves when they're just living. If you want to, if you want to get paid to speak, if you want to do other things, it's very easy. Put out content and let the demand come to you. I would be crushing LinkedIn content. I'd be crushing TikTok content and every other platform for that matter. All right, let's keep it going. My man. How are you doing? Good.

[Herman]

How about yourself, Gary?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Good. What's your name? Where are you from?

[Herman]

I go by Santa. Herman. I'm from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Pleasure, my friend. How are things? Going? Good.

[Herman]

Going well, going well. Absolutely loving the Veefriends brand, especially with Santa Claus. Fun having that. But question is, for my regular day job, I work for a B2B tooling distribution business. A cutting tool distribution business. We're a small family run company. There's nine employees. We're literally right around the corner from the juggernaut of the state, which has like 200 employees. What would you do if you were to come in here as an outside tooling salesman, day one today to grow and scale this company?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

The David and Goliath story is always a lot of fun for me because that's what my situation was when I went to my dad's liquor store. And I think it's alternative marketing. And I really do believe the stuff I talk about, brother is what it comes down to. So I'd probably. First I. My favorite B2B move is to start a podcast and interview the people that we want to be clients. Right. So you got the behemoth next to you and you've got you. And you pretty much know how many. Do you know how many client target clients the company has?

[Herman]

Our company?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. Like, what do you think? Like, the target is like, how many potential clients do you guys have?

[Herman]

There's thousands in the state. You know, there's in manufacturing, we've got a lot of medical device manufacturers. We've got all sorts of different manufacturing in this state. So there's thousands of businesses.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, I mean, I think, I think it's a very heavy game of Instagram, excuse me, LinkedIn, DMing messages that are really not spammy. And I think the best way to not be spammy is to provide value versus asking them to buy things from you. And I think the first thing I would do if I was an outside salesman is be a salesman and a marketer and say, hey, I really, really, really want to start a podcast and I want to interview the biggest realtor. Adrian says, how does that help? It helps because you start conversations with potential clients that aren't starting with like, hey, I'd like you to buy. For me, it's more like, hey, I'd like to make content and potentially get you exposure. You know, I've given this advice pretty consistently and I've gotten so many, I mean, literally emails every single week from very small companies who've been able to get business by just even inviting someone to the podcast, let alone even doing the podcast. So I think that's, that's number one. I would also think about AI SEO. So I think getting ahead of the next search engine is a big play. The next thing I would do is convince the company to spend some money on starting on that one. Start. You know, starting. Yeah, there's that. Which is hard on a nine person company, which is why I love social. Like my, my first piece of advice doesn't cost any money. You can record it all on an iPhone. My second one costs a little money which is starting to work with a startup to get your company to be the first result. When people do AI chat bots and are starting to move away from Google. Does your business get business from Google results?

[Herman]

We get some business. Most of it right now is, you know, literally sales calling.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Of course, you know your sales organization, like any B2B company is. Which is again why I'm bringing up the first point because I think it's the best version of cold calling. Cold calling and saying, do you want to be on my podcast to tell your business's story or your career story converts dramatically better than cold calling and saying buy my fucking tools or my toolkit. You understand?

[Herman]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Even if you, even if you have no audience, even if you have like, like it's amazing because none of these people ever get asked to be on podcasts, so they're just thrilled to do it or for the content. Right. It's a production day. So that would be the move, brother. That to me is the killer move in the game right now. I do think if you've got. For everybody else who's watching, if you've got a couple of bucks starting to figure out that chatbots, ChatGPT, all this stuff, chat assistance, they're going to be giving results to queries. Actually watch this. Everybody in all of my social and on whatnot, if you are now using ChatGPT perplexity, other AI things to do, things you used to do on Google, say me. And you know, I think that when you see all the. Look at all these me's in the chat, it's literally. It's absurd. Yeah, I mean I think that that's right, brother. It's content. Free content on social, especially in LinkedIn for you, based on your business is the way to go. But also the cold call outreach for the podcast.

[Herman]

Okay, cold call outreach for the podcast. Just one last thing. Do you see any space for our company to be doing anything on whatnot or TikTok shop or anything like that?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I don't, I think. I don't. I didn't think so.

[Herman]

But I wanted to ask the question Anyways, not yet.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I appreciate the question. I think it's cool, but I don't think it's right for you, per se, just yet.

[Herman]

Perfect.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

All right, brother, stay. Well, let's keep it moving, everyone. You're welcome. My man. Mackenzie. What's the question?

[Mackenzie]

You got one from Brittany. What's the one quality you look for in an employee?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I think employees come in different shapes and sizes. I think jobs within your company come in different shapes and sizes. If I have a universal one when I'm interviewing, I'm looking for self awareness and confidence. I think an insecure employee is political and fucks up the culture regardless of what she or he does. So if you're self aware, if you know who you are and you know who you're not, you tend to be a little bit more confident as well. Um, and the more confident you are, the less you're dealing with your own insecurities and the less you're dealing with, like, Karen in accounting is ruining me. Or like Johnny's like, think about, I'm looking at Team Gary. Like, when somebody's getting shine, are you happy for them or are you upset because you're like, fuck, I'm not getting shine. Like, it's a mindset, it's life. And so that is 100% what I look for. Self awareness and really just a general self esteem. I would go with the double selfs. Self esteem and self awareness turn out to be tremendous. All right, let's keep it going. Sherry, how are you?

[Sherry]

I'm really good. How are you?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm well. Where are you calling from, dear?

[Sherry]

I am calling from country Victoria, Australia. I'm two hours out of Melbourne.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Amazing. Well, it's a pleasure to be with you. I've been to the region because I'm a. I've been there for a wine trip. So I've been there before. And. And what question do we have for you?

[Sherry]

Well, I have a pet products brand. I'm a canine herbalist and I make organic skin care for dogs with sensitivities, allergies. I'm working really hard. Thank you. I'm working really hard to build up my social media. I've started a YouTube channel and I'm launching a podcast. I start recording this week.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Amazing.

[Sherry]

And it's going to be called the Natural Dog Mum. And it's all about educating pet parents about natural health and wellness for their animals. Fresh feeding, those sorts of things. So I'm really excited about it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Clean, non chemical, all that stuff that actually leads to this, right?

[Sherry]

Yes. Abs, absolutely. Yeah. So I've got.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Let me, let me, let me ask you a quick question. I'm sorry to interrupt. Let me ask you a quick question.

[Sherry]

Yes.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

How many TikToks a day does your pet brand or you post for this business?

[Sherry]

Nowhere near enough. And that's one of the first things I'll be fixing starting next week. Once I've started filming, I'll be.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No, no worries. Hold on. How many?

[Sherry]

Yeah, not. Not daily. Barely even weekly. I've been very. I've been very, very slack on the. I'm correcting that.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So, my dear, a TikTok strategy for you in Australia. Well, so VaynerMedia does a lot of business in Australia. We have 100 employees out in Australia. I know that market extremely well. Way more important than a YouTube channel is for you to go all in on TikTok and you don't need to have a podcast.

[Sherry]

I'm about to do that.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Why haven't you done it?

[Sherry]

Well, for the last couple of months, it's because I've been dealing with. I've had to rewrite all of my marketing and website copy delete half of my social media posts and rename and redesign a bunch of products because I was flagged by the AP vma, which is the animal equivalent of the Therapeutic Goods administration here. They sent me a very scary letter and flagged 12 of my formulations. So I have been flat chat, tried to sort that out so that I don't get fired.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, yeah, you don't want to go to jail. You definitely don't want to do that. I get it. That I understand, I feel is.

[Sherry]

I feel it's legitimate.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's valid. That's valid. So listen, before you go, you must, and I mean you must win on TikTok over any other platform because it's the one place where I feel like you have the likelihood of getting a post that changes the course of your career.

[Sherry]

Absolutely. And I want to get into TikTok shop when it hits Australia. So I need to build up my followers.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I need you all in on that. Okay, Please do me a favor. Go to Gary. Go. Go to GaryVee.com attention. Yeah, it's. It's literally. Honestly, I'm not even asking people to buy the new book. Day trading Attention. I literally condensed it to the best of my ability to a free deck. Free. I don't even know about the $15 book.

[Sherry]

It's free.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay, great, then use it as.

[Sherry]

And I bought the book as well.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Thank you. Well, then now Execute because reading about push ups does nothing. So it sounds like you're ready and let, let's get to work and make sure Your strategy is TikTok first, everything else second. Okay, it will be.

[Sherry]

What, what about LinkedIn though? No, because most of my business is wholesale. I sell to grooming sales, retail.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I see, I see. Then yes, now that I understand that it's not DTC only. Yes, that too. And really I was wrong to say no. The answer's always yes. You should be like, I'm just worried you're a one woman show and can't get to everything. The answer is always yes.

[Sherry]

Yes, I am.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, I need I, you know, as many hours as you're willing to put into it and as many places you're willing to post. That's actually the answer to the quiz. I was being overly empathetic which allowed me to create excuse for you. Hey wholesalers, if you want to buy.

[Sherry]

What kind of content on LinkedIn, hey.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Fucking wholesalers, you want to buy clean shit so dogs aren't fucking itchy. I've got the shit for you. It's me. I'm fucking here. Buy my shit.

[Sherry]

I can do that. Thank you so much. Got it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You're welcome. Love you, Goodbye.

[Sherry]

Go ahead.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

McKenz, what do you got for me?

[Mackenzie]

Kelly asked. I work a corporate job that I love and building my brand on the side. I've grown to 200k on TikTok talking about pop culture. My goal is to start a podcast, but the company I work for doesn't like it. I don't post anything inappropriate or work related. They just don't like me posting online. I don't want to quit or be fired, but I also don't want to make, give up making content.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I like any advice, keep doing until they fire you. I mean, what do you, you know, I mean, I don't know, like what do you want me to do? Like, you know, what I'd probably do is in parallel find a job for a different company similar to the one that I'm at. So I would actively be looking for another job. I would be actively continuing to post and hopefully they don't fire you. And before that you get big enough to bounce, just real life. And if you get fired, don't blame me. Be accountable. That's what I would do. But if you get fired, don't blame me. Like then, you know, because I love when people are like, well, Gary, I don't, I don't want to do that because I might get fired. I'm like, good, then stop doing it. Like people are obsessed with cake and eat it too when they're not in control. You're not in control. You work for someone. Everyone's not in control to something. I'm like, really in control, and I'm not in control. Like, if the US is like, I'm taking away your citizenship, then I can't live here. Happens. Life is life. I don't know. Go ahead.

[Mackenzie]

Sarah asks when I post the same exact video on different platforms. It does really well on one platform and terrible on another.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No, Sarah, I've been talking about this for decade. Literally. Brayden. I've been talking about this for a decade. No shit. It does different on every platform. Every platform is different. You need to do different shit. That's why I write fucking books about this shit.

[Mackenzie]

This is an algorithm problem.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No, it's a you fucking problem, Sarah. You're the fucking problem. How the fuck have you not been listening? We've been talking about this for fucking decades. I used to have black hair. When I talked about this shit, I had black hair. Now gray hair, Tyler. I'm still talking about the same shit. I wrote. Jab, jab, jab. In 2012 came out in 13 or 14 or whatever the it came out. Jesus Christ. No, it's not an algorithm problem. It's a you problem. You're supposed to do slightly different content. The first three seconds, the thumbnail, the copy, the edit. You think LinkedIn's like TikTok? Sarah. Is her name Sarah? Sarah. Jesus Christ, Joel, ask.

[Mackenzie]

How do you draw the line between taking constructive criticism but not giving into other people's worldview or opinions?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

By balancing humility and confidence and self esteem. You know, sometimes people struggle with me because they think I'm a contradiction, right? Like, you know, like one. One time I'm like, care about what everybody says, and then I'm like, don't give a fuck. And they're a little confused. That's actually life. Like, life is figuring out how to balance opposing energies. How do I do that, Mackenzie? I take feedback all day, I listen to all sorts of shit, and equally I'm completely, utterly confident and don't give a fuck about what anybody says. And they're both easy. And sometimes I choose this, and sometimes I choose that. You know, by. By learning how to balance. The biggest problem for most people is that they're so black and white. Black and white and rigid and binary is fucking all of you up. I posted something yesterday. I noticed one of the comments on my instagram was, well, this doesn't work all the time. No shit, dick. Nothing on earth works all the time. Not one thing on earth works all the time. What thing works all the time? Maybe love. Deploying. Love might work all the time, but anyway, nonetheless, you know, very easily. MacKenzie, by deciding which one is right in the moment. Confident, confident, confident. It's not working. You're getting feedback. Fuck them, fuck them, fuck them. You wake up 18 months later, it's not working. Maybe it wasn't fuck them. Maybe you were delusional. Feedback, feedback, feedback. Fuck them, fuck them, fuck them. Boom. I exploded. I was right, they were wrong. Both happen. Let's keep going. Mackenzie. Sid. I like how you guys are teaming up. Nice little teamwork.

[Mackenzie]

We got one for Mike. Gary. I'm a successful realtor. Realtor in Maryland. I'm thinking of ways to TikTok shopify my business. Struggling to find ideas on how you can't.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I mean, you could make T shirts and hats to like build up your brand. But like, guys, TikTok shop is retail. Just because TikTok shop is good, like, you could go on it, but, like, you're not gonna sell fucking real estate on it. You don't need to. What are you gonna give TikTok? 11% of your real estate deal. Guys, when you sell on Tick Tock, you give up 11%. The are you gonna do? Give up 11 of your real estate deal? Guys, don't force Tick Tock. Shop is for selling. If you don't sell, just go live stream, go live. You don't need Tick Tock Shop. The end. If you don't sell shit. Something physical, you can make up something physical. Like a hat. I just did. We sold them. They're sold out. I made a fucking hat. I'm a human. I made a hat. Go ahead, Mackenzie.

[Mackenzie]

Matt asks true or false. If your business isn't gaining traction by year five, you need to move on.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

From yes, five years is too long. Yes, it sounds like it's a bad idea. 5 years is too long. I mean, look, if you're happy, then good. If you're happy, the answer is always keep going. If you're making 83,000 a year and you live paycheck to paycheck, but you're extremely happy because you like your work life balance and you just, like, you're good, you can deal with the stress of paycheck to paycheck. It seems fine. It's normal. Well, then keep doing it. But if your business hasn't gotten traction in five years, your business Blows. Mackenz, do you know how some people make a small fortune by starting with a large fortune. There are many people who inherit money or like come up with some sort of insurance scam and make pretend somebody hit them and their neck fake hurts and they get a million bucks and then they think there's somebody smart and clever and then they lose money because they suck at business. Or they're good at corporate and made a million dollars a year in corporate and then they start a business, a flower shop, and they lose 100,000 a year, but they don't care because they started with a million. Some people create small, you know, fortunes. Exactly. Preston said my business hasn't gotten more traction in 15 years. But Preston says more traction, which means it has enough traction for it to be viable. It's some people don't get traction. They got to go get a job or start a new business. But happiness over everything. All right, keep it going. McKenz.

[Mackenzie]

Today in space asks, do you think competition is healthier in sports than corporate life?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, I don't think they're even close. Of course I do. I assume corporate life within your own organization. Find out from them if you see their question. Anybody who's who asked the question Today in Space, clarify this for me. I'll have my team, Mason, Braden, they'll look for this. When you say corporation versus corporation, like Vaynermedia versus, you know, movers and shakers, the agency or are you talking about like within each other? Within the corporation? Competition. Because if it's VaynerMedia versus Ogilvy, I like it. Just like sports, why not win? Fuck it. I love competition. I think competitive clown is one of the most important vee friends and I can't wait to develop him. I really can't because I think modern parenting has fucked us up with trying to demonize competition. If you demonize competition, you're demonizing life. You demonize competition, you're about to raise an insecure child. You demonize competition, you're about to raise an indifferent child. And indifference leads to depression. Do you guys know that that indifference leads to depression? If you don't think anything matters, the fuck you think your life's gonna be? Alright, let's keep it going actually. Let's give something away for free. Here we go. Fuck it. All of you that are in one, I'm giving you something away for free. A signed happy hermit crab slab that's signed by me right there in the green. My favorite. And it's a CGC 10 corso. Put it up. Free giveaway right now. Fuck it. Free. I'm giving this away for free. My guy. Fucking let's go. Magic Man. What's good, brother? Gary, what's up, brother? How are you? I'm not going to lie.

[Sean]

I just woke up, but you got me fired at 6am in the morning. I'm like, I'm like. My heart is like. I'm going, I'm ready, man.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You're always ready, man. I've been so enjoying, you know, we've known each other a long time. Watching your journey has been remarkable. I'm so proud of you. Corso, could you swipe out of the bi thing over his face? I want to just really, really. Actually, people can do it themselves. If you want to not see the words over his face, just swipe to the left. What's your question, my man?

[Sean]

Yeah, my question is, you know, I'm at a point right now where I really want to start expanding out and I have so many ideas as you. As you do as well. And I guess my question is, you know, I don't have like a team that can execute every single idea that I have. What do you recommend? Like, the process you go through to, like, choosing what ideas to specifically focus on.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Sean, how long have you watched my content?

[Sean]

Since like 2016. When you're yelling, that could have been a fucking bus.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, so that's nine years ago. Back then I had five or six people on my team or whatever. It was like. It's one at a time, brother. Pick one. Pick one of the ideas you want. And look, I've been seeing you. You've been glowing up like heavy, right? Which means there's an opportunity for you. The biggest mistake that creators like you make is they spend the money they make on dumb shit, not reinvested in their business.

[Sean]

I did that for the first three years of, like, making money.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Think about that. So in those three years, you could have been pouring it into employees. Like, think about how many people see you doing tricks with Charli D'Amelio and this and that and all the cool shit you do that would want to work for you for minimum wage. They'd rather work for you and hustle on social than work at Wendy's. Do you know how many employees right now between 16 and 22 work at Wendy's and Target and Walmart and a car wash and random ass places that would break their arm to make the same per hour working for you, doing whatever. And do you know how many of those kids are actually talented? 5. To 10%. And you may hire. So you may have this video with me and hire the wrong kid and have to fire them six months later, three months later. But like, you need to invest in a team, brother. Yeah, you have to start.

[Sean]

I mean, I gotta be with you. Like I've done everything, like pretty much everything myself. And so it's like that next part.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It makes sense to me. You've been, you've been spending your money on fucking Air Force ones and trips and fucking jewelry and fucking whatever the fuck you're buying.

[Sean]

Yeah, yeah, you're right. But I also like, it's like when I look at all these other YouTubers, when they get to the next pinnacle of like what they want to do, it's like everybody has a team. And right now it's like very small.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I did my own stuff all by myself from 2006 to 2014. Eight years. Eight years. I don't know what people think this game is. It's a fucking marathon. Everyone's gonna realize that I was right about the patience thing. Everyone's gonna realize I was right about. You're 50, you're still young. People can make fun along the way. Do you know I get fucking 50 messages a day? Basically people swallowing their pride and being like, you were right about this. That the other thing. And it's not because I'm right, brother. I'm just speaking wisdom. OG shit. All those 90 year olds that I hung out with my whole life. Cause that's what I did. Weirdly, they taught me this. I'm not a smart. I just spoke to old people, not my grandparents. Maybe because I didn't only have. Honestly, maybe because I only had one grandparent because everyone died, you know, that was that Russia. Everyone died young. Like I'm not smart. I just listen to old people who lived. Yeah, all of us are so obsessed with the youth right now. Everybody wants to look young, Everybody wants to think 22 year olds are whiz kids on AI and social. We're all putting 22 year olds on a pedestal. And we're on 90 year olds. They're old, they don't get it. They don't understand technology. Hahaha. Grandma doesn't know how to use TikTok, motherfuckers. They know how to live life. You don't know shit. Oh, who's the winner? Natalie California Selling. Natalie California selling. Let's clap it up for Natalie. So. So when you're talking to me about being a creator and being a businessman, well guess what? I've been Doing it every single day since February 21, 2006. And before I did that, I built a business every single day from 1994 to 2006. I lived it. That's why it's so easy for me to tell you. That's the answer, my guy. And you know, doing it by yourself. Of course everyone does it by themselves. Logan did it by himself. Charlie did it by herself. Everybody did it by themselves. Until they didn't. Some people buy Lambos and some people invest in their business.

[Sean]

That's so real.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

As real as it gets, my guy.

[Sean]

What if like I have three like ideas? I'm just like so passionate and I.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Just believe in flip a coin. Flip a coin. I do too. When I did V Friends, I had all sorts of other things. One of them was to create an AI influencer. Now I'm getting around to that. Now after I did the vfriends thing, you gotta pick one. What, are you gonna lay in bed and debate the rest of your life? Pick one. Flip a coin.

[Sean]

Gary, you're so real, bro.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And I really, I love you, bro.

[Sean]

Appreciate you for that, bro. Thank you, bro.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Action. Action. Just remember that only action. Mackenzie. Go.

[Mackenzie]

We have Tessa. Tessa, I am 78 years old. I've been on social media for four years and six months. My friends tell me to quit because I should have a thousand followers. But I enjoy helping and guiding others.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Advice, Tessa, tell your old ass friends to shut the up. I really have nothing else. As if friends opinions on your lack of followers on social should strip you of doing something that makes you happy. As if. Tessa, Tessa, I need you to get a. Actually, Tessa, I'm going to be prescriptive about this. I want you to gather the friends. You know this MacKenzie. It's probably two friends, but if it's six, I want you to do a group text FaceTime. I want you to get them all on. Wait for that black screen to go into a human when they're all on. Or if you're doing like the, you know, the early bird special with them. If it's like 5pm and you guys are going to dinner in fucking Florida, I want you to sit down, be like friends. I need you to just. I just have one thing to say before we restart this dinner. I spoke to my friend Gary V. And I just want you all to know you need to shut the fuck up. Simon. What's good, brother? Creative crabs on fire.

[Simon]

Gary, can you hear me?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Hey, Simon. I can, brother. Where are you from?

[Simon]

I'm from the uk, live in A little town called Marlow in Buckinghamshire, kind of southeast England.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm headed to the UK tonight.

[Simon]

I've been following you for years. So this is kind of surreal. Basically, I've got a new business I've started up which is creating and selling my own word searches. This is kind of one of them here. The question I have really is about. I'm building the brand up. So I'm trying to be myself, but the one thing I've always struggled with is kind of self esteem and really being truly who I am to myself. And I'm worried that if I really am trying to connect with people online but I might say the wrong thing or I might offend them, then they're more like. Or they're less likely to buy word search for their child or for themselves because I might have said something that upsets them. But I still want to be as authentic, as authentic, authentic as I can be.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Brother, when you're being authentic, when you're off being authentic, when you're saying you're scared you're going to offend them, do you have the intent to be offensive? Are you being political? Are you trying to hurt people's feelings?

[Simon]

Oh, no, no. I'm just. I'm just being myself. I'm being honest. Like, I'm just. I'm literally completely being myself. But some people sort of like, for example, one thing I was gonna. I was on threads today, and I love just like looking through what people are saying threads, and someone put something up about people's attitudes. And I was thinking, I want to just put up something funny like saying, like, people that say that aren't. They aren't morning people are just using that as an excuse to be miserable in the morning. I thought I just say that because that's my opinion. I'm not trying to offend anybody.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Were you just. Were you. Were you. Were you. Were you just watching the show where I gave Tessa advice for her friends? That was the one a few minutes ago where I said for to Tessa.

[Simon]

Yes.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

To tell her friends to go shut the fuck up. Did you see that part?

[Simon]

Right, okay, okay, right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I believe that there's a lot of people right now, my brother, who don't know my 20 years of kind content, who just showed up randomly on TikTok, literally at the moment where I was like, didn't get any context before they literally came in live on TikTok or on Instagram or on YouTube or on whatnot, all they heard for me, the only thing they heard for me was me saying, tessa, tell your friends to shut the fuck up. I have a funny feeling, which I actually agree with.

[Simon]

When you were saying that. When you were saying that, I was like, yes, exactly. But why am I so worried about doing it myself? That's what I don't get.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Well, because you're. Because you're insecure.

[Simon]

I'm. I'm.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Well, you're insecure. You're insecure.

[Simon]

And that's okay. I am.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's okay. By the way. We are all insecure. Certain things. If I had to go fight right now, right, in the octagon against Dustin, right? Dustin on my team, who, like, I believe. I believe. And he's like, this is tough because I think he has some good tenacity, too, but I feel I have more tenacity and I would have a lot more to lose, right? Let's say this was live streamed. And, like, if I get knocked out, that's a meme. Like, that becomes my reputation. I would be insecure because I'm aware that he has put in work into fighting that I haven't put in. Right? He's been putting in the work. And I believe that if me and Dustin today went in the octagon, unless I land a lucky punch, he's probably gonna win. And that means right before the bell rang or like, the right. Hear me out on this, brother. I would be insecure. I'm allowed to be insecure because I'm a human being and everyone now, I'm not insecure in being online selling, being businessman, being out there and being notorious, having notoriety. So I just need you to understand you're allowed to be insecure about this, but that's what's holding you back. And my. And I don't know why, you know, the way that you grew up, your life, your circumstances, you're going to have to work at that. Whether it's therapy, meditation, watching this video over and over, like, you've got to break the habit.

[Simon]

So it's just about doing it every day and just dealing with the anxiety and not worrying so much and just not letting you overthink it and just. Just do it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know what, brother? I love that you said that. That was so well said. Do you know what life's about? Do you know what actual life is about?

[Simon]

Having fun, enjoying yourself.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes. But the way to. That's right. And you know how you do that by every person on this call and everybody on my team who's listening right now to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Life is binarily about Being comfortable with being uncomfortable. This is why I love sports so much. Do you know why I like competition? Because when you lose, you learn how to deal with losing. What has happened over the last 30 years is that people have tried to over coddle us and protect us from everything that is not real.

[Simon]

My mom did that when I was younger, so I never really deal with adversity.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And by the way, I love your mother for that. It was well intended. She tried to do that because she loves you more than everything. You understand that, right?

[Simon]

Yes, it was. Yeah, I completely understand. Like, because of my dyspraxia and my lack of knowledge of things and my own problems in. In having understanding of, like, life's problems, she kind of did a lot for me. But in the same. In the same realm of that, I kind of feel like it hindered me because I lacked the ability to know.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

How that makes sense.

[Simon]

Approach difficult conversations.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It makes sense. It makes sense. Let me ask you a question. How old are you?

[Simon]

Yeah, how old are you right now? Actually? 35. 35amate.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Amazing. I have great news. You are now grown. And what your mother misstepped on you can now fix. You are not allowed anymore at 35. I'm saying I'm fucking proud of you. And I feel like you're heading in the right direction.

[Simon]

I'm actually trying to start more confronting people about things that I disagree with and not worry too much about whether or not that disturbs the peace between us.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

If you do it, kind of a.

[Simon]

Way to practice getting better.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you.

[Simon]

Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

All right. Let's wrap up the show. I'm proud of you, brother. We're wrapping up the show. All right, everybody. What's that?

[Mackenzie]

Responded.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh, Tessa. What did Tessa say?

[Mackenzie]

She said, I have told them to shut the fuck up. Now I'm enjoying myself, meeting new and amazing people. People who I teach on the five pillars of prosperity.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's right, Tessa. Fucking. Let's clap it up for Tessa.