Want to be a Good Manager, CEO, Founder, Parent, Leader? | After the Tea Episode 1

Summary

Summary of "Want to be a Good Manager, CEO, Founder, Parent, Leader? | After the Tea Episode 1"

The GaryVee Audio Experience episode titled "Want to be a Good Manager, CEO, Founder, Parent, Leader? | After the Tea Episode 1," released on April 10, 2025, features host Gary Vaynerchuk engaging in a dynamic discussion with his co-hosts and guests. This episode delves into various aspects of personal branding, content creation, business strategy, and parenting, providing listeners with actionable insights and motivational advice.

---

1. Introduction to "After the Tea" Format [00:00 - 00:43]

The episode begins with Gary introducing a new segment titled "After the Tea," a format revived post-COVID to facilitate more interactive and spontaneous discussions. Despite being on a plane, Gary emphasizes the importance of connecting with his audience through Instagram, urging listeners to add him to their favorites to stay updated with his posts.

Notable Quote:

"Before you do anything, I want you to go to my Instagram right now, GaryVee, and add me to your favorites to make sure you don't miss any of my Instagram posts."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [00:43]

---

2. The Evolution of Personal Branding [00:43 - 03:19]

Gary discusses the expanding scope of personal branding, highlighting its increasing significance in the digital age. He introduces the concept of "AI ification," unveiling plans for a Gary Vee AI agent and bot, which he predicts will revolutionize personal interactions and branding strategies.

Key Points:

• Personal Branding as Legacy: Gary asserts that everyone inherently has a personal brand through their social media presence, equating it to one's reputation.
• Real-World Impact: He shares a personal anecdote about promoting Topps Chrome trading cards, illustrating how strategic content creation can lead to tangible business outcomes.
• Accessibility of Personal Brand: Emphasizes that expertise in niche areas can position individuals as leaders within specific markets, irrespective of conventional attractiveness.

Notable Quote:

"It's a legacy thing, man. Everybody does have a personal brand. It's called your social media account because personal brand is slang for reputation."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [01:20]

---

3. Overcoming Barriers to Organic Video Content Creation [03:19 - 05:22]

The conversation shifts to the challenges business owners face in creating organic video content. Gary identifies misconceptions about ROI and prioritization as primary barriers.

Key Points:

• Misconception of ROI: Many business owners underestimate the return on investment from video content, viewing it as non-essential.
• Strategic Prioritization: Gary underscores the necessity of prioritizing content creation by illustrating how his own focus on content has directly benefitted his ventures.
• Practical Example: By promoting products like Topps Chrome trading cards through his content, Gary demonstrates the direct correlation between content and sales performance.

Notable Quote:

"If you thought it would double your business in three years, you would probably cancel all your meetings tomorrow and you would prioritize it."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [03:33]

---

4. Building a Brand Around a Specific Concept [05:22 - 06:10]

Gary explains the strategy behind associating a personal brand with a specific word or concept, using "empathy" as a primary example for his brand.

Key Points:

• Content Integration: Repeating a central theme across multiple platforms and content pieces solidifies the brand's association with that concept.
• Authenticity: The chosen concept must resonate personally with the individual to ensure genuine and consistent messaging.
• Scalability: Continuous content production around the chosen concept reinforces brand identity and enhances visibility.

Notable Quote:

"Once it's real to you, then you got to do content at scale and continuity in that and consistency in that."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [05:34]

---

5. Parenting and Encouraging Passion in Children [08:37 - 10:17]

In a heartfelt segment, Gary offers advice to parents on fostering their children's passions and exploring diverse activities. He emphasizes the role of parents in building self-esteem and exposing children to various "flavors" of experiences.

Key Points:

• Exposure to Diversity: Introducing children to a wide range of activities—from sports to arts—helps them discover their interests and talents.
• Building Self-Esteem: Encouraging exploration without the pressure of immediate success cultivates confidence and resilience.
• Financial Guidance: Gary advises parents to support their children's passions financially only to the extent that it fosters independence and self-reliance.

Notable Quotes:

"One of the biggest things a parent can do is to show their kid more stuff... put flavors in front of their child."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [08:48]

"When we were growing up, maybe if we were lucky enough, we borrowed money from our parents and we had to pay them back."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [07:18]

---

6. Practical Tips for Niche Marketing and Community Building [07:52 - 08:37]

Gary addresses a question about selling niche products—in this case, DVDs and Blu-rays—by recommending a multifaceted approach to marketing that leverages various online platforms.

Key Points:

• Utilize Multiple Platforms: Selling on both eBay and Whatnot can maximize reach and effectiveness, depending on the seller's personality and presentation style.
• Dynamic Content Creation: Engaging content, especially live selling, can outperform traditional listing methods by creating a more immersive experience for buyers.
• Understanding Platform Fees: Awareness of platform-specific fees (e.g., eBay's 11% fee) is crucial for pricing strategies and profitability.

Notable Quote:

"If you're good enough to be on camera for live selling, it's going to outperform eBay because you're going to bring dynamic content."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [08:07]

---

7. Final Thoughts and Call to Action [10:10 - End]

As the episode concludes, Gary encourages listeners to take actionable steps based on the discussed topics. He emphasizes the importance of commitment over semantics and urges the audience to believe in and act upon their ideas to achieve success.

Notable Quote:

"Stop being in the business of semantics and ideology and, like, do you even, like, believe in the shit that comes out of your mouth... Maybe is the greatest unlock to happiness."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [10:17]

---

Conclusion

This inaugural episode of "After the Tea" offers a rich blend of insights into personal branding, strategic content creation, effective business prioritization, and nurturing passion in the next generation. Gary Vaynerchuk's candid and energetic delivery provides listeners with both inspiration and practical advice, reinforcing his reputation as a thought leader in entrepreneurship and personal development. Whether you're a business owner, aspiring content creator, or parent, this episode delivers valuable lessons on building a meaningful and impactful personal and professional life.

---

Additional Resources:

• Instagram: Follow Gary Vee @GaryVee for daily updates and insights.
• Veefriends: Stay tuned for the upcoming Topps Chrome trading cards in collaboration with Veefriends.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, guys. So I'm trying something new. We're calling this after the Tea. I brought that back from COVID Gonna do it a lot more this year, and we are definitely having a lot of fun with it, but a lot of questions are coming in. And so now sometimes when Dustin and I are traveling, I'm in London, I just flew in, I'm flying back right out. I'm gonna work and answer questions. So I hope you enjoy this. Dustin, I'm ready. 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, GaryVee, and add me to your favorites to make sure you don't miss any of my Instagram posts. That's what I want you to do. And now enjoy the podcast.

[B]

How has your perspective on personal branding changed? And what do you think will be the most important aspects of the personal brand in the next two to three years?

[A]

My perspective has changed the most in my belief that it's bigger than I thought and the execution is going to be about the AI ification of it. The Gary Vee AI agent and bot that all of you are going to pay 9.99amonth to speak to me every day about is going to be legit. That's why I built all that data set. So our large language model LLM with me in the front, like you don't understand what's coming. It's bigger than I thought.

[B]

Should everyone have a personal brand?

[A]

Yep. It's a legacy thing, man. Everybody does have a personal brand. It's called your social media account because personal brand is slang for reputation. And God damn it, as someone who didn't know their grandfathers at all and is deeply curious about them, boy, do I wish they fucking had social media accounts. Even as I know I'm a public figure, but as a normal boy, would I fucking value that. Jesus, would I love to see my personality traits in them. Fucking missed it. Nobody has to miss it. Now, everybody who thinks it's a yucky term like is in the business of semantics.

[B]

What do you think is the reason business owners avoid creating organic video content for their businesses?

[A]

They don't think it's gonna be ROI positive enough. They think I'm out here bullshitting or it's just not as big as they actually think. They don't realize it's the priority. They think it's a church area or Secondary action. They don't realize what I'm actually doing right now could have direct business impact. Like, for example, what am I doing promoting Topps Chrome trading cards right now? I just said it to you. Now, some of you just found out that Veefriends my Pokemon, which you should all be following, is about to come out with a Topps Chrome trading card. And you're like, whoa, Topps. That's a big deal. Literally, me making this content just led to seven people actually buying Topps Chrome trading cards. They don't believe it's real, Dust. They don't believe me, and they think it's about someone else. Well, yeah, it works for you and Logan, Paul and Charli D'Amelio and MrBeast. Works for everybody if people fucking listen to what I'm saying. Not everybody here is attractive and a supermodel, so you're probably not gonna be followed for your looks, but if you have expertise in something, you might be the most important, you know, personality in the local market of Madison, Wisconsin, around how to change a certain piece within stereo equipment. You could be the king of a random piece of stereo equipment.

[B]

How do I get a content team started? My businesses are scaling and so is my socials and YouTube. All those are great when I can get content uploaded, but the urgency of running multiple businesses and a lack of urgency that comes with the posting on socials is a balance I can't figure out.

[A]

You are not prioritizing it enough. You don't think it's serious enough? You don't believe me? If you thought it would double your business in three years, you would probably cancel all your meetings tomorrow and you would prioritize it. Dust, you've really been able to see what's happening. Last year I prioritized operations at VaynerMedia. That was like a cold shot. Like, that was a hard pivot, right? I went all in like you saw it. And you can feel that I'm in the early stages now of being more Vee friends. Doubting Gary Vee doubt. You can feel it, right? You can feel it. I'm prioritizing what I think fucking matters. You think I wanted to give up that brand year? Last year I didn't, but I had to. Now I got that fucking machine humming. I fucking live this life. This fucking guy just doesn't think it's gonna bring as much business as he thinks. And if he did, I promise you, tomorrow, the six meetings he's taking, he would cancel them and do that. The fuck am I doing? All These off sites for. For Topps, Chrome v. Friends. And then as you know, in a couple weeks I'm gonna do an off site in Minnesota for Topps. Excuse me, for Veefriends, comic books. I'm now prioritizing it because I got my in order here. You think I want to give up that whole year? Last year we couldn't make any content. I sat in an office for fucking 12 hours a day. So you're not having a balance because you don't fucking believe it enough, or you're not willing to invest and you want to take the money home and buy a Lambo instead of hiring three people to do the content. I'm sorry to be jumping in the middle of the podcast, but the truth is everybody else is getting people to review on Spotify and Apple and. And like the Vaynernation does none of that. If this podcast has ever meant anything to you, please go to Spotify or Apple right now and leave a review. By the way, even if you give me a one star review cause you think it's shit, I respect it, but just leave a review. An actual review, four or five stars. And the actual details of why. Yeah, that would mean something for me. So thanks. Now back to the podcast.

[B]

I have been told that it's very important to be synonymous with a word or concept in order to stand out within the industry. For example, Gary Vee and Empathy.

[C]

So.

[B]

So I'm wondering, how do I build my brand rooted to a word or.

[A]

Concept by making content about it. Gary Vee and empathy is because I used the word empathy 7,000 times in 7,000 pieces of content across seven different platforms. Literally. It's the meta. Look what I'm doing right now, Dustin, I'm supposed to be working. I'm like, fuck it, let's make some content. Constantly be making content. And if you want to attach yourself to Word, first, live it. One of the reasons empathy works with me, and I could have done competition and I could have done grit and I could have done patience, is it's got to be real to you. Once it's real to you, then you got to do content at scale and continuity in that and consistency in that and any other C word I can come up with right now. What's that?

[C]

New Jersey? I'll see you in the plane.

[A]

Yes. Oh, you come back. You live in Juris.

[C]

I am from Livingston, yeah.

[A]

But amazing. Thank you. What's your name?

[C]

Dina. Right?

[A]

Dina, Such a pleasure. Please.

[C]

I'm sorry. My daughter's at Syracuse and really inspired me to tell her like, don't worry about it. If you didn't graduate, don't worry about it. Don't worry.

[A]

Correct.

[C]

She is an artist. I'm like, do it now you're 24 years old.

[A]

Correct. Worry about it. Yes.

[C]

And I. This is something that the cube will always be there.

[A]

The jobs are there. They want. They want.

[C]

Before you sit in the cube at 24, do what you want to do.

[A]

Now chase it in your 20s. It's practical. We were taught we got to be grown ups at 20.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

We got to teach these kids from 20 to 30, go dream. And then if you don't have it or if it didn't work, then you can go to the cubicle. But you'll live your whole life knowing you tried. Yeah, it's a huge deal.

[C]

It's a huge deal. I can't get her off the full payroll like you're telling me to. You know, that's a weird thing.

[A]

But by the way, but by the way, you have to think about that because getting for her to chase her dream on your dime won't make it real. Yeah, it's a, it's. Yeah. And you know this. When we were growing up, maybe, maybe if we were lucky enough, we borrowed money from our parents and we had to pay them back.

[C]

Absolutely.

[A]

This payroll thing is fucking them up.

[C]

It's rough.

[A]

I know it's hard, but I'm telling you, I have a million DMs to.

[C]

Save her to side hustle, you know.

[A]

So she, she won't do it if you keep paying.

[C]

Well, I hear you, but she said I'm going to get X amount in the bank.

[A]

Well, that's good. If she. Yeah, if she's doing that. Well, if she's doing stuff that's. That's different. If she's doing something, then that's different. Awesome. Pleasure. No, you're perfect. Interrupt. You just made this whole fucking video. Much better. Yeah. You know what's funny? I want, I wonder if we start doing this in public a lot more so we can get more of that stuff. Leave in the comments if you like that little interact.

[B]

This person asks, hey, Gary, I have a ton of DVDs and Blu Rays in my house and I've been wondering how to sell them. I was browsing whatnot and saw there's people selling their DVDs on there. Do you think it would be better to try and sell them on ebay or should I try and sell them on whatnot?

[A]

A lot of times the questions that all of you are asking me, the answer is both, and you're so into. Or. Or neither. Which is the real sad one? Try both. Like, I don't know. I mean, I do know both could work. And depending on your personality, if you're good enough to be on camera for live selling, it's going to outperform ebay because you're going to bring dynamic content. Now with one, I think you're giving up 11%. I don't think it's that high on ebay, so there's a little bit of that, Matt too. So keep that all in mind.

[B]

As a parent, how can I encourage my kids to explore different activities and discover their passion? Are there specific skills or experiences I should guide them towards, like garage sales or AI?

[A]

Yeah, I think one of the biggest things a parent is required to do is to show their kid more stuff. Excuse me. I think one of the great things a parent can do in the world is to put flavors in front of their child. And that goes with fruits and vegetables and different things to eat. But I also think it's skiing and skateboarding and BMXing and then UFCing and then, you know, garage sales and then, you know, documentaries and music. Think about so many of us. And I know the OGs are going to say this in here. My dad put me onto jazz. My mom taught me like, my grandma taught me painting. Like. Yeah. I mean, I think one of the biggest things a parent does in life is build self esteem and then, number two, put flavors in front of their kids. So, you know, obviously some things cost a lot of money and. But even if you have very little, you could, you can show with the Internet now, you can show your kid lots of stuff. This is jazz, this is ballet. This is ancient history. And I think it's a. It's a big, big requirement. I've been okay at what I'm saying. I'm not saying I'm great at what I'm saying. I've tried, but I don't. I don't think I'm remarkable at it. But I do think it's like, I think there's many, many, many people that have done it better than me. But I do believe in it. And I'm pushing, I'm almost saying this out loud to push my own self.

[B]

I'm starting a business to sell a downloadable murder mystery. How do I find people in service? The people like me that enjoy that kind of thing?

[A]

Kickstarter, Reddit forums, searching the topics on social media and leaving comments that are valuable, not spammy making content on TikTok. Do you know how, like, those were all real? Everything I just talked about was real. Spending hours in Reddit and jamming with people. There's unlimited. People do that there. Searching Twitter for terms, jumping in the conversations, leaving Comments on People's TikToks and Instagram about the genre so that you become noticeable. Like, you know how we believe in Cass C. That whole thing, making very nerdy narrow content about it on TikTok and watching the algorithm do its thing. I gotta go. This call, I'm gonna wrap with this. Stop being in the business of semantics and ideology and, like, do you even, like, believe in the shit that comes out of your mouth about, like, social issues and business issues and political, like, the lack of thoughtfulness, the lack of the obsession with. No where maybe is the greatest unlock to happiness. The word maybe is the greatest unlock to happiness. Learn it. Promise. This was a first episode of after the Tea. I like it. Let's brand it. Let's make a little logo for it. Let's just have a little fun with it. See everyone.