The problem is, we’re all using social networks as distribution instead of native platforms to actually tell stories.
It's a very painful, eye-opening experience to realize, "Wait a minute, my dad actually doesn't want me to be successful because he's not happy." Whether you call it misery loves company, it's not like parents are bad people. It's a human trait. It's just a thing.
I'm concerned a little bit with the culture of celebrating the fundraise. My dad taught me that when you borrow money it's the worst day of your life.
One out of every five page views in the United States is on Facebook!
It's insane to me to ask anybody to be what they're not. Know what you know the best, love the most. That's always going to be the answer to the thing that you have the best shot at winning at.
It's easy to dream about it ... Much harder to execute it ....Work!
One of the things that I'm really proud of is that I have really good timing. It's very easy for me to see what's coming up and it's no coincidence that I went headfirst into wine and then headfirst into new media - none at all.
I don't want anybody to not recognize how appreciative I am of the volume of e-mails I get.
You didn't grow up driving...you figured it out.
The skill sets it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, a successful marketer, or a relevant celebrity is a different skill set than you needed ten years ago, even though that was the skill set that mattered for decades.
Someone with less passion and talent and poorer content can totally beat you if they're willing to work longer and harder than you are. Hustle is it.
Unless you are building a new company from the ground up and can install caring as your businesses' cornerstone, you have to be willing to embark on a completely cultural overhaul so that, like a local mom and pop shop, every employee is comfortable engaging in customer service, and does it authentically.
One of my biggest flaws is I don't take advice.
My natural inclination to be improv rather than an educated character serves me well.
You need to spend all of your time and energy on creating something that actually brings value to the people you're asking for money!
If your organization’s intentions transcend the mere act of selling a product or service, and it is brave enough to expose its heart and soul, people will respond. They will connect. They will like you. They will talk. They will buy.
People who build family businesses are not classically trained. They have to deal with an enormous amount of politics. You think corporate politics are tough? Go work for your dad or your mom.
When it call comes down to it, nothing trumps execution.
Storytelling is by far the most underrated skill in business.
There is never a bad time to start a business - unless you want to start a mediocre one.
The brands that can connect with client in a real way will win.
Your legacy is being written by yourself. Make the right decisions.
I measure my success by how happy I am, not how big the business is or how much money I've made.
What you do after you create your content is what truly counts.
Use every customer point of contact to weave stories about who you are and what your brand stands for.
The best marketing strategy ever: CARE
Remember the guy in the 80s walking around with a boombox on his shoulder? Why'd he do that? Because it told a story about who he was. Expressing yourself is big business.
VaynerMedia filters the world how humans interact. This is how people are going to make buying decisions.
Live your passion. What does that mean, anyway? It means that when you get up for work every morning, every single morning, you are pumped because you get to talk about or work with or do the thing that interests you the most in the world. You don’t live for vacations because you don’t need a break from what you’re doing—working, playing, and relaxing are one and the same. You don’t even pay attention to how many hours you’re working because to you, it’s not really work. You’re making money, but you’d do whatever it is you’re doing for free.
I really chess-play culture shifts. I'm really good at understanding what worldwide cell-phone use means. That's what I do. I try to picture it three to four to five steps ahead.
Saying hello doesn't have an ROI. It's about building relationships.
If there's a problem, we at Wine Library never tell ourselves that once we handle this issue, we'll never have to deal with the person again. We talk to every single person as though we're going to wind up sitting next to that person at his or her mother's house that night for dinner.
While companies were getting comfy cozy with the idea of being on social media platforms, social media transcended those platforms, and few businesses have followed.
Part of why you love your parents is because they loved you first. Brands need to do that.
Love your family, work super hard, live your passion.
Content is king, but marketing is queen, and runs the household.
You cannot underestimate the sharpness of people’s BS radar. They can spot a soulless, bureaucratic tactic a million miles away.
I know I could be the host of 'SportsCenter' in two years if I changed my show today to sports.
2006, I started 'WineLibrary TV.' To build 'WineLibrary TV,' I started using Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter in 2008.
I genuinely believe that any business can create a competitive advantage through giving outstanding customer care.
I have Internet fame. Real fame is more intense.
Hustling is putting every minute and all your effort into achieving the goal at hand.
Social media requires that business leaders start thinking like small-town shop owners. This means taking the long view and avoiding short-term benchmarks to gauge progress. It means allowing the personality, heart and soul of the people who run all levels of the business to show.
A penguin cannot become a giraffe, so just be the best penguin you can be.
I think the opposite version of me is the one we don't see, which is there are tens of thousands of outrageously successful businesses of very quiet, very calculated, calm executors who are confident. You can't be successful without being confident. They believe in themselves. They have their own version of assertiveness ... I think confidence matters and I think other things matter, like I would tell you empathy is probably why I'm more successful than confidence. I'm empathic to the customer, to my business partners, to my employees.
You have to respect your parents. They are giving you an at-bat. If you're an entrepreneur and go into the family business, you want to grow fast. Patience is important. But respect the other party... My dad and I pulled it off because we really respect each other.
True success - financial, personal, and professional - lies above all in loving your family, working hard, and living your passion. In telling your story. In authenticity, hustle, and patience. In caring fiercely about the big and the small stuff. In valuing legacy over currency.
People don't want to embrace culture shifts because it's not going to happen in the next 20 minutes.
Winelibrary.tv was about building personal brand equity. It was a business move. Now, it was totally surrounded by a passion for wine, but I very much gave a lot of thought to doing a sports-video blog instead.
What's the ROI of your Mom?
Please think about your legacy, because you're writing it every day.
I never thought I'd be a person who would want to write books...I promise you not a single English teacher I've ever had would have thought that this would be going on right now.
Skills are cheap. Passion is priceless.
When the tech geeks talk, I pay close attention.
A lot of people can play the piano, but not everyone can be Billy Joel.
If you know exactly what you want to be, you need to spend as much time as possible with people who are actually that already.
Nobody walks this earth thinking he's better than I think I am - I think I'm great. At the same time, it's so obvious to me that I'm nobody.
I pride myself in listening. When you have people paying attention to you, your biggest job is to listen what they want. Deliver what your community wants.
People are chasing cash, not happiness. When you chase money, you're going to lose. You're just going to. Even if you get the money, you're not going to be happy.
Adding a social layer to any platform immediately increases its effectiveness.
