Last week Gary Vaynerchuk was in Sydney for a flying visit. One keynote only. In and out in 11 hours! There was no way I was going to miss this so I embarked on a crazy not so wheelchair friendly public transport journey that went like this: taxi, train, tram, taxi – see Gary speak – taxi, tram, train and taxi again. 5.5 hrs in transit for an hour keynote. There were a couple of people that took part in the Q&A that flew in from Singapore and Japan for this. Some might say why go to that much trouble when you can see Gary’s content online for free? I can assure you making the effort to be there in person was totally worth it.
The energy that Gary brought to the room was awesome and by making the effort to be there I paid attention in a way that doesn’t happen watching videos online. The lessons flowed at a rapid pace and the loads of notes I captured are but a fraction of what he shared.
Here is a snapshot of the takeaways I had:
“Day Trade Attention” – you must get people’s attention before they have any chance to see how good you are at what you do. Understand where “attention” is overpriced and underpriced.
Content with the right context is how to get attention. The content must be in the market’s interest not your interest (survey, survey and survey some more). Deploy lots of it and be PATIENT – this is the long game. Become the #1 content producer in your niche. Pay attention to the emerging issues in your industry and then dominate with awesome content that educates the market about these issues. Be the first to report – stop following and start leading.
You must see yourself as a media company first. The community will come to you based on what you put out. If they’re not coming it means you’re not putting out enough quality information that scratches their itches.
Rather than focusing on financial transactions, let the currency be the emails of feedback you get when people use your content and get great results. Put honesty and integrity above the transaction. It doesn’t matter how much money you make, you have to feel good about how you make it. Passive income is bullshit, “you’d either be doing something illegal or something you wouldn’t be comfortable telling your mother about.”
Social Media is the current state of the internet. Smartphones are the new TV and TV is the new radio. People spend 53% of their time on phones using social media. Technology is ageing down people- you cannot judge the market based on how you use technology and social media and you cannot judge other people’s escapism choices.
You must work as hard as your ambition. To be a successful entrepreneur you have to sacrifice leisure. If you aren’t busting your ass every waking hour you really aren’t a hustler.
Self-awareness is critical. Know the 3 things that you do best and put all of your energy into those. Master them. Forget about everything else (get others to do the tasks that are outside of your 3 killer assets. Practical Optimism as opposed to Blind Faith.
Overall, it comes down to getting attention and practising self-awareness.
Get yourself a copy of Gary’s brand new book#AskGaryVee. I’m well into it now and can say it is a must read for anyone who sees themselves as an entrepreneur – you may think differently after this!
Would love to hear what tips from Gary have had the most impact for you? Please share in the comments below.
Stacey Copas, Author of “How To Be Resilient”, is Australia’s #1 Keynote Speaker and Facilitator on Turning Adversity Into An Asset. She has worked with large organisations such as Telstra, CSIRO and SACA and has been featured in national media including ABC, Financial Review and The Australian for her insights on resilience in the workplace.