Gary Vaynerchuk’s CRUSH IT! offers a punchy, concise, and inspiring – albeit sometimes dated – approach to finding success in the new media.
Rewind 12 years. It’s 2009, and sites like Facebook and YouTube are huge – but they’ve still only been around for 3 or 4 years.
It might seem crazy, but a lot of people didn’t think social media was going to stick around, let alone be essential to business out there.
Gary Vaynerchuk knew better. He was (and still is, if you follow any of his many social media accounts) all about personal brand and using social media to maximize business. 12 years later, turns out he was bang on.
Today, personal branding and social media presence go hand in hand with business. It also breeds insane opportunity. How many people have become Instagram, YouTube or Twitter famous without money or endorsement of any of the traditional gatekeepers since Gary wrote this book in 2009? Millions, probably. Likely, millions more will follow.
Even if Vaynerchuk doesn’t sell you on using social media (do you even need to be?), there are some classic and timeless business principles in Crush It! I’ll touch on three.
DNA – being yourself and authentic, both in what you choose to be about and in the mediums you prefer. Not a fan of how you look on camera? Do your thing on a podcast or blog instead of YouTube.
Passion – love the thing you’re doing or the topic you discuss. Only then will you have what it takes to stick with it and be the best.
Personal – numbers matter less than the quality engagement you get with people, and that’s what will make a business successful.
Quality over quantity
Vaynerchuk is about engagement and legacy over currency and numbers. That’s what will make it work. He says he isn’t worried about the competition of Wal-Mart or other liquor stores (he sells wine). Why? Because they can’t beat his service and passion. That’s how you get the market share.
Apparently, he once drove 3 hours out of his way on December 22nd (the busiest time of year for wine sellers) just to deliver a shipment to an older lady who wouldn’t have otherwise got her product. He also tries to respond to each message he gets (which is probably a lot since the guy gives out his number and email everywhere and tells you to text him).
I got juiced up listening to Gary V. His enthusiasm is contagious, especially in the audiobook. He’s an inspiring guy, which is maybe a big reason why he’s been so successful building a personal brand (taking his own advice, he sticks to video where people can see that enthusiasm).
Like a good wine (mostly)
The one slight beef I had with the book is that some of it is dated. This book is 12 years old, and since he was trying to tackle the importance of nailing personal brand back when Facebook and YouTube were only a few years old and Instagram wasn’t even a thing yet, clearly the market has shifted and some of his ideas or tips are irrelevant. This isn’t the book’s fault.
Thankfully, Gary keeps most of his content basic and timeless. Even the tips he gives for ping.fm and other sites that have since faded into the internet ether could be used for other social media platforms that exist today – perhaps they even apply beyond it. Thoughtful readers can learn from Gary even if they never use the platforms mentioned.
With that, I can recommend you check out the book, understanding that it’s slightly dated at times.
Still, Crush It! is more for those of you who are looking to do some personal branding or business of some kind. In my view, it’s by an entrepreneur for potential entrepreneurs (though Gary V thinks everyone should still be rocking their own brand).
By the way, the audiobook has some bonus little input here and there from Gary, who goes off-script regularly. Just a bonus for y’all who enjoy listening.
