complementary strengths, 135, 242–43, 270
complementary vs. complimentary, 222–23
creatives, 236, 259
deadlines, 261–62
dress codes, 249–50
drug-testing, 236
firing, 234–35, 249, 251, 254, 260
freelancer to full-time employee transition, 257
friends as, 250–51
hiring, 233, 234–35, 236, 240–41, 243–44
inspiring, 78–79
interns, 15, 253–54
jack-of-all-trades vs. specialists, 242–43
motivating, 219–20, 247–48, 249
old employees hazing new employees, 260
personalizing interactions with, 63
and sick time, 89–90
staff meetings, 239–40
support for, 69–70, 232, 247
values of, 244–45
of VaynerMedia, 255, 339–44
your children as, 64
See also teams and teamwork
employment
and entrepreneurs, 19, 20
freelancers, 252–53
search for, 14–15
engagement, 2, 4, 105–6, 110. See also hustle
entrepreneurs
advice for, 36
attributes, 12, 31, 280
and best-case markets, 38–39
and billion-dollar valuation milestone, 276–77
biz-dev from zero, 24–25
born rich vs. raised lazy, 70–71
extroverts as, 289
freedom to execute vision, 60–61
global success stories, 91–92
growth sweet spot, 40
and hustle, 75–76
and ideas, 34–35, 65–66, 82–83
introverts as, 288–89
investing in, 269–70
as investors, 269, 270
looking back, 37–38
and MBA degree, 50
middle-ground pitches, 4
overcoming negative input, 22–23
planning, 41–42
and “real” jobs, 19, 20
real-time adjustments and improvisation, 309
starting out, 15–16, 19–22, 47
teachers as, 303–4
See also businesses
EQ vs. IQ, 291
excuses, 90–91, 199–203, 214
expertise, developing, 81–82
extroverts vs. introverts, 127, 288–89
Facebook
ad content, 184
ad product evolution, 179–81
ban on like-gating, 156–57
content creation for, 100, 116
cost of doing business on, 157–58
driving traffic to a website with, 113–14
embed product, 121
GV investing in, 266
GV’s posts on, 141
Humans of New York page, 33
Instagram purchase, 142
potential, 157, 160
responses to, 83
ROI and limited budget, 80
TV ads, 175
value of ads, 114
video posts, 120–21, 158–59
face-to-face meetings, 245
failure, lessons learned from, 34, 226, 237–38, 285
family businesses, 57–66
overview, 57–59
broken culture in, 215
children and, 59–60, 64
emotions in, 61–62
idea development in, 65–66
learning from each other, 63
love in the midst of challenges, 62–63
family members
and becoming an entrepreneur, 22
negative input of, 22–23
significant other, 60–61
spouse, 60, 61, 318, 319
support from, 60, 61, 69–70, 73
working with, 58–59
and work-life balance, 83–84
See also children; parenting
fans, 120, 300, 302–3. See also Vayner Nation
f-bombs on stage, 296
fear, overcoming, 22
feedback from staff, 262, 280–81
firing employees, 234–35, 249, 251, 254, 260
five-year plan vs. adapting to change, 6–7
followers, 106–7, 110, 153–54, 188–89
foreign accent and podcasts, 115
foreign language, knowing a, 326
Foursquare, 80, 271
freelancers, 252–53
freelancer to full-time employee transition, 257
free service right hooks, 141
friends as employees, 250–51
funeral business, 202–3
gift giving, 290, 321, 328
global instability, 273
global success stories, 91–92
goals, 1–2, 6. See also New York Jets
Godin, Seth, 104
Google+, 150, 151, 171
Google AdWords, 37, 80, 167, 182, 183–84
GoPro, 190
GrapeStory talent agency, 34, 187
gratitude, 205–9
Greif, Andrew, 342
happiness, 285, 335–36
headlines on social media, 122–23
health, prioritizing, 7–8, 216, 330
hip-hop, 331
hiring employees, 233, 234–35, 236, 240–41, 243–44
Hirschhorn, Jason, 271
hobby entrepreneurs, 21
HubSpot, 237
Humans of New York Facebook page, 33
humor in business, 284
hustle, 75–95
overview, 76–78, 84, 89
acquiring, 75–76, 78–79
balance of philosophy and, 5–6
born rich vs. raised lazy, 70–71
and budget constraints, 80
and burnout, 86
earning name recognition with, 15–16
engagement as, 2, 4, 105–6, 110
excuses vs., 90–91
and family life, 83–84
inspiration for, 78–79
as momentum after first step, 21
natural talent vs., 75
offering value for value, 93
passion as fuel for, 86
passive income vs. building wealth, 92
and patience, 93–94
and self-promotion, 81–82
sick time vs., 89–90
as strong work ethic, 70–71, 76, 78, 255
walk vs. talk, 46
working harder and faster, 87–88
working with no-hustle people, 263
ideas
development of, 34–35, 65–66, 82–83
pitching to the right people, 25–26
image posts, 118–19
incumbents, overcoming, 27–28
indie artists, 306
indoor billboard company, 176
influencer marketing, 185–97
overview, 185–87
content of influencer’s spiel, 194–95
evaluating cost, 191–93
followers as sign of, 188–89
in media strategy, 190–91
product placement compared to, 189–90
influencers, 187–88, 196–97
infographics on Pinterest, 122
infomercials, 187
innovation and customer base, 28
innovation in funeral business, 202–3
insincerity through automation, 124
inspiration, 78–79, 335
Instagram
ads that link out, 195
for checking fan claims of hustling, 87
creating opportunities for others, 134
Direct Message, 166
evolution of, 162–63, 164
followers on, 106–7
long-form text, 164
overly editing photos and text overlays, 126
product advertising on, 165–66
and product placement, 189
responses to, 83
and right hooks, 136–37
Twitter com
pared to, 162–63
interns and internships, 15, 253–54
introverts vs. extroverts, 127, 288–89
investing in start-ups, 265–77
overview, 268–69
apps as, 26
billion-dollar valuation milestone, 276–77
direct competitors, 271
evaluating potential, 269–70
expectation clarification, 275–76
finding companies, 271–72
and global instability, 273
GV’s investments, 265–68
intuitive decisions, 272
location of company, 274–75
patents, 273–74
reward over risk, 272
sector choice, 274
See also venture capitalists
IQ vs. EQ, 291
iTunes app store, 271–72
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook (Vaynerchuk), 54, 105
jabs and right hooks, 131–47
overview, 131–32
asking for the sale, 133, 135, 136, 144–45
for B2B audience, 141–43
building a brand process, 30
closing, 135
and company brand guidelines, 143–44
content as jab, 140–41
exclusive right hooks, 139–40
gearing up for right hook, 133
jabbing overkill, 139
jab by listening, 133–34
jabs vs. right hooks, 134–35
for real estate agents, 137–38
and recycling content, 118
rights hooks for a free service, 141
and website, 144
jack-of-all-trades vs. specialists, 242–43
Jeter, Derek, 111
Jobs, Steve, 222
Johnson, Steven, 301–2
Kalanick, Travis, 267–68
Karate Kid, The (movie), 133
Kawasaki, Guy, 112
keynote address preparation, 294–96
Kickstarter, 168
kimchi and wine, 313
Krainak, Andy, 341–42
Lasorda, Tommy, 219
Lawrence, Staphon, 339–40
leadership, 211–29
overview, 211–12
asking questions, 212–13
building employee retention, 225
celebrating wins, 226–27
CEO’s role, 205–6, 211–12
changing a broken culture, 214–15
changing industries, 224
in chaos, 216–17, 219
choosing nice, 227–28
control vs. worry, 216
depth matters more than width, 218–19
employees transitioning to, 220–21
lessons learned from failure, 34, 226, 237–38, 285
modeling behaviors, 212, 224–25, 228
motivating employees, 219–20, 247–48, 249
replaceability, 223–24
responsibility, 214, 221, 255
saying yes vs. bottleneck, 221
word is bond, 213–14, 244–45
See also management; teams and teamwork
learning
as a child, 59
from each other, in family businesses, 63
from failure, 34, 226, 237–38, 285
new things, 243
test-and-learn aspect of management, 262–63
YouTube as source for, 51
lifestyles, 31, 85
lifetime value (LTV), 191–92, 194, 209
LinkedIn, 100, 134, 142
listening
overview, 223
content creation from, 121–22
to employees, 249
jab by listening, 133–34
to team members, 238
while talking, 324
Listicles, 169
LTV (lifetime value), 191–92, 194, 209
luck, 18
MagicBand, Disney’s, 173–74
management, 231–63
overview, 231–32
and competitiveness, 242
critical feedback from staff, 262, 280–81
delegation, 252
documenting policy, procedure, and processes, 258
and employee deadlines, 261–62
freelancers, 252–53
hiring and firing process, 233, 234–35, 236, 240–41, 243–44
and hiring or firing friends, 251
megagrowth businesses, 264
project management, 238
and responding to social media contacts, 83
segmenting marketing services, 237–38
teaching others to think like you, 101
test-and-learn aspect, 262–63
working with no-hustle people, 263
See also employees; leadership; teams and teamwork; time management
marketing
already converted targets, 23–24
big and small companies, 10–11
digital marketing courses, 52
finding employment in, 14–15
for media training service, 27–28
one-on-one marketing, 208–9
on Pinterest, 167–68
posting on blog vs. posting natively, 107–8
and products, 79
reverse-engineering what you can give, 24–25
segmenting services, 237–38
and social media, 151–52
and social media “experts,” 3
targeted marketing on Facebook, 180–81
with your strengths, 283
See also influencer marketing
McMahon, Vince, 215
media companies, 10–11, 24–25. See also VaynerMedia
media trainers, 27–28
Medium, 46, 100, 108
Meerkat, 134, 172, 272
meetings, 239–40, 245, 259–60
MeetUp.com, 29
mentors, 52–53
meritocracy, 251
middle ground between clouds and dirt, 2, 4–5
Millennials, xv, 13–14, 38–39, 45, 256
mission statements for children, 72–73
morning people, 85
motivation, 8–9, 219–20, 247–48, 249
Mottola, Tommy, 114
Moy, Zak, xii, 343–44
music, 299–306
overview, 299–301
alleviating pain with, 305–6
expanded arena, 303–4
producers, 304–5
revenue streams, 301–3, 306
Sony CD artists, 114
naming your business, 15–16
Neistat, Casey, 48–49, 324
Netflix, 98
New England Patriots, 124–25
New Zealand winery suggestions, 10–11
New York Jets
alternative if, heaven forbid, GV can’t buy them, 308–9
Chrebet’s career, 92–93
effect on GV, 305–6, 308
GV as owner/manager, 246
GV’s ownership goal, 2, 6, 91, 325, 332
NGOs and charities, 207–8
Nin, Anaïs, 49
Numa Numa song, 300
Nuzzel, 271
Oculus Rift, 168
one-on-one marketing, 208–9
one-person businesses (solopreneur), 11–12, 252–53, 303–4
online courses, 51, 55
online video. See videos and video blogging
opportunity creation, 146–47
optimism, 31, 201
options, choosing from, 17
parenting, 67–73
instilling self-confidence, 69–70
making every minute count, 94–95
preparing children to live their own dreams, 59–60
restrictions vs. developing personal responsibility, 71–72, 73
and social media, 72–73
See also children
parents
and family businesses, 59–60
personal importance of child’s education, 41, 44–45, 49
Pareto’s law, the 80/20 rule, 251–52
Parker,
Robert, 311
partners and partnerships
complementary strengths, 110, 135, 242–43, 270
finding a partner, 24–26, 29, 31–32
idea development, 34–35
recruiting methods, 116–17
and taking chances, 20
working with no-hustle people, 263
passion, 48–50, 86
passive income vs. building wealth, 92
patents, 273–74
patience, 93–94, 244
paywalls, 139–40
Pearlman, Lou, 256
Pencils of Promise, 8
people-pleasing, 289–90
Periscope, 172
personal brands, 111–12, 186, 290. See also brands and branding
perspective, 63
photographers, 177
Pinterest
autoposting to Twitter, 119
content creation for, 100
for finding a Mother’s Day gift, 328
man’s bias against, 167
as marketing tool, 122
Promoted Pins, 167–68
pitches, 4, 25–26, 39–40
planning, 41–42
platforms, 149–78
overview, 149–50
for brand development, 193–94
extinction of, 150–51
GV’s personal platform, 178
for music, 302, 304–5
new platforms for low cost exposure, 99, 151–52, 203
and scaling, 193–94
success of social networks, 150
syndicate platforms, 275
for wine, 312
See also social media; specific platforms
podcasts, 146–47, 166
prioritizing, 1–12
and cash cycle, 11–12, 306
and changes in what’s most important, 84–85
clouds and dirt, 1–4, 5–6, 10–11
culture, 234–35
five-year plan vs. adapting to change, 6–7
health, 7–8, 216, 330
middle ground or polarization vs., 2–3, 4–5
and motivation, 8–9
and skills of entrepreneur, 12
volunteerism, 8
procrastination, 84–85
product placement vs. influencer marketing, 189–90
products
Apple’s, 139, 173
embarrassing or taboo, 183–84
evolution from, 4
and marketing, 79
quality of, 16, 136, 221
profits, focus on top-line revenue vs., 28–29
project management, 238
Prop-Word Puzzle, 345–47
public speaking, 293–97
Puzzle, Prop-Word, 345–47
Q&A, GV’s enjoyment of, xii, xiv
quality
of content, 97–99, 118–19, 143
employees competing for, 242
of fans, 300
of management, 232
of products, 16, 136, 221
of videos, 106, 108–10
QVC, 187
reading books, 47–48
real estate agents, 127–28, 137–38
reality distortion field, 222
recycling content, 118
Red Bull, 98
Reddit, 170–71
Redef (Hirschhorn), 271