Some know him as The Wine Guy, and others may know him for his recent publication called Crush It! Either way, Gary Vaynerchuk has gone from zero to millions in only a few years, which is an impressive accomplishment for anyone. This week in the spotlight we take a look at entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, who created the popular Wine Library TV website and more recently published a book. We’ll break down just how he did it so you can learn from his success story and use it to make your own!
Summary:
Name: Gary Vaynerchuk
Age: 34
Location: Springfield, NJ. United States
Claim to fame: Wine Library TV (popular daily wine webcast)
Initial cost: < $500
How He Did It:
Hailing from Russia and moving to New Jersey with his family when he was only 3, Gary Vaynerchuk was raised in the Northeast in the small town of Springfield. While attending college, he worked at his family owned liquor store where he grew his interest in wine. In February 2006, Vaynerchuk began hosting a daily webcast called Wine Library TV on his website where he reviews different wines in each episode. Gary became for his in-your-face style commentary and break from traditional wine critics who tend to me much more conservative in their actions. Over the past few years Vaynerchuk has built his viewership up to 90,000+ daily visitors. Vaynerchuk has since been featured in many popular media circuits only adding to his following. Recently, Gary made the jump even further as an entrepreneur by writing a book called Crush It, which is a motivational be your own boss type of book. He reportedly signed a $1 million deal for a 10-books with this being the first. In just a few years, Gary Vaynerchuk has gone from a little to making millions with a ever growing fan-base.
Lessons Learned:
- Find a niche market space and bring something new to the table (Vaynerchuk approached wine reviews through the internet with a new edgy spin on it, which is something that had not really been done before)
- Own what you do! (As a entrepreneur, you need to be assertive and fully invest yourself through time and work to make success happen. Gary worked extremely hard over the past 4 years to build his success up.)
- Take action on what you learn (Research is important, but you need to apply those lessons learned and take action in order to see success. We often get caught up in just researching and never apply that knowledge.)
- Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there (Vaynerchuk took a video approach to reach out to his readers, which really helped him to build his fan base over the years. Get personal with your followers.)
- Always be looking for new ways to branch out (It’s great to have success in one place, but it will benefit you even more if you can figure out how to expand upon that success. For example, Gary branched out into writing a book on following your passion.)
Did you miss last weeks spotlight? Check it out here: The Entrepreneur Spotlight: Elaine Wherry
Be on the lookout for our next entrepreneur spotlight article in this ongoing series. In the meantime, be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think about the success of this week’s entrepreneur. Also, please let us know if you have an entrepreneur you would like to see featured here in the weeks to come.
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One Response to “The Entrepreneur Spotlight: Gary Vaynerchuk”
[...] sure how. Lastly, I also wanted to include the first 10 minutes of a video presentation done by Gary Vaynerchuk where he touches on many of these points in further detail. It really drives home the power the [...]