Gary Vaynerchuk is a avid wine enthusiast with a popular blog and now also a book titled Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion.  Gary is a super passionate guy who continues to “crush it” both with his blog and his recently found new fame as a social media/entrepreneur motivational speaker of sorts.  Crush It! takes all of Gary’s passion and combines it with his thoughts about starting up your own small business based on his personal experiences.  The question though is does the book live up to it’s title and promise to the reader?  Keep reading to find out and for my complete review. 

Cash In on Your Passion:

One of the first things you’ll realize when reading Gary Vaynerchuk’s new book is that he does in fact walk the walk as the saying goes.  Gary grew up here in the states working at his parents liquor store, which he would later turn into a $60 million family wine business.  He by all definitions is a successful entrepreneur, which is important when writing a book that others are going to look to for advice and guidance in their own lives.


Crush It! is a book I was extremely excited to read being the big fan of Gary’s work that I am, but sadly I was a little disappointed by the time I finished reading the book.  The book is a quick read clocking in at about 140 pages.  It’s an even faster read if you skip to pages 135-137 where the entire meat of the book is outlined basically summarizing all the key points of interests Crush It! has to offer.  The main problem I had with the book though is that there wasn’t anything even remotely new or interesting in the book.  The information provided was very obvious, common sense, and basic knowledge that even the newest of entrepreneurs would most likely already know.

Topics of Discussion:

Gary Vaynerchuk spends most of his time in Crush It! discussing the following topics:

• Identifying Your Passion: This is the first step in order to make money doing what you love.  You need to figure out what you are most passionate about.
• Create A Personal Brand: Standing out from the competition and others around you is crucial.  Gary discusses the importance of developing a personal brand that your users/customers will identify with.
• Monetize Your Passion: Once you know what you want to do and how you want to do it, you need to figure out a way to turn a profit.
• Social Media: This is easily the largest section in the book, and it’s where Gary discusses the importance of using all the different social media services out there to your advantage to stir up “noise” about your passion (business/product).

Worth Reading?

If you are brand new to the world of entrepreneurship and starting a business, then Crush It! will provide you with an excellent introduction into the idea of creating a business around something you enjoy.  If though you have read even one other book on entrepreneurship published after 2004 or done some research online, then you probably won’t get much out of this book aside from a few new resource links you might not have known about.  I don’t want to say it’s a bad book, but there really isn’t anything new or even that exciting here.  Feel free to leave your comments below and share your thoughts on the book.