“Work Hard. Work Smart. Be Patient.”

Gary Vee, as he's become known, is a successful businessman whose inspiring success story may teach and lead us in a variety of ways. So, with that out of the way, let's get into the makings of a great business.

Early Life | Gary Vaynerchuk Success Story

 Gary Vaynerchuk and his family emigrated to the United States from Belarus, which was part of the former Soviet Union at the time when he was three years old. His family first lived in Queens, New York, with relatives before relocating to Edison, New Jersey.

His father began his career as a stock boy at a liquor store. And, like other immigrants, he worked tirelessly and wisely with every dime he earned for many years. This eventually allowed Gary's father to gradually but steadily achieve complete ownership of his own liquor store.

Gary would learn much from his father about hard work and hustle and would get introduced to entrepreneurship at the young age of six. His first taste of entrepreneurship actually came from his experimenting with selling flowers. Legend has is, that Gary would take flowers from his neighbor’s yard, and then ring the doorbell of that neighbor and with charisma and wit, successfully sell the neighbors’ own flowers back to them.

Gary's entrepreneurial spirit grew, and by the age of seven, he was running a profitable lemonade franchise throughout New Jersey, where he had managed to set up eight different lemonade stands, each manned by his pals.

However, it was at the age of 13 when Gary Vee would really get his first taste of entrepreneurial success. His breakthrough would come from his ability to generate thousands of dollars every weekend through the selling of baseball cards. Gary learned much about the concept of supply and demand in these formative years.

The Grind

Gary was soon drawn into his father's business, where he was initially assigned to bag ice for $2 an hour. Gary would go on to work for his father in various jobs inside the family business for a few years. Gary, on the other hand, would go all in to better his father's business after discovering the power of the internet.

And shortly after graduating from college, Gary would begin leveraging social media and strategic content creation in a way that would make his father’s business from $3 million in annual revenue to $60 million in just a few short years.

How did he do it? Gary set his father’s business up on the internet, renamed the liquor store business to Wine Library. Then, in 2006, he went on to create an extremely entertaining and educational show (called Wine Library TV) that showcased his analyses of various wines and liquors. Gary leveraged his keen knowledge of wines, his energetic personality, and his consistent daily hustle to create over 1000 episodes to grow the viewership of the show over a five-year period. On top of this, Gary paid special attention to what his audience was interested in, wanted more of, and then effectively executed on providing them the engagement and answers they wanted to see. The result? An explosion in revenue growth for his father’s liquor store!

This is what Gary has to say about his early success with Wine Library, in his own words:

“I’ve always credited the success of that venture to my hustle and single-minded dedication to engaging with my fans and customers by answering every email or blog comment I received and going overboard to show my appreciation for their business.” – Gary Vaynerchuk

The Next Chapter

After dramatically growing his father's business, Gary would start the next chapter of his entrepreneurial career. Taking what he learned from his success with Wine Library TV, Gary would then leverage his seasoned social media expertise to create his own full-service advertising agency. He would name this new endeavor Vayner Media. 

Gary started small with Vayner Media. In fact, in his early days, he had to use another company's conference room, because he didn't have the capital to rent the office space that would allow him to have his own. But, he persisted, and did what he does best. He hustled to get attention, and that attention translated into business. And, after giving a successful public speech in New York, Gary's media agency would take off. 

Soon after, Gary signed his first million-dollar 10-book deal with HarperCollins. Since then, he has published several books, five of which have made the New York Times Best Seller list.

Gary now serves as the CEO of Vayner Media, as well as the chairman of Vayner X, and has become synonymous with hustle, execution, and digital advertising. When he isn't assisting his clients in the development of their enterprises, he is jet-setting across the world, encouraging the next generation of entrepreneurs with his dynamic and thought-provoking public lectures.

Gary Vee’s Enduring Success

So, what’s the success secret to Gary Vee’s enduring success? Well, it must be said, that Gary Vaynerchuk does have a magical charisma about him, which has undoubtedly played a significant role in his ability to captivate his audience. However, what has led to much of Gary’s success, and what will continue to help him continually be successful, is his uncanny ability to spot trends and zero in on what people are interested in. He says it best with this quote:

Equally as important, and what likely helps him be so effective and observing what works and doesn’t work in terms of building businesses and spotting trends is his penchant for relentless effort. Again, he has in the past summed it up for us well in his own words…

“While everybody is hoping and dreaming, I am going to be executing.” – Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary has also demonstrated a knack for effectively leveraging technology, the people around him, and media to scale his reach. This knack has given him the ability to grab more and more attention for himself and his clients. In short, he is great at getting the most out of his resources, be they his team, the technology he’s using, or his media channels. In his own words…

Key Takeaways

Gary Vaynerchuk's success story can teach us a lot. It demonstrates how an immigrant from Belarus worked his a** off, made the most of his situation, and used current technology to build his brand and enterprises to dizzying heights. His experience also demonstrates that the American Dream still exists for those who choose execution over excuses.

We hope his tale inspires you to believe that anything is achievable with a lot of hustle, a good dose of preoccupation with your customers' wants and requirements, and a little leverage.