Have you ever heard of Gary Vaynerchuk?
Me, neither.
That is until I started seeing his name as a speaker on just about every conference agenda I saw…South by SouthWest SXSW in Austin, Future of Web Apps in Miami, Web 2.0 New York…you get the picture. So, I thought, who is this Gary Vaynerchuk guy?
Turns out he is an entrepreneur and co-owner of Wine Library, his family’s wine business in New Jersey. He has taken wine to a new level of accessility for the younger generation with his popular internet webcast, WineLibraryTV.com, also known as The Thunder Show. Vaynerchuk’s informal, “hyperkinetic”, and “disarmingly honest” style is in contrast to conservative wine industry norms
The show is only a few years old, it debuted on February 21, 2006, but it has grown in popularity to over 90,000 viewers with a band of followers affectionately known as Vaniacs or Vayner Nation. The show is produced on a daily basis, on weekdays, and is taped in the Wine Library store in Springfield, NJ.
Gary Vee is passionate about wine and he shares his passion in a way that makes you passionate about it, too. Not only has his passion earned him loyalty from thousands of viewers, but, get this, in March 2009, Vaynerchuk signed a 10-book deal with HarperStudio for over $1,000,000 and he will release his first book, “Crush It! Turn Your Passion into Profits in a Digital World,” in September 2009. That is a 7 figure book deal! All because of passion and a focus on one thing.
So I listened to Gary Vee a couple of weeks ago at Big Omaha and turns out wine is not all he’s passionate about. He is also passionate about online content and promotion.
He challenged the audience,
“What do you love so much that you could make a TV show about it?” He went on to talk about the plethora of content in our world, “There are so many opportunities. I don’t care if it’s rubberbands or sushi or coffee. If you care about it there are others who do, too. Start talking about it. This internet thing is going to change the way programs are delivered and that includes advertising. It’s coming, get on board now.”
So what are you so passionate about that you could make a TV show?
Have you ever thought about it? What would that be like?
Do you think now might be a good time, especially in the service and information business we are in?
Content is everything. Passion is infectious. Think of the possibilities when you combine the two.
What do you think?
