Gary Vaynerchuk: Do what you love (no excuses!)

 

Gary Vaynerchuk's Wine Library TV combines an irreverent approach to wine and a shrewd social media strategy. It won him web fame and the cachet to spin off book deals, new businesses and his own entrepreneurship-consulting firm.

http://www.ted.com/speakers/gary_vaynerchuk.html

"Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, 'What do I want to do everyday for the rest of my life?' Do that!"-- Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk is the founder of Wine Library TV. He started out working in the family business, Shopper’s Discount Liquors, and decided he wanted more after immersing himself in wine connoisseur magazines such as Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator.  He renamed the store Wine Library, began the retail website and increased his revenue over ten times more than the income Shopper’s Discount was producing.

Gary is a very animated and passionate speaker.  He has the ability to draw you into the topic.  As soon as he comes onstage, immediately he’s pacing along the stage and literally ranting.  “There’s no reason for you to do shit you don’t like…” (Vaynerchuk, 2008).  He gives the impression that he is crass and uncaring.  Yet, he is very charismatic and genuinely cares about people.  Throughout the speech, he is adamant about finding something you are passionate about, something you love.  Then find a way to make a profit out of it.  Making an income doing something you hate is not satisfying or conducive to enjoying your life.  He goes on to say that you have to work on that passion; carve out time for refining what you want to do.  Your dream is not going to happen like magic.

The video initially caught my interest due to the title, Do What You Love (No Excuses). Music is my passion and I have no idea what I would do if I could not sing everyday for the rest of my life.  However, I am having a tough time moving that dream forward and finding my niche in the music industry.  I do not fit any kind of mold that society has come up with, so why would a label take a chance on me?  It gets discouraging.  Even though he was not, it felt like Gary was yelling at me “Get over your fear and just do it!”  This is what I love to do; therefore I need to figure out a way to do it consistently.

Video:  http://www.ted.com/talks/gary_vaynerchuk_do_what_you_love_no_excuses.html

Wine Library TV: http://tv.winelibrary.com/

About Gary: http://tv.winelibrary.com/about/

South by Southwest (SXSW) Music + Film Interactive

http://sxsw.com/music/trade_show


From labels and distributors to social media solutions and software/hardware manufacturers, the SXSW® Trade Show has it all. Digital creatives rejoice. Your show is here.


South by Southwest (SXSW) Music + Film Interactive is a privately owned company located in Austin, Texas.  SXSW’s main purpose is to provide conference and festival events to professionals of the entertainment and media (related) industries. One of their major conferences is the annual SXSW Music and Media Conference.  As of 2011, this conference is in its 25^th year.  Within the conference, there are various panel discussions, keynote speakers from the industry, a trade show, and numerous networking opportunities for industry professionals.  SXSW prides themselves on providing as much information as possible within the entertainment industry to professionals that may benefit from it.

I believe this has a positive effect on the entertainment industry.  In order to be successful in this business initially, it is about networking and whom you know to “get that break.”  The conference last a week with the trade show occupying three-four days of the event.  During the day, there are hundreds of entertainment and media companies with booths set-up.  Booths range from Spin Magazine and T-Mobile to Full Sail University and the Fulbright Program.

Outside of the trade show are four other aspects held during the same time frame: Happy Hour, Block Party, SXSW Hiring Hub Powered by Monster.com, and SXsaloon. The Hiring Hub is used for participants to be exposed to different opportunities for employment within the industry.  Participants have the opportunity to browse through jobs onsite or a special online portal via SXSW.com. Happy Hour, Block Party and the SXsaloon are other networking opportunities while participants relax from the day’s activities.

Being a musician myself, I think that I may be somewhat on tunnel vision when it comes to entertainment.  Majority of the time, I am thinking from a music perspective.  I do not think this is a bad thing, but it may be stunting my creative process when it comes to my career path.  With a conference such as this, I think it forces, entertainment professionals to think “outside the box.”  I can’t imagine what a company like T-Mobile would gain from being at Entertainment conference; however, there could be lucrative collaboration in place just waiting to happen.

This annual music and media conference was held March 9^th-17^th, 2011 and the next SXSWeek will be March 9^th-18^th, 2012.