5 Key Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs | The VUE NJ Podcast

0:00Hey everybody, before I go into today's podcast, if you're listening to this before 9am Eastern time, which I know a lot of you are, dog walking, the gym, just consuming on your travel. I'm live right now probably if you're hearing this or shortly. I'm live at 9 a.m. Am I doing it on all my socials? I'm live on all my socials and then the questions themselves, the Tea with Gary Vee show is back if you're unaware. The questions themselves are on whatnot. So go check that out. We're at vfriends.com slash live for that. vfriends.com. vfriends is my Pokemon meets Marvel world. If you're not aware of it, I know some of you heard of it when I was doing NFTs two, three years ago, which I'm still doing and that's the ultimate collectible.

0:42But it's now become a huge cartoon. vfriends.com slash cartoons. If you have somebody under 10 in your life, it's become a kid's book. It's become a big, big deal. Go check that out. That's vfriends.com slash live. The Gary Vee show that you all loved. Tea with Gary Vee is live right now today at 9am. See you on my socials. See you in a little bit. Hope you enjoyed today's podcast. I'm excited to be doing Tea with Gary Vee. I'm going to do a lot in 2025. It's my home. I miss it. It was such a big deal in COVID and I hope to see you there. Hit me up on Twitter or on text at 212-931-5731 and let me know if you're excited about Tea with Gary Vee back.

1:21In fact, actually, go to my Instagram post right now and leave a tea emoji if you heard this. I just wanted to get a sense of how many people are cross-pollinating between the podcast and Instagram. And I'll see you on Tea with Gary Vee today, 9 a.m. Eastern. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the Gary Vee Audio Experience. I'm Mike from Team Gary Vee, and on today's episode, we're sharing a podcast that Gary recently did with Vue and Jay. This episode gets into some of Gary's early entrepreneurial endeavors, a little bit about the five key traits of successful entrepreneurs, the realities of entrepreneurship, and much more.

1:55Let's get right into it. I kind of want to start a little bit about your early journey, right? I want to talk about early days growing up with your family business, the winery, and kind of how that experience kind of shaped your approach to being an entrepreneur. I mean, it's everything. Like, I always say that, like, Jersey, you know, groomed me, right? So, like, Tingley Lane in Edison, New Jersey, those lemonade stands, that was a learning experience. It's like understanding, you know, I'm an entrepreneur that's very heavily skewed towards marketing excellence. And I literally, on, you know, Oak Tree Road and Tingley Lane and all those roads, thought a lot about my sign.

2:41Like, you know, now looking back, it's actually insane how much this was DNA. Yeah, I mean, I don't think most seven-year-olds, when they want to do a lemonade stand, are fixated on the sign. and where to put it. You know, that to me is just naturally in you, right? It's not like I read a business book that talked about. So, you know, I think that really shaped me. The baseball card shows in the Bridgewater Mall and Phillipsburg Mall and Raritan Expo Center and all that stuff, that shaped me. And then really where I, to your point, where I really got shaped was in my dad's retail liquor store, which I really then converted into a meaningful wine superstore and e-commerce business.

3:26And, you know, I've worked in that store every weekend, every summer vacation since I was 14 years old. So spring break in high school for me was I was gonna work that week, you know, in the store. And it really, you know, at 14 I hated it. By 15 I loved it. And like I looked forward to that. That was fun for me. And, you know, I think retail is an incredible training ground. And it was a great training ground for me. Great. So, I mean, everybody wants to be an entrepreneur, right? I mean, you hear all these guys say, I want to be an entrepreneur. I want to work for myself. And there's millions of people.

4:08I have friends who call me every day. How do I do? How do I do? How do I do it? What do you think the biggest habits are that differentiate successful entrepreneurs from those who are just kind of struggling and talks about it and just never execute? Accountability. You know, I think there's a level of accountability when you're a true entrepreneur where most people, especially in today's age, are very comfortable blaming others, parents, government, bosses. I mean, the worst entrepreneurs blame their customers. you know they're like people don't get us I'm like no it's your job to do that like you know they might just they just might find your new bagel cranberry juice concoction not delicious so accountability is huge I think work ethic it's just real talk you know like I think a lot of people talk about wanting to be an entrepreneur because they see they see the they you can travel a lot they think it's easy it's harder like nine to five doesn't exist.

5:12Stress tolerance. I think that most, I think most people don't have the stomach for it. Like one of the great things about working for someone else is you can turn off. Like I don't know, like it's Monday morning. Like I can tell you right now, my yesterday was not chill. I was thinking about 700 things that I need to attack and are a problem. So I don't think people have the stomach for it. I also think that for a lot of entrepreneurs a differentiation is just sheer creative talent meaning it requires ideas. Like you have to have ideas. You have to innovate. You have to adjust. So I think a lot.

5:58I mean I don't think most people realize that almost everybody fails in their entrepreneurial venture. And I think it got cool in the last 15 years. Shit. I was a part of it becoming cool. and I benefited from it being cool but I've been pretty consistent with my content of like this shit's hard. Yep. I mean there's been three failed magazines since I launched one that succeeded so. And you know what's fun about that is when you're a true bred entrepreneur like what even the way you delivered that like for me like I was like yeah like I like the losing. Sure. You know but for a lot of people you know this after the first failed magazine, they go back to corporate life.

6:41They go back. It's the soft, cushy spot. I think there's a level of true humility that can't be seen in real entrepreneurs. I think you're right. Right? I think there's an ability to be judged. I think there's almost a respect for, I'm talking true entrepreneurs. I feel like true entrepreneurs respect the game. So when they're getting beat up, they're like, well, I deserve it. That's right. And so I think that those are the things that stand out, brother. So talk a little bit about your daily routine. I know you gotta have some little quos here. First thing when you wake up or maybe before you go to bed, is there anything that kind of helps you maintain, produce your rhythm, your creativity?

7:25Are you a gym guy? Do you wake up and do yoga? What's your thing? I think mine is more macro than tactical, meaning I do go to the gym probably five five to seven times a week. Like I try to get in there every day. But I don't think it's been like some remarkable mental relief for me. It's been more about me wanting to live longer. You know, like just being thoughtful about health and wellness. You know, so that's not been it. I think it's been a general focus on perspective. I think for me, my ritual is really around gratitude, you know, in a real way. Like I've recently, multiple people, friends, family, are doing something similar.

8:27Like they have a gratitude journal or they set an alarm to practice gratitude. gratitude has become something I think people rightfully have realized has a lot of value and that I don't think comes natural to most people yeah so that's huge yeah so for me a journal's great an alarm is great but like for me I practice it pretty continuously I would say what's basically happening in my body daily my routine is even yesterday when I bring up all all the things that I was thinking about that I'm concerned about, I'm processing and then after about 25 minutes, if that's daunting, because it can be, as you know, thinking through what you're quote unquote worried about, pretty consistently, I'm almost, oh I've got a good analogy.

9:19I'm doing like a, what is it, like a slow drip? You know when you get like a, what is that, like a needle in you? Yeah, I feel like I'm slow dripping gratitude 24-7. Okay. That's my actual process. To me, it's not meditation. It's not vacationing. I do focus on sleep very heavily. I think that's one misnomer about me. People see me very hyper, go, go, go, crush, go, attack, right? But that's me talking about how you play on the field. That's what I'm doing in my 12 hours. I love that. But I'm a seven, eight hour sleep guy. Same. And I think that that's played such a huge role being successful, to be honest.

10:06I think that I wouldn't be able to, like you, wake up and have that, I have that energy like you have where I'm just go, go, go. People are like, wow, that kid is just, he's on fire. He's so hyper. And then I'm crashing at the end of the night and if I don't get that, it shows. Yeah, I think same. You know, when I travel or serendipity and I've got five or, you know, I can, I mean, I'm not that same person. Not in your A game. Yeah. And there's never like, yeah. I mean, I've had consistent six in my career. I got there where I could like really function at the same level, but I feel different at seven and eight in a real way.

10:45Sleep. Sleep. So industry trends, shifting gears, social media, obviously you're the man when it comes to social media. What are your thoughts on the current state of social media? Where do you see it heading in like the next five years? big changes? Well, I think first it's got to get through a social discourse hurdle. So I think we're in the era now where we're demonizing social media. I mean, there's an apparent in America that isn't thinking about social media from a lens of negativity. So I think first social's going to have to go through a rebrand. And I think it's gonna face a pill battle.

11:29I think the lack of accountability in parenting is gonna be a big challenge for social media. Yeah, it's easy to blame social media for the lack of parenting. Correct. And I think the political realities in our country also and the world are a challenge. So I think first, I think social's gonna be bumpy for the industry because of the judgment of society. Second, I think there's gonna be a lot of opportunity for social to really evolve as it always does. You kind of see it evolving every two, three, five years because it's the nature of the beast. All it's trading on is consumer's attention. And so as a medium, unlike television, where it was a set function and you knew what a television and magazine was and then what was changing, what was inside.

12:24So the content was changing. MASH was different than Seinfeld, was different than the Flintstones, was different than Rugrats and Beavis and Butthead, but the medium stayed the same. Whereas social, you've got seven or eight apps that dominate, they're all slightly different, but every minute, one of them can create a new feature or structure or a new one can come along. And I think that's pretty dynamic. And so, you know, my trends are, I think people have to get better at it, that's why I wrote the new book. I think we're in a 301 course instead of a 101 course like what was good enough in 2015 to break out is not good enough in 2024 and I think people are becoming more scientific and practitionership and skill set and strategy matter more than ever to break out within the apps and then in a macro I wake up every day thinking something new is going to pop up So before we get to your book, do you have any advice when it comes to that for new content creators building their brand in such a saturated industry?

13:34That they have no fucking choice. Yep. People are like, oh Gary, it's so saturated now. I'm like, okay. Like what are you gonna do, go cry in the corner? Right. You know, I mean. Work harder. Yeah, and smarter, right? Yep. And so I think this is the era of smarter. You've just got to be more creative, more strategic. And I sense that. So your new book. Yep. Day Trading Attention, which thank you for sending me a copy. You just received it. So I'll be reading this. I've read quite a few of your books. This is a follow-up to another book that you wrote. Yes. So let's talk a little bit about the book and kind of share with everybody what's inside and where the inspiration came from?

14:24I wrote a book 10 years ago called Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook. And it was really a book detailing how to do social media at the time. And I was still getting emails as of six months ago from people being like, I just read Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook. Thank you so much. It's awesome. It's helped me so much. I'm growing 5 ,000 followers a month. And I'm like, Jesus Christ. I wrote that 10 years ago. Like more than 80 % of that book needs a real update. so I felt compelled. This book was originally called Jab, Jab, Jab, Left Hook but as I got into it I realized it was more of a macro thesis of what I do which is day trading attention and really it's a book that really outlines the state of the union of social media what you need to be doing with creative to break through best practices per platform tons of examples of creative so that you can learn scenarios in the back I'm pretty proud of it.

15:20Great. Yeah, I'm eager to read it. Like I said, I've read a few of your books and I'm a big reader in general when it comes to anything that I can kind of further my education on this stuff. So this is said to be a good one. Yeah, I think I wrote it in a way that would really crush for people that have advanced skills. So this is definitely like, again, if I'm using a college curriculum, this is the textbook for the 301 course, not the 101. but what has been my skill even when I started in wine content and in business content is I definitely have an average Joe way of talking that allows people to understand so what I was excited about is and it might really impact the way I write books going forward I'm getting equal accolades from people that have done social media marketing at the highest levels for the last five years and I'm getting accolades from people that are like two weeks into trying to become a famous florist know nothing and I think it's because I went there from a knowledge standpoint but I still communicated it in a way that was understandable great so last question then we're gonna just do a quick rapid fire you got it so a little bit about your legacy right when you look back at your career when people look back at your career what do you hope that they're gonna say about you and how you've impacted the world or the industry?

16:49Yeah, I think from a macro, people that didn't really know me, I'd like to think that they felt that I gave more than I took, you know? I'm a big contributor to information for free, but I'm also comfortable selling things like wine and books and things of that nature. And then for the people that really know me, I want them to view me as somebody who was a good dude, you know? I think a lot about my funeral and the curiosity of how many people decide to show up to it and I'd like to live a life that compels people to go out of their way on a normal Tuesday and schlep over to wherever the hell I'm gonna get buried and I think about that a lot actually and so that's what I think about That's great Alright so we're gonna do a little rapid fire since we're obviously a New Jersey magazine we're gonna start with the most obvious.

17:48Favorite spots or hidden gems in New Jersey? That's a great question. I wanna actually give this some real thought. The White Diamond restaurant in Clark, New Jersey. It's like - You've never heard of it? Yeah, it's like the original White Castle. Okay. Basilico's restaurant. in Milburn, New Jersey. It's down the street from Wine Library. Just like quintessential Italian spot in Milburn. In Clinton, New Jersey, there is a water mill, like 1897 red building. I just like it. It's like... Actually, I've seen it. I've never been in there. Yeah, it's really cool. It's just like, I don't know why I like it.

18:35It makes me think about Jersey. It's the Jersey I wish people knew a little bit. It's kind of like a small Virginia town kind of feel. Man, I have a lot of answers to this question. English Town Flea Market. Oh man, I used to live around the corner. I'm obsessed with that. Let me give you one or two more just to finish this off. There's a baseball field off of Route 31. No, I'm going to kill that one. I'm going to give you one or two more before the end because I want to finish off your questions but I can do this all day. All right, great. Coffee or tea? You know what's funny? I like tea more.

19:19I consume more coffee. Okay. Morning person or night owl? I think I know the answer to this one. Night owl. Really? Yes. Completely threw me for a loop. I'll tell you this. I know why you would think that based on a sleep thing but I prefer to go like I like 8 p.m. to like 1. I'll just yeah but if I work to one I'll just wake up at eight or nine but I'm much more I'm much more I can't do that because I have little ones little tiny ones who get me up at seven yeah I get it I I I I'm much more productive late night I like it more I'm a momentum builder I like it so when I wake up I've gotta like yeah I like even though I go to the gym I hate it I like it you got a favorite movie?

20:05All time you know what I bounce around about this. I'm not the most passionate. Like Rocky IV excites me. Spaceballs. Okay. I think is way up there for me. I remember watching that at like summer camp when I was younger. Like Forrest Gump is like something I really like. I like that movie. Comfort food. Go to comfort food. What is it? Sunflower seeds. Okay. Two more. dream dinner guess if you can have any person or two people if you have more than one dead or alive who's it gonna be have dinner with definitely my both my grandfathers I didn't really I didn't know them my dad's dad died when he was 15 my mom's dad died when I was four and I don't and we left Russia when I was like three and he died back in the Soviet Union I don't remember him I see pictures of me and him together but that would disproportionately be number one to have a dinner with my grandpa's a fun one is definitely Randy the Macho Man Savage like that is I really regret that I didn't get to a point in my career where that became easy for me to meet him he is definitely one of my favorite people in my childhood I love it last one biggest pet peeve lack of accountability I just it doesn't bother me because like I'm living my life it's less about like people around me disappointing me because they lack accountability.

21:37It's, I just want more happiness in the world and there's a direct correlation to how accountable you are and how happy you are and people just don't want to see it. Love it. So before I let you go, Gar, before I let you go, I watched a segment on you recently where you're throwing F-bombs and you got the call from parents and the teachers and they're like, oh, your kid's saying fuck all over class and you're like, well, if that's the worst thing that happens, and I don't see any problem with it. I watched that. I gotta tell you, I get shit from my wife all the time because I'm the guy who has no filter and like you, those words are just in my vocabulary.

22:17It feels more real and more raw and if my kid did get called one day because she said fuck at school, I would say so what? I'm definitely not scared of teachers. I wasn't scared of them when I was in the class. I'm definitely not gonna be fucking scared of them when I'm not in the class. This was great, man. Thank you, brother. Stay well. Continued success. Cheers. Bye-bye. Take care. Go to my Instagram post right now and leave a tea emoji if you heard this. I just wanted to get a sense of how many people are cross-pollinating between the podcast and Instagram. And I'll see you on Tea with Gary Vee today, 9 a.m.

22:50Eastern.