CRUSH IT! Some inspiration from the web’s Charlie Hustle

Web celeb and retail wine mogul, Gary Vaynerchuk’s Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion is the first release in a multi-book deal with Harper Collins.

Inside, readers will learn about Gary’s humble background as a Russian immigrant and how he was always a natural entrepreneur. From franchised lemonade stands to baseball card conventions, he explains how business is in his DNA. He’s certainly doing something right because he built a small empire out of his father’s retail wine business in New Jersey. But what he also built was one of the most recognizable brands in the world of wine by shooting full-contact wine tastings, reviews and recommendations and posting them online for the world to see at WineLibraryTV.com.

The book is part motivational guide, part self-branding handbook, and part “hey, look at me!”. Weighing in at 160 pages, readers will fly through the book. It gives solid advice on building a home base online, using platforms like Twitter & Facebook to grow an audience, finding the format that works for you (video’s not for everyone!), and how to generate a real income. Throughout the book, you can’t help but to believe that this guy actually wants you to succeed and succeed BIG.

One thing the book isn’t is a get rich quick on the Internet guide. There’s no place where the author lets the reader forget that hard work (obsessive hard work) is the key to breaking through online. I liked the fact that he’s clear that the average reader may not end up with a $60 million wine business, but anyone can make $80,000 a year doing something they are passionate about instead of making $80,000 a year doing something that makes them miserable.

Readers won’t find a step by step guide to setting up a Wordpress blog, or techniques in video editing. It assumes a certain degree of tech savvy. Even if that savvy is knowing enough to know where to look to learn these things.

One sticking point, throughout the book, Gary reminds readers that you can always email him with questions, stressing his accessibility. I didn’t think it was possible for a guy with 800,000 Twitter followers, a bestselling book, and 2-3 full-time jobs to really respond to reader emails. I was right.

I sent an email asking if it was okay to give a free copy of his book away with every new hosting account that signs up at my hosting company (sorry, promotion’s over). Though I didn’t get a personal response, I did get an auto reply with a link to a video message:

Thank you so much for the email you have just sent me. I apologize for the annoying auto-reply but it is better than me being a jerk and not responding. You will see when you click the link below and watch the short video that I am in a strange place where I am getting so many emails that I may not be able to get back to you BUT please be aware I am reading ALL my email. Please click the link to get to all the information you will need and the best ways to connect with me:

http://vaynermedia.com/gary-inbox-message.html

Gary Vaynerchuk

Fair enough. We’ve all had days of not making it through the inbox. Then again, I never told thousands of people to ‘email me anytime’ either.

Fifteen years ago the contents of this book would have been science fiction. Today it’s the reality for remarkable people around the world. Now one of those remarkable personalities is pulling back the curtain and sharing an insider’s look. For less than a movie (in Manhattan), it’s worth the price of admission.

Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion
Author: Gary Vaynerchuk
Released: October 13, 2009

List: $19.99
Kindle: $9.99