Gary Vee - Ashley Hann Show

Gary Vaynerchuck: Exclusive Gary Vee Interview (Ep. 30)

Gary Vaynerchuck has been a dear friend and mentor of mine for the last 5+ years. I am so grateful for him and all that he has taught me. For those of you who don’t already know, Gary is an incredibly powerful and influential entrepreneur, investor, 5X New York Times bestselling author, the founder of VaynerMedia and VaynerX and probably today’s most prolific content creator. 

SNEAK PEEK INTO THE EPISODE WITH GARY VAYNERCHUK:

  • An exclusive that Gary Vaynerchuk has never shared publicly before
  • The #1 misconception people have of him and his message
  • Why he does not share children or home life on social media
  • Why you should stop following certain “social media standards”
  • Gary Vee’s big win and big loss in 2019
  • What his personal next level of growth is for 2020 and beyond
  • What Gary sees are the biggest business and social media trends for the next 5-10 years
  • A “disgusting” fact about Gary that most people don’t know (it’s not what you would expect)
  • …And so much more!

THE BACKSTORY…

Many people have been asking me how I got this podcast with Gary Vaynerchuk. So here’s the quick backstory…

Gary has been absolutely pivotal in my personal and professional growth and he is actually the sole reason this podcast even exists! Back in November of 2018 we met in Seattle for a strategy meeting where he gave me some super interruptive and direct feedback, which I revisit with Gary during this episode.

From that meeting, one of the things Gary told me to do was to launch my own podcast and that once I had published 20 episodes, he would come on my show… and here we are! 🙂

In case you are wondering about the feedback Gary Vee gave me, let’s just say he called me out on hiding and playing small. I was feeding into some serious BS stereotypes that people had placed on me throughout my life and I didn’t even realize it… or rather, I didn’t want to.

Since I started in the online marketing space when I was in my early twenties, I received a lot of judgment and criticism based on my age and physical appearance. At business and networking events, people would assume I was someone’s “plus one” and I often got that shocked look when I would start to talk business. “Wait, she’s actually smart? No… can’t be!”

The sad part is, I started to really internalize all of those moments and I did not only fear people would think I was dumb but I also started to believe I was… which I’m sure you can imagine was severely crippling my confidence and success in business. I was always one foot in and one foot out as a way to protect myself from the potential ridicule and pain.

I hid behind my company Omni Media Marketing and didn’t share what I did on any of my public platforms. I actually only posted workout stuff on my Instagram and Facebook because that’s what felt socially acceptable and made the most “sense” for me and I fit the mold of the typical “fitness influencer” and everyone told me I should, so I did. If you scroll down far enough on my IG feed, you’ll still see all of the fitness videos and photos.

Well, our good ol’ friend Gary Vaynerchuk called me out on all of this. He called me out for hiding behind Omni Media Marketing and feeding into all of the bullsh*t judgment. His exact words were something like “what the f*ck are you doing Ash?!” It’s honestly a bit of a blur as to his exact words, but the underlying message definitely hit home and rattled me to my core.

After the meeting, I ran back to my hotel room and cried for 45 minutes straight. 

BTW aside from the gnarly (much needed) feedback he also reminded me of what a “brilliant business mind” I am and how I need to step into the light and shine the way for other women who want to step into their power, follow their passion and start their own businesses. This hit home for me as well. It all did.

Gary and I had a follow-up session where he broke down a specific strategy and gave me instructions on what to do next.

Gary Vaynerchuk and Ashley Hann

This meeting was a pivotal moment for me and was the catalyst as to why I’m showing up the way I am today. This is why I’ve created the success I have with my business, why I create the content I create and why my podcast even exists!

So there it is! That’s the story behind this podcast episode. If you have any other Qs, feel free to shoot me a DM on Instagram or comment directly on this post.

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“The number one misconception is ‘work until you’re burnt out and success over everything’. That’s disappointing and I take accountability for that and I continue to try to create more clarity around that which is happiness over everything.”  -Gary Vaynerchuk