This guy was a cobbler on the streets of Kuching, Malaysia. He set up a little stand outside of the grocery/electronics/clothing store that we went to every day, and he had TONS of customers; he would just sit on his stool and chat to his customers. I never went past him without seeing people dropping off shoes, and the three times I spoke to him – once to drop off my shoes, once to drop off Alice’s, and once to pick them all up – I had to wait about 15 minutes each time because he was busy with customers.
He was crushing it.
Which brings me to Crush It, by Gary Vaynerchuk. Teddy Baldassarre first got me into Gary’s videos; they’re fun, motivating, and crackle with the excitement of possibility that surrounds us every day, everywhere. I’m in the middle of doing a personal “flip challenge,” mostly on ebay and music magpie; I wouldn’t be motivated to do so if it wasn’t for these videos, and I already feel like it’s going to be a very valuable year from that perspective, in more ways than one.
Anyway, I had not realized that this book was written in 2009 – it reads like a how-to of every success story I’ve heard of since. It also seems evergreen, although it is a pattern and plan that is more and more crowded now.
One big takeaway: he had business ideas at the back that he just gives away because they aren’t in his “DNA” – he thinks they are billion-dollar ideas, but he doesn’t think they are right for him. That was encouraging: that some entrepreneurs just are meant for certain types of businesses and some are meant for others, and if you have an idea, and you can make it work, go for it, but if you can’t make it work, just give it away. I’ve had TONS of ideas that I don’t know how to implement (right now, I think that someone is going to market silicon spoons – Sili Spoons – that make eating dessert so so so much easier. Imagine getting every last drop of ice cream from a bowl???).
All types can be successful; it’s finding the niche that you fit into. A great, inspiring read.
Souvenirs 