Lessons from Gary Vaynerchuk (for Lawyers)

Team Sonder recently went to the National Achiever’s Congress to gain some inspiration from some of the world’s best entrepreneurs (Grant Cardone, Kerwin Rae, Gary Vee) – and we left with a tremendous amount of value and nuggets of wisdom.

We thought we would share our greatest takeaways from the behemoth that is Gary Vaynerchuk, and apply the lessons to lawyers:

1. LinkedIn is the platform to double down on.

No other platform is as ‘blue ocean’ as this one, and it parallels Facebook’s performance back in 2011. Focus your attention here if you want to seriously stand out.

Application to lawyers:
While Facebook and Instagram may only appeal to you in order to showcase personal highlights, LinkedIn is business focused offering a very specific application for your legal career. If you want to build credibility and become a voice of authority in your field, you have an opportunity to do so now that has never been seen before. Recent figures from LinkedIn show that of the 500 million total users, only 1% are actively sharing content on a monthly basis. Of that 1% – approx. 2% are doing it with any real consistency – that’s around 60,000 users globally!

Herein lies the opportunity to stand out from any other lawyer in your field, even in Australia! All it takes is a consistent posting schedule of value-adding content that is relevant to your target audience. Some ideas for content include:

• Articles (only 1 million users currently have a published article on their profile)
• Share long-form posts that offer tips or solutions that your audience would value (this has the greatest chance of going ‘viral’)
• Share images – these have the highest level of engagement

Particularly if you’re interested in attracting a greater client base to your firm, LinkedIn is a great method of generating awareness for yourself – without spending any dollars on advertising. As Gary says “attention is the most important asset”– so use the tool that will help you achieve it!

2. Most successful entrepreneurs can attribute their success to one specific skill, asset or quality that allows them to excel.

“You’re extraordinary in something… and it’s compensating for everything else”.

However, that one “unbelievable” skill can only take you so far.

They key is to recognise what that skill is in your case and then build an infrastructure around you to “round out” the missing pieces.

Close the gap of all the things you’re ‘average’ at, and soon you will be unstoppable.

Application to lawyers:
Be ruthlessly honest with yourself when it comes to your strengths and weaknesses – if you’re in a role that doesn’t capitalise on your ‘unbelievable’ skill, be proactive about changing it.

Gary spoke about at length how ‘easy’ it was to be successful in 2019 given the abundance of resources available to us with the help of our smartphones. Take advantage of what you have, don’t wait or ‘cope’ your way through your situation which doesn’t bring out the best in you.

3. Everyone seems to want to chase the glamour of entrepreneurialism life, but many aren’t cut out for it or aren’t willing to make the sacrifices necessary. You can be employee number 51 at Facebook or Uber and be earning more, and still have a life better suited to you.

Becoming partner to some may be viewed as the most prestigious or sought after role – but that doesn’t have to mean that’s what you necessarily have to aim for. Back to point two, your skillset may be better suited to other functions that better illicit your strengths and natural interests.

In the same vein, you may have an ambition to work interstate or internationally that would allow you a lifestyle better suited to your ideal vision. As mentioned in point two, there are so many resources that offer better insight into making a career move domestically or internationally, check out a few of ours:

1. Cayman Islands
2. London
3. Sydney

Thanks Gary Vee for the nuggets of wisdom!

What was your favourite takeaway?



“Life shrinks and expands on the proportion of your willingness to take risks and try new things.”
– Gary Vaynerchuk