Thank You Economy

There is this guy, his name is Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee), he believes in this idea of the “thank you economy.” He is not a politician and he has nothing to do with fixing the economy. No, he is more concerned with you and your economy. See Gary V is a guy that is what Chris Brogan calls an overnight success (watch those videos, amazing). He works 18 hr work weeks 7 days a week and has built up a huge online platform. Gary V just released a book that a lot of the “experts’ said would not sell, he is currently number 2 on New York Times Best Seller list.
The reason Gary V knew that his book would sell is because we live in a “thank you economy.”

A thank you economy brings about the idea that all the stuff that he (gary v) does online, all the blogs, livestream events, tweets and direct messages, emails, and speaking engagements has brought him enough credibility that people will thank him by buying his book. A thank you economy takes an individual who is much like them and embraces their story and then gets behind them. Supporting their products, reading their blog post, retweeting valuable information, and buying out book stores of their new book.

A thank you economy use to only live amongst bands. They were the ultimate story of fans supporting them. Most bands would build up their platform by playing concerts and connecting with their fans online through myspace. Bands that did not have big labels behind them, or multi million dollar advertisement agencies supporting them, just the music and the fans were there to carry them along. Now bands have more access to their fans and a better chance to record and promote their music all over the world and in turn receive the benefits of a thank you economy.

Often times I think we get caught up in this idea that the thank you’s will come without the work. It has turned from 15 minutes of fame coming to the unexpected to having 15 minutes of fame as an expectation for whatever you do. Often times I feel we get so caught up in our own brand and what we have and miss out on connecting with others. Gary Vaynerchuk is teaching me something, he is teaching me about hard work, passion, dedication, and the ultimate underlining factor….connect. Its not about how many twitter followers you can have or how many unique visitors that you get to your blog, it is about connecting with people and building community through assistance and conversation.

A thank you economy comes when they have something to thank you for.

*Kyle