Chuck's Choice: Crush It!

I just finished "Crush It: Cash in on Your Passion" by Gary Vaynerchuk. He has been enormously successful turning his father's wine business into a multi-million dollar wine business. I'm not into wine, but it's a compelling story on how he used his passion plus the tools of social media to rocket the business to a new level. His video blog is quite humorous and engaging. See it at www. winelibrarytv.com.

His advice for how to remake your business, begins with this guideline: "True success--financial, personal, and professional--lies above all in loving your family, working hard and living your passion."

Vaynerchuk describes how to use your passion for business success in 10 steps (p. 135 of his book)

1. Identify your passion.

2. Make sure you can think of at least 50 awesome blog topics to ensure stickiness.

3. Answer the following questions:

· Am I sure my passion is what I think it is?

· Can I talk about it better than anyone else?

4. Name your personal brand. Have a clear idea of what it is.

5. Buy your user name--.com and .tv

6. Choose your medium: video, audio, written word.

7. Start a Wordpress or Tumblr account.

8. Hire a designer.

9. Include a Facebook Connect link, call-to-action buttons, share functions, and a button that invites people to do business with you on a prominent place on your blog.

10. Create a Facebook fan page.

Chuck MacDonald is the owner of Vollara, a small business in Bowie, Md. For more information about Vollara products, including the air purifier Fresh Air Surround, go to www.myvollara.com/chuckmacdonald. Contact him at 301-343-2078 cmacdonald@ecobusiness.com. Chuck's Vollara business page is located at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Breathing-Free-in-Bowie/140971549287623.