He Turned $300/mo Into $3,750,000/mo From GARDENING
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Intro
- Kevin started Epic Gardening as a blog about his gardening hobby in 2016.
- Epic Gardening is projected to generate $45 million in annual revenue this year.
- Kevin shares his company's growth journey, including traffic acquisition strategies and business expansion through acquisitions.
- Kevin's viral video showcasing a kneeling device gained over 150 million views across platforms.
- The video's purpose was to validate market demand for the product.
- Despite the product's popularity, the manufacturer faced stock shortages, resulting in missed revenue opportunities.
250k playing online poker
- Made $250,000 playing online poker to pay for school.
- Online poker involves understanding probability theory and player tendencies.
- Developed a sense for recognizing player patterns and bluffs.
The influence of Pat Flynn
- Pat Flynn's blog, "Smart Passive Income," inspired the creator to start a gardening blog.
- Pat Flynn's transparency about his income and strategies was groundbreaking at the time.
- The creator followed Pat Flynn's methods and created a successful website about poison ivy treatment.
Cocoa butter cream review site
- Created a website called Cocobuttercream.org to review cocoa butter creams on Amazon using an alias, "Susie Michaels".
- Joined Amazon Affiliates and made $2 in a month.
- Realized the potential of making money online.
Printing on-demand shirts
- The speaker began their career in internet marketing and created a website for Kendrick Lamar before his rise to fame. They monetized the website by selling Kendrick Lamar merchandise but were forced to shut it down after he trademarked his name.
- Copywriting proved to be a transformative skill for the speaker, revolutionizing their business trajectory.
- The speaker's hobby of gardening led to the creation of a successful blog, which eventually became their primary source of income.
- Initially skeptical about the potential of their gardening blog, the speaker eventually recognized its business potential.
- The speaker's innovative approach of combining content creation with product sales set them apart in the industry.
- The speaker advocates for gardening as a lucrative business opportunity, highlighting its potential for significant financial success.
From Scribe to $300/mo gardening blog
- In 2016, the YouTuber quit his job at Scribe Media to focus on his gardening blog, Epic Gardening.
- At the time, the blog was making $450 per month.
- The YouTuber initially planned to start a legit farming business by aggregating square footage from people's front yards and selling the produce to restaurants.
- However, he realized that this method would not be scalable and decided to focus on growing the blog instead.
Growing the blog
- In the first year of focusing on the blog, it made a total of $17,000 in revenue.
- The following year, the revenue increased to $72,000.
- In 2018, the revenue reached $225,000.
Realizing the potential of selling products
- In 2019, the YouTuber had a realization that he could sell products to his own audience instead of relying solely on ad revenue and brand sponsorships.
- He noticed that his audience was interested in the raised metal beds he was using in his gardening content.
- After a year of emailing the Australian company that manufactured the raised beds, he secured a deal to become their distributor in America.
Starting the product business
- At the time of securing the distribution deal, the YouTuber had around $70,000-$80,000 in his business bank account.
- He used this money to purchase inventory and start selling the raised beds.
Inflection point: The metal raised bed
- Started making significant profit from the gardening business.
- Purchased a 20-foot container of raised beds for $35,000, which was half of his savings.
- Faced challenges in receiving, unpacking, and shipping the container.
- Attempted to rent a storage facility and handle shipping himself due to lack of knowledge about logistics.
- Sold out the first batch of raised beds in four or five days while they were still in transit from Australia.
- Revenue in the first year (2019) was around $550,000.
- Half of the revenue was spent on purchasing the product.
Billion-dollar blogs
- The speaker learned about the concept of "billion-dollar blogs" from a blog post by Nathan Barry.
- These blogs started as personal blogs and then evolved into successful businesses.
- One example is Glossier, a women's makeup brand that started as a fashion blog.
- The speaker was initially intimidated by the idea of starting a business from a blog.
- The speaker's friend in the commerce industry suggested using a 3PL (third-party logistics) and a freight forwarder to ship products.
- This allowed the speaker to sell products on Epic Gardening without having to handle the logistics of shipping.
Life-changing money
- The YouTuber achieved remarkable growth, turning a $300 monthly income from gardening into a $3,750,000 monthly revenue.
- The business experienced significant financial success, with revenue increasing from $2.8 million in 2020 to $7.3 million in 2021, while maintaining a healthy profit margin of approximately 50%.
- To further expand the business and gain expertise in building media-to-commerce ventures, the YouTuber secured $17 million in funding, allowing them to hire additional employees and stay competitive in the market.
- After the funding round, the YouTuber was able to secure their financial position and decided to establish their own warehouse, transitioning from paying fulfillment fees to a third-party logistics company to building equity in the real estate aspect of their business.
- This strategic move provided the YouTuber with financial security and enabled them to focus their efforts on dominating the industry.
5 Languages of the love of money
- The speaker reflects on how having money has changed his life.
- He mentions that not having money was more stressful than having it.
- The speaker agrees with the idea that having money mitigates downsides but doesn't necessarily make one massively happier.
- He discusses the concept of the "five languages of love" and suggests that there are similar "languages of love" for money.
- For him, it's not about buying nice things, but rather about having the freedom to avoid doing annoying tasks like cleaning and laundry.
- The speaker mentions the study that suggests $70,000 a year is the ideal income for happiness.
- He believes that inflation-adjusted, this amount is closer to $160,000 in today's economy.
- The speaker argues that $160,000 in a top-five city doesn't go very far.
- He suggests that having money can free up time by allowing one to pay for services like house cleaning and meal support.
Lessons from Ramit Sethi
- Learned from Ramit Sethi to have a "surgical team" for tasks he hates.
- Ramit emphasizes spending big on services that enhance life.
- Ramit's questions challenge Sam to think beyond his current perspective.
- Ramit's teachings have had a significant impact on Sam's life.
Path to $100M through acquisitions
- Sam's company currently has around 90 employees.
- The company is on track to reach $40-45 million in revenue this year.
- The company has made several acquisitions to accelerate growth.
- Sam believes the company has a good chance of surpassing $100 million in revenue in the next five years.
- Acquisitions are made for speed and when the company has the internal competency to do so.
Buying a seed tray business for less than $500K
- The YouTuber recognized the potential of a durable seed starting tray and acquired the seed tray company.
- The product's success led to increased production, sales, and profits shared equally between the YouTuber and the inventor.
- The YouTuber proposed a deal to acquire the company's assets and hire the inventor as the product lead, resulting in a significant revenue increase.
- The YouTuber made a successful acquisition for $7,500,000, benefiting all parties involved.
- Information about the other two biggest acquisitions is not disclosed.
Buying a competing gardening blog
- Bought a competing gardening blog called all about gardening.com for between $500k - $1m.
- Migrated the blog into their own blog, resulting in a 20-30% increase in traffic.
- Increased monetization from display ads and the ads themselves.
- The acquisition financed itself through the increased revenue in the first month.
- The blog's RPM (revenue per mille) doubled after the acquisition.
- He came up with the idea himself.
- He considers the core reason for an acquisition or business move to be obvious, but he also evaluates how else it could benefit or harm them.
- If the potential benefits outweigh the potential harms, he feels it will work.
Acquiring Botanical Interests
- A YouTuber increased their monthly income from $300 to $3,750,000 by acquiring a seed company called Botanical Interests.
- Botanical Interests was known for its high germination rates and beautifully designed seed packets.
- The company was run by a husband and wife who were ready to retire and hand over the business.
- The YouTuber used a strategic marketing technique to win the business deal by wearing a hat given to him by Botanical Interests in every piece of content he created for six months.
- This caught the attention of the company's team and likely influenced their decision to choose his bid, even though it was not the highest.
Red and green flags in acquisitions
- The seed company being acquired was a complex business due to various certifications and processes involved in seed production.
- One of the green flags was that the seed company had a strong brand reputation in the market.
- The online business of the seed company had not been fully developed, presenting an opportunity for growth.
- The acquisition multiple was likely between 6 to 8 times income.
- The payback period for the acquisition was expected to be around five years.
- The potential for growth and expansion through existing retail partnerships was seen as a significant opportunity.
- The company's products were already carried in approximately 4,500 stores nationwide.
- Plans were in place to expand product offerings and leverage the existing distribution network to increase sales.
- The founder recognized the potential for significant growth and success in the home and lifestyle niche.
The danger of being a celebrity on the internet
- Being a celebrity on the internet can lead to negative experiences such as:
- Receiving stalker messages.
- Having fans who are obsessed with you.
- People making fun of you or assuming things about you, such as being gay.
- It can be difficult to maintain privacy, especially when filming at home.
- People may find your home address and send you gifts or try to visit you.
- Even as a mildly popular person on the internet, the speaker has experienced strange encounters, such as a woman coming to his house and trying to enter the backyard.
- The speaker emphasizes that even a small percentage of a large audience can result in a significant number of people who may behave inappropriately.
Idea: Branded hybrid plant species
- Ari asks about the licensing of fruits, vegetables, or seeds, particularly branded hybrid plant species like the Honeycrisp apple.
- Branded hybrid plant species involve crossbreeding plants to create new varieties with desired traits, which can take decades of development.
- The process of creating new plant varieties is complex and time-consuming, often requiring many years of trial and error.
- Once a desirable variety is developed, it can be branded and licensed to other farmers, creating a potentially lucrative business with a strong competitive advantage due to the time investment required to replicate the variety.
- Creating new plant varieties requires patience and persistence.
- Example of a farmer who spent 20 years developing a potato that could be grown from seed, called the "Clancy potato."
- The Clancy potato was developed to address the inefficiency of traditional potato planting methods.
- Fruit tree development, particularly for apples, involves grafting branches of a desired variety onto rootstock to create genetically identical clones.
- Grafting allows for faster propagation of desirable traits and ensures genetic consistency in the resulting trees.
- The process of developing a new apple variety can still take several years, but it is significantly faster than growing from seed.
Floyd Zaiger, the godfather of licenced plants
- Floyd Zagger, known as the "Godfather of stone fruit," developed new fruit varieties through cross-pollination and grafting. His company, Zagger Genetics, licenses these patented cultivars to nurseries like Dave Wilson Nursery, which mass-produces and sells the trees.
- The fruit tree business requires extensive knowledge in plant botany and genetics, and it takes about 20 years to develop a new variety. Despite the long timeline and challenges, individuals passionate about this field find fulfillment in their work and often view it as a vocation rather than a traditional business.
- The produce brokerage business involves buying produce from farmers and selling it to retailers, but the profit margins are typically low.
- The speaker questions the standard definition of healthy eating and organic food and believes that eating homegrown food makes a difference in how they feel compared to store-bought food.
The lie behind Blue Zones
- The book "Blue Zones" highlights commonalities among people living in certain regions known for their longevity.
- One commonality mentioned in the book is age fraud, with many individuals lying about their age to receive Social Security benefits.
- The author questions the accuracy of birth certificates for individuals from that era, making it difficult to determine their true age.
- The author suggests that fresher food may contribute to better health and well-being.
The Tesla of chicken coops
- The author mentions a company called "Coupe" that produces smart chicken coops.
- These coops are described as being similar to Teslas in terms of their innovation and technology.
- The author expresses interest in getting one of these coops and highlights the benefits of having one's own chickens, such as low maintenance and access to fresh eggs.
Beekeeping
- Beekeeping is a hobby that requires minimal maintenance.
- Beekeeping supplies could be a lucrative business opportunity.
- Creating a lifestyle brand around beekeeping can attract a large audience.
- Successful beekeepers like Texas B Works have built large followings on YouTube.
- Beekeeping can be started with a low investment of around $200 for a hive and bees.
- Bees can improve the growth and diversity of plants in a garden.
- Beekeeping is not as intimidating as it may seem, and stings are not a major concern.
Choosing your hobbies wisely
- The speaker chose gardening as a hobby because it requires minimal effort, is inexpensive, and cannot be easily turned into a business.
- Birdwatching and beekeeping are also mentioned as hobbies.
- The speaker is grateful for the opportunity to be interviewed and expresses excitement about the future of their gardening journey.
- The interviewer predicts that the speaker's success will continue to grow and expresses pride in having them on the show early in their career.