How I Bought an $8 Million Company with a $1 Hat | Kevin Espiritu

Kevin Espiritu, founder of Epic Gardening, shares his journey from starting a gardening blog to building a multi-million dollar business. He discusses the growth of his YouTube channel, the importance of SEO and content strategy, and the acquisition of other gardening blogs to expand his reach.  Watch the full interview here: https://youtu.be/dticDXdRuh8  TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: (00:00) Wearing the hat: winning the biggest deal (01:01) Building epic gardening (03:47) The botanical interests deal (05:14) How wearing the hat made a difference (06:06) The angle of the botanical interests deal (09:28) Getting into gardening (10:54) Finding a hobby outside of business (12:44) Going all-in on epic gardening (20:33) Acquiring blogs for growth (25:48) The future of SEO (27:09) The importance of email marketing (28:49) Testing offers and opt-in rates (30:12) The role of a president in scaling (31:35) Finding the right operations guru (32:04) Recruiting and hiring 10X talent (33:00) The role of private equity in business growth (33:26) The benefits of executive recruiting and acquisitions (34:15) The value of learning from others in business (34:41) The parallels between poker and business (35:37) Why entrepreneurs should consider playing poker (36:07) Lessons learned from playing poker (37:27) Exploring mold toxicity and health (37:56) Getting into gardening and wood carving (40:12) The journey of epic homesteading (41:30) The beginner's approach to gardening (42:27) The benefits of growing citrus trees (43:30) The connection between gardening and business (43:59) The analogy of asparagus and long-term thinking (48:10) The importance of mental models in entrepreneurship (49:47) The need for action and real-world testing (52:23) The shift from reading to doing (53:46) The revolt against short-form content (54:45) The purpose of the personal YouTube channel (57:00) The importance of health and wellness for entrepreneurs (58:21) The value of long-form content and building relationships Don’t forget to help us grow by subscribing and liking on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3owDdLk7HL1dyQnkoBuRew  — What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review here Subscribe to Leveling Up on iTunes Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed   Connect with Eric Siu:    Growth Everywhere Single Grain Leveling Up Eric Siu on Twitter Eric Siu on Instagram