When Kevin Espiritu started his blog, Epic Gardening, more than a decade ago, little did he know that it would grow into a giant ecommerce brand. Today, that business is much more than a blog. It’s also a YouTube channel, a podcast, and a successful online store. The store drives 90% of the company’s revenue, while brand deals and other content monetization strategies make up the rest.
Kevin shared his insights on balancing content creation with running an ecommerce store, expanding the business through acquisitions, and navigating the challenges of growth.
The shift to ecommerce
Kevin took a significant step in 2019 when he launched an online store to complement his already thriving media properties. At the time, Epic Gardening was making revenue through ad sales, affiliate deals, and brand partnerships. Kevin realized he had built a trusted audience, and he wanted to offer products directly to this community.
Initially, Kevin approached product development by getting feedback from his audience. “You don’t have to invent anything,” Kevin says. “You have an audience that’s helping guide you toward the things that they really care about.”
For example, he noticed an interest in the raised beds featured in his garden. He contacted the manufacturer, started importing the product, and launched his Shopify store, marking the beginning of Epic Gardening’s ecommerce journey.
Expanding operations
As the ecommerce side of the business grew, Epic Gardening faced a scaling challenge. Kevin initially managed logistics through third-party services, but eventually brought operations in-house. This period involved substantial investments, including purchasing a warehouse and equipment, and learning to drive a forklift. “The start was mostly using vendors that are specialized, because I was at least smart enough to know that I didn’t know the world I was jumping into,” he explained.
Eventually, Kevin hired team members to handle customer service and logistics, which allowed him to focus on other aspects of the business, like the media side. “I was just doing whatever felt like the most important thing to do at that moment for 10-plus hours a day,” he says.
Making content with experts
Similar to the way Kevin staffed up to handle logistics, he also relies on a team of experts to help him create content for the YouTube channel, blog, and podcast.
The blog has a staff horticulturist that reviews every article, and many of the writers have a specific gardening niche, such as houseplants or trees. “What we’ve also done is bring on other creators that live in different areas of the country, because gardening is so regional,” Kevin says.
Acquiring a seed company
In a significant move to broaden the company’s product assortment, Epic Gardening acquired Botanical Interests, a well-known seed company based in Denver. This acquisition not only brought in a new product line, it also tripled the size of his team overnight. And, it launched Epic Gardening into retail, because Botanical Interests was already stocked in thousands of stores.
“We wanted to get into seeds, but there’s just no reasonable way we could ever build it at the speed that we would need to build it,” Kevin explains. One of his first moves with Botanical Interests was to migrate the products from an outdated website to Shopify, allowing for better management and scalability.
For more on Kevin Esposito’s journey from content to ecommerce, listen to his full interview on Shopify Masters.
