The Simple Newsletter Making $20M+ A Year With 1 Employee
About This Episode
Kevin Van Trump discusses how he built an $18M+ annual revenue agricultural newsletter, The Van Trump Report, with a tiny team and zero advertising. The episode explores his transition from a physical floor trader to a digital publisher and how he expanded his brand into the Farmcon event and a multi-million dollar merchandise company called AgSwag.
Episode Description
Show Notes
- 0:45How Sam met Kevin, then got his mind blown
- 2:05Shaan's reaction at his 1st Farmcon experience (Corn futures and options trading)
- 4:35The farmer's theory of the old bear and the young bull
- 5:00How Kevin's newsletter inspired Shaan to start Milk Road
- 6:25Breaking down The Van Trump Report ($18M ARR run by 4 ppl)
- 8:05Rural farm kid gets into trading
- 12:28Farmers operating at the highest level
- 13:50Ag Swag
- 16:18The Van Trump Business Model "People buy value not price"
- 19:00The customer continuum
- 20:43Poker vs chess
- 23:57The decision to do nothing is still a decision
- 25:04Trader v investor
- 28:20How most people should be building wealth
- 32:37Why the wealthy are getting into agriculture
- 33:55The succession plan for farms
- 36:00The economics of professional bull riding
- 39:14The come up of FarmersOnly
- 41:15How to buy a farm
- 44:32Wearables for livestock
- 45:18Blockchaining farms
- 47:55Kevin's take on lab-grown meat
- 50:00Opportunity zones: air, shelter, food, water
- 52:35New trend: trade schools
- 54:24Roll ups for wealth creation
- 55:30How to gain new perspectives (purposefully)
- 57:50Windows vs doors
Check Out Shaan's Stuff
Check Out Sam's Stuff
Key Takeaways
Targeting high-value niches where information has a direct ROI for the reader allows for premium pricing (e.g., $600/year) compared to general interest media.
Utilize a 'Value vs. Uniqueness' matrix when evaluating new ventures: aim for the upper-right quadrant of high value and high uniqueness to command high margins and avoid commoditization.
Intentionally step out of your industry bubble by attending unrelated trade shows and conferences to gain fresh perspectives that your competitors lack.