Community Highlights: Meet Kyle Gross of Growth House Media

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyle Gross. 

Hi Kyle, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Cutting lawns and whipping weeds is how it all started. An unexpected beginning to a media agency, I know, but stay with me, as entrepreneurship required some developmental years before it became Growth House Media. The original need to create income without the means of a bi-weekly paycheck started because baseball consumed my life. My calendar was too full to work a typical part-time job, so having lawn clients was much easier. My Grandma got me her neighbor as my first client, and since I couldn’t drive my dad drove me. We’d load a tarp, a push-behind lawn mower, a weed whip, and a blower in the back of a minivan and head to Richmond. For years until I could drive, and even sometimes after I could, my dad graciously donated his time to my lawn care operation as my free labor. He had owned a small lawn care business in his twenties, so he showed me how to cut lawns properly, treat customers, and to always over-deliver. 

Those lessons still shape me today as a young professional. 

From the ages of 14-17 my time consisted mainly of playing baseball, but, of course, as a young kid with a modest deviant side, a thirst for experiences, the nickname Kyle Baseball, and a charm he liked to flaunt with the ladies, I still found time for girls and extracurricular activities. Ones that could’ve very well been spent working, but again, entrepreneurship was a maturation for me, not a God-given gift. 

Fast forward to being a high school graduate. I had decided to pass on playing college baseball because the only offers I had received was from either NCAA Division III or NAIA schools, and as much as I enjoyed playing ball, I didn’t want to go to a small college — and honestly, I was in love. 

What does that have to do with my business journey you might ask? So much, but again bear with me — you’ll get a kick out of this part. Meeting and loving Cassidy was my first taste of what real unwavering passion felt like. It resonates passed your flesh, through your bones, and straight to your soul. After spending six months being so passionate about someone that my spirit literally yearned for her presence, I realized what the nectar of life tasted, smelled, looked, and acted like. Moreover, what I also realized through my relationship with Cassidy was that even something as simple as making someone eggs in the morning can be done with passion and provide so much fulfillment. After our relationship ended, thank God for the time I got to spend with her, I was convinced from that point forward that even medial tasks could be glorifying, and no one could convince me otherwise. 

From the time our relationship ended, I searched for a similar feeling in my professional and academic life. I was attending Macomb Community College at the time, and my ambitions at that point must have looked to an outsider like a kid at the carnival trying to ride all the rides before the lights turned off, as if as an 18-year-old time was of the essence. There was no goal other than to find a professional path that filled my heart with purpose like Cassidy had. I tried modeling, vlogging, podcasting, starting an online clothing resale shop, photography, and probably some other ventures I’m neglecting to remember. The point is I was unafraid of failure but had an unquenchable thirst for passion. 

My goal always remained to find work that brought me fulfillment on a soul level — even during the mundane parts. 

Many of my peers and elders tried to convince me that what I was seeking didn’t exist. I didn’t believe them then and don’t tell them, but I still don’t buy it now. 

I earned money from plenty of these ventures but never enough to sustain myself. This was due to what I believe was a lack of true faith in what I was attempting to do. A mentality that would summarize the five years I spent as a college student. Lots of ambition pointed in either too many different directions or no direction at all. I did officially start Growth House Media in December of 2020, but again, remained unfocused and misguided and struggled to grow the business when it first began. Multiple medical procedures and lengthy recoveries that immediately followed the founding of the business didn’t help either, but that’s a story for another article — and I don’t like to make excuses. 

After all, I did submit my first significant proposal to a client lying in a hospital bed in Wyoming. 

Upon graduation in April of 2022, I felt like a failure. As I sat in the chair on the arena profusely sweating, riddled with angst, and mentally preparing to accept my diploma, my post-graduate plan was to finally give Growth House my full attention — but I felt zero confidence in myself to get the job done. 

This lack of confidence wasn’t really Growth House’s fault. Honestly, the business model was sound, and I actually had somewhat of a plan this time. The problem was who was captaining the ship. Without going into detail, when I graduated college, I was in the worst mental position I’d experienced to date. When I looked in the mirror, I looked the same but didn’t recognize myself. I was convinced that the Kyle who previously believed he could accomplish anything was dead and gone. 

Long story short, he was gone, and good riddance! I had some tough conversations ahead of me and much courage to enact, but the happy ending is that these circumstances are what finally allowed me to take God’s hand, accept Jesus Christ as my savior, and become more of myself through Him than I ever have been. My belief is that with God at the helm Growth House could be a household name someday. By trying to surrender myself, and my business to the Lord every day the hope is that He will use it for His glory. 

I now sit here writing this, and I plan on 2023 being the year of Growth House. My goal is for Growth House Media’s third year to be the year it reaches six figures of revenue and the first members of the team are finally assembled. In 2024 the goal is to have our own office, first six-figure salary employee, and host our first Growth House Media Music Festival. 

The festival will headline Christian and independent artists and will be an attempt to contribute to the growing contra-music industry market. 

Our future goals are yet to be announced but will hopefully be amazing and glorify God! 

Now you’re basically brought up to speed. This summary of the last 9 years of my life is certainly brief, but I think it breathes authenticity and provides some entertainment, so hopefully, you think so too and enjoyed reading about my life. 

If you did, it would mean a lot if you shared this story with someone who needs it — or you think just would like to hear it. I’m happy to answer any questions regarding further details about the details of my life’s story. In fact, I’m planning a resurrection of my old podcast soon and would love to make people with questions about this piece the first guests! 

Even if you don’t want to talk on a podcast episode feel free to reach out to me. My personal email is [email protected]. I’d be happy to talk with anyone about my life, business, or the Lord! 

I want to take one second to thank a few friends I made in college that always told me how much they believed in me and Growth House, even during times when on the inside I didn’t truly believe in it myself. Thank you, Wallace Hall, Jordyn Bowman, Nick Foster, Cayleb Pleytos, Devin Stennett, Quinn Gardner, Logan Gardner, David Tucker, Connor Miller, Jamal Dawson, Triet Vu, Jacob Engelhardt, Dr. Mark Kubik, Dr. Corey Anton, Dr. Valerie Peterson, Isaac Simon, and Dr. Anthony Spencer. There are absolutely people I am forgetting, but I am so grateful for all the love and support I’ve received. My support system is, and always will be, vital to any success I receive. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it has not been a smooth road, but it’s been beautiful. It has been challenging logistically, financially, emotionally, and all the ways the typical grind would be. If you know, you know. What’s been the most challenging is learning how to expense my time. Up until recently, I believed the person who put in the most hours wins — period. What I’ve found is it is so much more about the quality of the hours than the quantity. 

My college girlfriend, Jordyn, would always say, “you’re no use as a burnt chicken nugget,” and she was not incorrect. 

Since it’s mainly just me doing all of the operations and fulfillment of Growth House Media, I need to be sharp when I’m working. Clients deserve your best, your work deserves your best, and the people you spend your time with after you stop working deserve your best too. Forgetting about that last one is critical and most often neglected. 

What I’ve found, and if this hits then I wrote it for you, is that balance is everything. You are a human being, not a candle stick with a wick at each end. Being balanced has been my biggest struggle, and I still work on it every day. 

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Growth House Media is an America First and Christ Based Business. We are soon to be a part of the Christian Business Network, and we believe in providing value to the consumer, not getting the highest conversions. We believe that conversions, sales, profits, and growth are all tied to how much value you provide as a company. Profits will come if you lead with value. A conversation we have with each client is essentially the same, “we can spend $1,000,000 on this project and make a motion picture of a video, but if your business is providing a bad service and a bad product it won’t matter”. 

We provide content creation (photo, video, and graphic design), social media management, paid advertising, website design/management, and public relations services to grow companies. Whether that through awareness, branding, sales, or lead generation — those are our five main tools. 

We also offer consulting services if a client, or Growth House Media, believes that need to make a few tweaks to be as valuable as possible before a project is launched, so that an initiative to grow can be as successful as possible. 

Growth House Media specializes in small to medium sized businesses, and we love the blue-collar industry. We don’t discriminate, but our favorite companies to work with are landscaping, construction, and start-up companies. 

Whether that’s through the services we provide or the joy and love we bring into a client’s life and business through interacting with them we always strive to overdeliver in any way that we can. That’s what sets us apart. 

Oh, we’re also currently accepting clients! 

How do you think about happiness?
I’m not really sure what makes me happy right now. I’m really working to figure that out again. What I can say is. I enjoy operating my business, books have been a great thing for me, flexibility and mobility training has been very healing, I am always eager to get to church or a church group recently, spending time with my family brings me great joy, and starting to travel again has been on my radar. 

Pricing:

• Wedding Videography ($1800)
• Wedding Photography ($1200)
• Social Media Mngmt ($700)
• Website Construction ($1300)
• Paid Advertising ($800)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.growthhousemedia.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/growthhousemedia