Why I Had to Stop Running My Own Company to Propel It | Mark Winter

Mark Winter has been in PR for 30 years.He started Identity in 1998 with a one-year-old at home, no money in the bank, and his wife's 401k funding the whole thing.The harder story came later. Mark told me he had built something real, 40 people, offices in Michigan and Tampa, a client list most agencies would envy. And he almost broke it by staying too deep inside it. Letting go of the day-to-day wasn't a decision. It was a three-year process that tested his ego, his trust, and his identity.What came out on the other side was a man who finally knew what he was actually good at.We covered in this episode:→ How Mark's "give before you get" philosophy shaped Identity's entire culture from day one→ What it took to step back from running his own company and why it nearly didn't work→ Why vision boards aren't just a motivational tool but a system Marc has used for 15 years to build his life→ How a single EO referral saved his agency during Covid, replacing over $1M in lost revenue in two weeks→ What modern PR actually means, and why human relationships are still the strategy that no AI can replaceThere's a moment in this conversation where Mark says he didn't even know what he was good at until his team told him to stop doing everything else. That part hit me... Most of us are so deep in the work that we never stop to ask what the work is actually for.Mark, thank you for showing up with zero pretense and total honesty. You've built something worth celebrating. And watching you figure out what comes next is the best part of knowing you.*Connect with Mark*https://www.linkedin.com/in/markawinter/https://www.instagram.com/markwinter1998/https://identitypr.com/~~~*Connect with Coach Bob*https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-shenefelthttps://www.instagram.com/imatterrevolutionhttps://www.facebook.com/iMatterRevolutionhttps://x.com/iMatterCoachBob📌 Subscribe for weekly conversations with visionaries, founders, and thought leaders!*Prefer to listen?*Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/4iCo6LWV5VJO15Tz9PTIVoApple → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1896824840Want to connect with entrepreneurial Visionaries who share your passion for making a real impact?🌐 https://www.imatter.com