Ep 113: She & Her Team Helped Them Earn Millions. Then She Walked Away!

She helped generate $130 million a year in ad copy for Macy's — then walked away to help a broken neighborhood tell its own story instead.

 Stephanie van Vark spent 16 years writing ad copy for Macy's before walking away from corporate stability to become a city liaison for Historic Overtown — one of Miami's legendary Black neighborhoods, once known as "Little Broadway," fractured for decades by highway construction. That pivot didn't land right either. What did land was media and production — and in 2008 she launched StephanieCreates, the company behind GoingOvertown.org, the Just Talking Business podcast, and Jigsaw Parenting.

In this conversation, Stephanie and Melvin get into:

• Why she calls her parents' divorce a "broken home" label she had to redefine for herself
• The moment in a leadership program that forced her to admit, on paper, what wasn't working
• How Historic Overtown's story got taken from it once — and what it means to help take it back
• Surviving 18+ years of solo business ownership through hurricanes, a pandemic, and everything in between
• What "success" means to her now, versus what it meant during her Macy's years

Watch
▶️ Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/0FFibyGqG5U

Listen
🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast platform: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2397083.rss

Resources
Connect with Stephanie van Vark:
Website: https://www.stephaniecreates.com
Instagram & Facebook: @StephanieCreates
Podcast: https://justtalkingbusiness.com
YouTube: @StephanieCreatesTV
Email: info@stephaniecreates.com

Connect with Melvin:
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melvinlarry1
👤 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melvin.larry
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@melvinlarry118
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melvinlarry
🐦 X: https://x.com/MelvinLarry
🌐 Website: https://www.theshatteredmindset.com

Recommended Episodes
- Marvel Bishop: Overlooked to OVERbooked (Ep. 109)
- From Getting Fired to a Sundance Award — Nehemiah Ray (Ep. 111)

 #ShatteredMindset #Overtown #CareerPivot #MiamiEntrepreneur #CommunityStorytelling #Resilience #MelvinLarry

Call to Action
If Stephanie's story hit something in you —LIKE this video, SHARE it with someone who needs to hear it, COMMENT and tell us where you're at in your own pivot, and SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss what's next. Until next time, keep adapting, keep evolving, and keep reaching for those new horizons. We'll see you soon on The Shattered Mindset Podcast. Take care. Take charge. And God bless.