We recently connected with Garrett McClure and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Garrett thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

One the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made in life has been to blindly chase after success (or fame, fortune, money, achievements, etc). In life, anytime you want to know the how to achieve something, such as “success”, you first need to know deeply what you are trying to get.
Society engrains in us the drive to succeed and win at all costs to achieve wealth, fame and happiness. I encourage you to examine your definition of success, your motivations and understand if you are really getting what you want from your ‘successes.’
The first, most critical step to being ‘successful’ is to craft a clear vision of what that means to you.
Dictionary.com: The favorable termination of attempts or endeavors, or the accomplishment of one’s goals
To be successful in life, you need to start with the end in mind and define what success is for in business, health, love, family and your life overall.
And I mean go deep and create a story, a vision, of what that really looks, smells, feels, acts, tastes like. What are you doing? Where are you living? Who’s around you? What’s your morning like? How’s the air smell? Get specific!!
My personal definition of success is flexible and ebbs and flows over time depending on life circumstances, needs and desires. But one measure of success that is paramount is the answer to this simple question, “Am I happy?”
Happiness, for me, comes from many factors such as financial security, a healthy body, curious mind, having deep friendships, engaging projects, and committing to audacious goals in business and physically.
And I set specific measures for each of these each year and then craft my roles, goals and priorities to support that life … that’s success for me.

Garrett, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m an investor, advisor and CEO with a passion for helping fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals and do good in the world. Probably not surprisingly, it’s been a winding, surprising road to this place in my career. After almost 20 years in digital media and advertising, including roles at Yahoo! and Basis, working with 100s of agencies, publishers, platforms and 1,000s of ad executives, media execs and advertisers, I have transitioned into the exciting role of Investor.
Today, I partner with agency owners as we acquire, merge and grow businesses. This strategy helps legacy owners realize their greatest dreams in an exit – growing faster and bigger than they could alone.
Many don’t have a succession nor exit plan in place. And if they do, lack the experience and time/bandwidth to focus on a successful outcome.
Through a merger or acquisition, we can solve most business challenges faster with greater outcomes and shave 2-5 years or more off the process. But all this requires high levels of trust, strong communication and some risk-taking.
My community leadership skills, master coaching credentials and years of corporate and revenue leadership has prepared me well for this.
My legacy project is creating a brighter more loving future for my LGBTQ community. I have an audacious goal to create a physical planned community for our 55+ LGBTQ elders, called the EvocoCenter. And then I’ve also created a companion mentorship and leadership organization for our youth.
My pivot from CEO into advising and investing is creating the future where I can make this a reality. Getting back to the earlier section on success – this is one of the big projects that brings me incredible pride and happiness – even when it’s still in planning and vision stages.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major pivot point (also known as a major life crisis) that might be a lesson your readers could benefit from. The few years prior to the 2020 shutdown, I had left the digital advertising world and had pursued several more entrepreneurial pursuits. I worked briefly in a role as the Corp Relations Manager at the world’s largest LGBT non-profit, helped found an HR-Tech start-up, and had 3 advisory clients. I was having fun, doing lots of different things – but was seeking a new adventure to completely throw myself into.
When the shut-down halted everything and our financial world was up-ended, I made a bold decision: rather than taking pay cuts at a few consulting gigs, I simply quit all of them altogether.
I also invested a nest egg of $40K into earning a master-level coaching credential education and mastermind to support the launch of an LGBTQ coaching and education business.
I took the opportunity to reset, rebuild and restart. And I went all the way.
While this venture is now on the backburner, the skills and experience I earned have made me a much better investor, advisor and business partner. Plus, the human connection, community and spiritual, mental and emotional growth was invaluable to help me through the isolation and uncertainty of those years. Oh, and that venture was profitable in the first 90 days.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

After the acquisition of my first agency, GVG Agency, my partner, Steven Le Vine, and I made a bold decision to publish a tell-all book with a profane, bold title. GVG is a PR and digital media firm founded on the famous Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. We have been telling epic stories for over 350 clients in 5 countries and have a stellar track record. As we pivoted into new clientele and additional services, we wanted to make a big splash.
We were honored to have long-time clients, Star Trek’s William Shatner and Danny Pintauro of Who’s the Boss, both signed on to contribute to the project. And we set off to write a book to help anyone with a bold, world-changing idea get the attention they deserve – and need to succeed.
We enjoy working with risk-takers, disruptors and world-changers and decided to go all-in when we titled the book “STORIES THAT F*CKING MATTER: THREE PILLARS OF EPIC STORYTELLING TO DOMINATE MEDIA HEADLINES, WIN CLIENTS AND GROW YOUR BUSINESS.”
It was scary, and exciting, to make that decision. And it’s paid off. We attract more of our ideal clients, as they understand our culture and approach.

Contact Info:

• Website: garrettmcclure.com
• Instagram: garrettinspired
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrettmcclure/
• Other: gvgagency.com