Build Something That Lasts. In Business and In Life.
For over 50 years Steven M. Stroum has helped companies gain visibility, build credibility, and create opportunity. He is the founder of Venmark International, a former Small Business Advisor to the Governor of Massachusetts, and author of Success and Self-Discovery. Through his book, articles, and interviews, he shares real-world lessons on entrepreneurship, product publicity, sales, marketing, resilience, and the inner work behind success and personal fulfillment.
The real work of entrepreneurship happens within you.
Success and Self-Discovery
An Entrepreneur's Memoir of Growth and Transformation
Millions of people are questioning the old rules about work, security, and success. Some are burned out. Some are stuck. Some are wondering whether they should build something of their own. Success and Self-Discovery speaks directly to that moment. It is the story of building a business, confronting setbacks, and learning that lasting success demands more than ambition. It demands clarity, resilience, and the willingness to think for yourself.
Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a seasoned business owner, or thinking about making a career change, this book will inspire you to define success on your own terms.
★
This book places itself well in a specific niche for those of the entrepreneurial spirit and mindset. The lessons Stroum shares from his life and his business processes will be relatable and valuable to folks with a similar mind frame and who are looking to create their own opportunities. He tells these experiences well and thoroughly. Folks in business book clubs or on their own entrepreneurial adventures would enjoy this read and benefit from Stroum's experiences.
Writer's Digest
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Exceptional and thoroughly reader-friendly in tone, style, organization and presentation. An impressive and unique blend of memoir and instructional reference, especially recommended for business management collections and supplemental MBA curriculum studies.
Midwest Book Review
What Readers Are Saying
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Many people enter the corporate world, hate it, but never leave. Steve isn't one of them: He chose entrepreneurship, and he shares the stories of his success in these pages. Perhaps his journey will bring courage to strike out on your own for you or someone you know.
David Meerman Scott
Bestselling author of 12 books including The New Rules of Marketing & PR
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The lessons Stroum shares from his life and his business processes will be relatable and valuable. I found this book to feel instructive while remaining open and honest about what life actually looks like for someone who has chosen to make their own way.
Writer's Digest
50 Years Building Businesses
Steven M. Stroum founded Venmark International in 1976 with a simple conviction: that strategic publicity could be the most powerful, and most underused, tool in a company's marketing arsenal. Within two years, Venmark had grown to serve over 2,000 clients.
Decades later, Steve's experience spans product launches, international marketing campaigns, and the personal crucible of entrepreneurship itself, including the depression and self-discovery that became the foundation of his memoir.
1976
Founded Venmark
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2,000+
Clients Served
★
16,000+
Product Releases
★
50+
Years in Business
Get Steve’s Weekly Lessons on Entrepreneurship, Publicity, and Reinvention
★ ★ ★
Real-world business lessons drawn from 50+ years of building companies, launching products, and helping others create opportunity. Practical, candid, and useful. Delivered weekly.
For entrepreneurs, career changers, and builders looking for practical wisdom—not motivational fluff.