Jon Stojan
Image credit: Mark Milutin
Mark Milutin, the founder of the Bread Loaf digital marketing agency and the Brand Marketer direct-to-consumer growth program, understands the importance of taking risks to achieve results. His story is fraught with triumph and adversity. Still, through his entrepreneurial tenacity, Mark has risen to be one of Shopify’s top email marketing experts and built his brand by fostering the growth of others. Endorsed with a learned strategic, forward-thinking business mindset, Mark recognizes the best ways to inspire leaders to scale their businesses and retain clientele.
Image credit: Mark Milutin
Mark faced numerous complications and challenges when growing and expanding the Bread Loaf business. During these challenging times, he would remind himself of his own philosophy: “Being resilient as you face adversity is one of the most important characteristics of any business owner,” he has passed this on to the businesses he connects with.
For Mark, seeking this forward momentum meant buying his partner out of Bread Loaf. He made this decision two weeks before COVID-19 came to the United States. Undeterred, one week later, he opened a creative studio in Los Angeles and another office in Kyiv, Ukraine, two weeks before lockdowns began. With the debt of buying out his partner and a bold investment into European expansion, Covid lockdowns faced Mark with what he sees as “One of the scariest times of my life.” When the Ukraine war broke out, Mark was having panic attacks. He had just met his Ukraine team six months beforehand, but he was doing everything he could to keep them safe. He called every European charter service to see if they could rescue his team and their families, retaining everyone who had to stay. Mark recalls this time: “There were multiple mornings where missile attacks shut down the internet and power. Some team members were tethering off their phones to get work done at one point.” Though the war continues, even today, Mark employs his whole team, who work remotely for their safety, hoping to establish a better and stronger office in the future.
Image credit: Mark Milutin
Having withstood such adversity in Bread Loaf’s formative months, it is easy to understand why he highly values resilience and passes it on to those who learn from him. His dedication to those he works with, whether staff or businesses, is inspirational. Believing each year in business is a milestone, the brands, marketers, and creatives he works with are excited about his perspective. The Bread Loaf websiteshowcases examples from successful brands that his expertise has aided. Retention Lab features case studies demonstrating Mark’s abilities, customer connection, and retention. His Brand Marketer platform even provides a free email and SMS strategy lesson, showing confidence in his businesses and his ability to confer knowledge. His podcast is also freely available. Mark seeks to generate over 100 million in revenue from Bread Loaf and Brand Marketer, especially by expanding his European team, which he has already spread to Croatia and Belarus, while continuing to hire in Ukraine. Ultimately, his goal is to grow alongside the brands he markets, helping them to achieve what they never thought possible.