TK Staff Profile: Tara Dimick
Tara Dimick is the owner and publisher of TK Business Magazine. She is the Chief Business Development Officer for Envista Credit Union where she oversees marketing and gets to work with businesses to help them leverage their money to grow their business. Tara, along with her husband Braden, have three kids together.
What do you think makes a good story?
TARA: The hero and the truth.
What has been your favorite story in TK? Why?
TARA: Picking one article just seems too difficult, but my favorite series is Heart of the Entrepreneur. The series was created in honor of my dad. As a child I watched him start his business, grow his business, and navigate the ebbs and flow of the economy. But what I admired was how he developed a team that became a part of his family, part of our family. He modeled a work ethic that was filled with joy of ownership in the ideas and the action and the process of creating his dream. And, he bared his heart as he made decisions not solely based on money, but on people. Over and over again, it was always about people. I am in love with the heart of the entrepreneur. And I thrive on sharing what makes them tick.
When you get ‘writer’s block’ or can’t seem to find the words, what do you do?
TARA: I'm not a writer. Everyone on the team knows that I will submit the Publisher's Page at the very last minute - literally the last possible minute.
So what do I do to get that piece out... at the very last minute? I see us as community people simply trying our best to care for the people we love, while being driven to leave the world just a little better than it was when we got here, or at least clean up our own mess. It is easy to put people on pedestals or envy others - but people are people and we are all in this together. With that at my core, I try to think about simply having a conversation with a friend.
What I have found to be most successful is to simply share my truths. And often I find that the more I share and the more uncomfortable I feel about what I have shared, the better it connects to our readers.
How do you stay ‘on brand’ with the projects you are assigned?
TARA: I picked this question because it is one we spend a lot of time talk about with the editorial committee. Constant the statements, "Who cares?" and "Where's the business angle?" are said during our committee meetings to be sure that the focus is always on business . There are so many great stories and ideas out there, but what makes us relevant, consistent and unique is our commitment to the business community.
So here's our process - all the ideas that we have heard about come to the table. We talk about the businesses and the people. We share ideas and connections to find commonality to develop a full story theme. Once the themes are developed the fight really begins for what stories are in and what stories are pushed to the next editorial committee meeting. I love the fight, I love the process and I love the people that make up the editorial committee and are all equally passionate about the businesses and business owners and professionals, as well as the goals of the magazine to showcase Innovation, Growth, Expertise and Inspiration.
Where does your inspiration come from?
TARA: I am inspired by the journey that business owners and entrepreneurs take. Successes and failures, leaps of faith, ideas on napkins, and decisions based on deep analysis - all of it. But what also inspires me, or maybe fires me up to fight for business owners and entrepreneurs, is when someone speaks in general about business owners as greedy or selfish. I am a true believer that business is the core of a community - it is where everything rises and falls. Business owners create opportunity every day. Opportunities for employment, exploration, creativity, mentorship, services, products and entertainment. This creation come from their dreams, their hearts, and their fears, and I feel a sense of responsibility and pride to share their truth.
