Several years ago, a stay-at-home mom named Tara saw a bumper sticker that said, “Remember who you wanted to be.” She thought about it long and hard, then went on to co-found an organization called Believe Inspire Grow (B.I.G.) that has had a tremendous role in shaping my journey as a mompreneur. I will be forever grateful to Tara and B.I.G. and felt moved to share her story here as excerpted from the B.I.G. website in faith that it will inspire someone out there to remember who she wanted to be and then go for it:
A graduate of Boston College, Tara has acquired over 25 years of experience building brands and developing marketing campaigns. With extensive public relations and marketing expertise, she has helped the promotion of national consumer products for companies including, Sylvania Lighting, Veryfine Juice, Safety 1st and the Timberland Company. Through her work at a Boston-based advertising agency and later as a marketing consultant with companies including, Eddie Bauer, Harvard Medical School and Prudential Securities, Tara acquired a keen ability to build strategic marketing campaigns that demonstrate concrete results.
Since leaving the corporate world in a full time capacity, nearly thirteen years ago to raise her three children, Tara utilized her marketing expertise to initiate and implement successful fundraising campaigns for juvenile diabetes and her local school district, generating over $110K from her initiatives. Simultaneously, she continued her work as a marketing consultant for various clients, including start-up organizations, musical entrepreneurs and New York based non-profit groups.
However, working alone, without a proper support system, forced her to choose between successfully maintaining her family responsibilities or pursuing her professional passions. Of course, her family won out.
After gathering nearly 40 women from her town into her living room to discuss the pursuit of their business dreams one February morning, Tara realized, immediately, how the development of BIG could provide better balance, more personal fulfillment and a sense of intellectual camaraderie that had been missing for most of her adult life. It is a concept that she has been driven to share with women around the country.
An accomplished public speaker, Tara brings her B.I.G. message to women throughout the country. In addition to serving as the face of the B.I.G. organization, she has spoken for the Boston College Council for Women in both Boston and New York City; has been a featured panelist at the New Jersey Conference for Women; the New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs Women’s Entrepreneur Series and has been a keynote speaker for organizations including New Jersey’s Middlesex Chamber of Commerce.
Today, B.I.G. has over 1,100 members in more than 50 local communities across six states and the journey continues…..