Tara Brock – A husband, two kids and a successful career? Time to go back to school.
Tara Brock has learned some valuable lessons working for distributor Land ’N’ Sea.
As RV sales manager for the East Coast, Brock has learned the ins and outs of the RV segment of the distribution business.
Her initial career stop was answering phones for a different distributor, but she spent about 10 years with that company working her way through all of the different departments.
“I liked learning more about the different aspects of all of the business,” she said. “So you understand what one change will do across the company. I worked in the merchandising department. I worked in sales and then came to Land ’N’ Sea six years ago.”
Brock’s background with her first employer set the stage for her success with her new employer.
A proven learner with solid experience, she was given chances to prove her skills.
“When you understand all of the dynamics, I think that’s why we’ve had a really successful go at this,” she said. “We don’t just implement something without thinking about what it is going to do to all of the other departments within the company. You get a lot more buy-in from other departments when you work together.”
So, even with a pretty full plate Brock is looking for more.
She is going back to school this summer as a full-time student studying business analytics and management information systems.
She plans to take four classes a semester in addition to her summer work.
“I have my husband’s support and we have a 12-year-old and an almost 3-year-old,” Brock said. “I wouldn’t be able to do it without their support. I plan to stay here. Brunswick (Land ’N’ Sea’s parent company) is really big about promoting people throughout the company, but also promoting or growing yourself. They have amazing programs in place that help their employees go back to school.”
Brock is investing in her RV career because she said she doesn’t believe the industry to be as male-dominated as it has been in the past.
She said she believes there are plenty of opportunities for women to succeed.
“Find something that makes you happy and a company that lets you be you,” she advised other women interested in the RV industry. “They always used to tell me, ‘Oh, it’s a man’s company.’ That’s not true. Even the scary men who are gruff and rough, they’re somebody’s dad on the inside. Even my most difficult customers had a softer side. If you just stay yourself and stay true to who you are, then the world is yours. You can go anywhere you want to go.”
Brock said her favorite part of her job is her customers and the people she works with.
She said the relationships she has been able to develop are like an RV family to her and she regularly stays in contact with people who have moved on.
She said she believes the future of the industry is bright, even with a tough economy on the horizon.
She credits the outlook people gained while dealing with COVID shutdowns for her perspective on the future.
“We have all these new families that camp now. They’re teaching their children to camp. We’re not just so much the snowbirds who are coming down to camp – the older retired people – now we have all these new families,” she said. “Families are going to have kids and they’re going to teach their kids. They are getting out in nature and away from the computers and they are getting to know each other again.”