Influential Woman · Small Business Owner

Michelle Dickman

Director of Child Care, LaPorte Community School Corporation

Laporte, IN

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Associate's Degree in Education (completed in 11 months Degree 2018) Degree Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education (completed 2021) Degree Western Governors University (WGU)

Her Story

About Michelle

I take care of my businesses and my employees, making sure everybody's at work on time, everyone has all the supplies they need, nobody's called off, and I handle ordering supplies and payroll. I also make sure our social media is updated and check emails and responses. One of my most notable professional achievements is restoring a Valentine diner that was falling down, run down, and ready to be torn down into a coffee shop called The Brew Box. I was able to see a vision for what it could be and took it to the next level. We've been open since November 24th, 2025, so not very long, but still going strong. I'm currently the Director of Child Care for La Porte Community School Corporation until June 30th. What I love most about being a business owner is the connections I make with the customers, getting to know them on a personal level, seeing our regulars, and being behind the scenes of what's going on in the business. I also opened up a frozen yogurt and ice cream shop with my daughter, and in 2023 I purchased the building to do a coffee shop and actually opened 2 coffee shops on the same day in two different locations.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Michelle

01What do you attribute your success to?

I think I was influenced from my parents. They had a pizza shop. My dad also had a side business of doing cement, concrete work. And they both, my parents also worked full-time while doing that. So just seeing that, and knowing that you can manage more than one thing at a time.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

Just go for it. Hard work does pay off. Both of those. Don't be afraid.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

Go for it. Take the chance. You can always change what you're going forward if it didn't work. Learn from your mistakes, but you can't always go backwards and say, 'Oh, I wish I would have started that, or I wish I would have did that.'

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

I get pushback from a lot of people about how do you do it, you have too much going on. The pushback is, until you walk a day in my shoes, you don't know what I have going on. I can take on whatever I want, and I can not take on whatever I want. So I get very frustrated with that, because everyone's built different. So if you have one job, that's great. But I don't. I have multiple.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

At work, I would say trust, honesty, and hard work. And I think that kind of is the same for my personal life, too.

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