One of Sarah (Mills) Bacehowski’s personal guiding principles is to leave a solid and positive legacy behind for her kids. That’s what her mother did for her, and her desire to pay it forward drives her goal to succeed.

However, Bacehowski didn’t always know she would follow in the footsteps of her mother, Becki Drahota, founder of Mills Marketing.

“Growing up, I had no idea what my mom did,” Bacehowski said. “I thought she worked at a bank, so never in a million years did I think I would be leading her company or doing what I’m doing today.”

Drahota founded the company in 1975 at age 23 after moving back to Iowa from Denver, Bacehowski said. The company, though it offers a wide array of marketing and public relations services, exclusively serves financial institutions. 

“She worked for a big advertising agency, and her No. 1 client was a credit union,” Bacehowski said. “So, when she and my dad moved back to Iowa, she tried handing off the account, but they said it wouldn’t work. They told her to go back to Iowa, start a company, and they would be her first client.”

After a two-year stint in New York City after college, Bacehowski and her husband moved to Portland, Ore. Unable to find a job that fit her needs, she opted instead to do freelance work for Mills. 

“It sounded good, and I thought I could learn a lot because my mom is an amazing person and coach and mentor,” she said. “I was still pretty new in the work world, and I thought it would be a great opportunity.”

Bacehowski did that for six years before she and her family returned to Iowa in 2007 and her mother offered her a job as public relations director for the company.

For close to a decade and living in Des Moines, Bacehowski worked for the company out of her home. She transitioned through responsibilities including copywriting, account management and eventually vice president.

But as two additional people were hired to assist her in the Greater Des Moines area, Bacehowski said something had to change — at least logistically. 

In June 2014, the Des Moines office of Mills Marketing opened, and Bacehowski dove headfirst into entrepreneurship. It fits her strengths, she said, when looking at the business development side. However, those things not in her wheelhouse — managing employees, real estate negotiations, finances and general leadership — have presented a learning curve she’s faced head-on.

“There’s no manual for this,” she said. “You just do it and learn as you go, and every time you do it, you learn something new. … What I’ve learned throughout this process is to let numbers and data drive your decisions. You need the heart and the passion, but ultimately the numbers need to lead you in the direction to go.”

Challenges in starting the Des Moines office were more about  learning the “soft side” of things, Bacehowski said. The company’s flagship office is in Storm Lake, but the Des Moines office was treated as a brand-new entity. She had the opportunity to create a new culture in Des Moines, while getting standard processes on par with the Storm Lake office.

The team Bacehowski hired is one of her biggest successes, she said. The Des Moines office, as of Sept. 1, will have a staff of seven people, bringing the company roster to 14. 

“I would say the team we’ve built is pretty extraordinary,” she said. “We have some amazing talent and such a strong and defined culture and personality in this office. You would know it the minute you walk in the door.”

While Bacehowski describes the Des Moines office as “her baby,” about a year ago she transitioned into the role of company president, as her mother had outlined in her succession plan. 

So, technically, the entire company is now her baby.

“My mother is still strategically involved (as CEO), but the entire company is now under my management,” Bacehowski said.

What’s next for Mills Marketing? They’ve already outgrown their space between Grand and Ingersoll avenues, and Bacehowski said she’s signed a lease to move into a bigger office a ways up Grand. 

Starting the Des Moines office of Mills Marketing — and stepping up to lead the company — has taught Bacehowski that she’s “tougher than she ever thought possible.”

“I’ve always been a risk-taker and a relatively confident person, but to do this, you have to be mentally tough,” she said. When you start a business, there will be days you feel like you’re getting gut-punched from one side to the next all day long, but to get up the next day and still have enthusiasm for what you’re doing — that’s been a real lesson.”

Q&A  

What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken?
The biggest risk I’ve taken was moving back to Iowa and making this my career. It wasn’t risky, truly, but it was a huge commitment. It meant this was now my business, and I couldn’t back out.

What’s your guiding principle?
Do the right thing, even if it’s the harder thing.

If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing?
I would be at home driving my kids nuts. I’d be working on my tan and getting fit and doing all kinds of other things I can’t do while I’m at work. But I would also own a winery, no question.

What frustrates you?
Anything slow. I like fast movement and results. I don’t like to leave a meeting without a hard conclusion. Slow movement really bothers me; fine details really bother me. I’m a big-picture person.

What was your first paying job?
I was a DJ at KAYL-FM, the radio station in Storm Lake. I did that all through high school.