Bratface: [brat-feys] noun – a term of endearment used towards the people in your life that you love that just seem to drive you a little batty every now and then.

- Urban Dictionary

We first spoke with Andrea Baxter last year about the remarkable story of Smart Cookies, the first company that she co-founded.  Today, she’s back to talk about her latest business venture, Bratface Marketing.

Andrea knows the importance of investing in your story, brand and identity, and understands the exponential benefits of pulling a great team together to do so.  She is passionate about marketing as an outlet for her creativity and her ability to connect others.  Here, Andrea tells us about branching out on her own.

Loaded Bow:   How did Bratface come to be?

Andrea Baxter:  Prior to Smart Cookies, I worked in marketing and I was painfully missing it.  It’s a real creative outlet for me.  Also, an important part of the Smart Cookies philosophy is about making more dough, so I thought what better way then to work in my area of expertise?  I still had contacts in the industry, and was doing projects here and there, so creating a marketing company just made sense.  I love working in a team, but it is also really exciting to be able to make decisions independently and one I can call all my own.

Inevitably, I’m asked about the name!  I wanted a name that would reflect my personality, my culture and my history.  Bratface is a term commonly used in Newfoundland where I was born.  It’s actually in the Newfoundland Dictionary (yes, we have our own dictionary)!  Bratface was one of the nicknames my father called me when I was being a bit cheeky.  That’s special to me because my father is not only my business mentor, but someone who I am very close with and have a great deal of respect for.  He was very successful by 28, but he was always very fair and very modest. Bratface was a good fit because it balanced being conservative, having fun and was true to my playful nature.  It adds just a touch of smartass as well! 

LB:  How will you market Bratface?

AB:  It has been a very organic process.  My contacts have been a really valuable source, and I have been able to benefit from word-of-mouth marketing.  I am so thankful that I kept my foot in the door, while staying under the radar!  Networking continues to be really important.  And of course, it’s important to implement social media marketing initiatives through blogging, Facebook and Twitter. For any small business getting off the ground, these are great outlets to use where you can get access to so many business people.

LB:  Bratface is still a very young company.  What have been some of the challenges you’ve experienced so far?

AB:  Sometimes companies can be hesitant to bring fresh blood into the organization.  People can ask for help, but can be reluctant to give up control.  Trust and confidence are really important to help people let go.  I seek to put together the best team that I can for my clients.  A lot of it is about project management, and I’m up front about that. If I know people that can help me with a certain project who are more qualified, I will bring them on board. Its the best way to highlight people’s talent and let them take the lead.

LB:  What draws you to marketing?  How did you get into it?

AB:  Let’s be honest: marketing is the underdog of every company, but we need to spend money to make money.  It isn’t an instantaneous process, but one that is an important investment and one that will always be needed. Period.

I am really passionate about the creative process, and it was my father who really encouraged me to work in a creative field.  I always thought that I would go into medicine – I actually studied Art History, American Literature and Biochem in university!  so when I ended up in marketing as my profession, I don’t think a lot of people were surprised.

LB:  What do you see in Bratface’s future? 

AB:  I would like to keep it small – an intimate, boutique agency where I am able to focus on a few, select clients.  I also love to move between industries because I have been fortunate to work in so many different ones, but I also want to stand apart in my industry.  My goal is to stay self employed for as long as I can because once you have been bitten by the entrepreneur bug, you want to stay there!

And we have no doubt that she will!  Keep reading for a taste of what Bratface has to offer and to follow Andrea online!

Corporate Identity & Brand Standards

Every company should have an identity that is easy to recognize and association with and by the public. Its the ‘persona’ of the company/brand. This can be displayed through the logo, brand colors, and any type of marketing they promote to the general public. For example, part of Nikes corporate identity is their ‘swoosh’ logo and McDonald’s is the golden arches. If a company has done a good job at exposing it properly through various marketing, sales and PR channels, their consumers should be able to identify their brand just by looking at the logo.

A brand standards guide is a very standard visual guide for a companies internal use only. This maps out the entire brand of a company from logo and logo color variations, to basic logo application, correct and incorrect usage of a logo/brand, correct fonts and its usage and much more. The manual can be a small or very large, depending on the companies branding guidelines and company size. It is typically used as a guide for all employees (especially the marketing/design team) to understand how the companies brand is properly represented and displayed to their target customers/consumers and general public. With my extensive background on branding, I know how to build a standard brand manual from scratch that encompasses the companies creative vibe and personality so it is illustrated and explained professionally.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

This is a fairly new(er) term and not your traditional type of marketing. SEO is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results.  Search engines would be Google or Yahoo. The main purpose of SEO is to ensure that your company name and all terms related to your service or product, is at the top of the list on these search engines. It can be quite a costly method of marketing, depending on how many terms you want to searched via the search engines. However, some websites hit the top of the list organically due to media attention or word of mouth. I have worked with companies with extensive SEO/SEM needs ranging from smaller budgets of only a couple hundred dollars to companies with budgets of over $500k and over hundreds of key search terms.

Lastly, all of the links you can include in the article of where to find me!

LinkedIn

Facebook Fan Page

Twitter

Bratface Site

 

This morning I woke up to a big spike in our number of visitors.  It was a nice way to start the day, but I didn’t have a clue where the sudden interest was coming from.  It turns out that LOADED BOW was featured in the Smart Cookies’ column in the Metro. 

The Cookies are a force to be reckoned with.  This group of 5 young friends formed a money group, pulled themselves out of debt and built an impressive list of assets in under 2 years.  They were featured on Oprah, and have gone on to have their own television show, newspaper column, and book.  They are breaking down the taboo of talking about money, and provide solid advice on how to take control of your finances.

So where does LOADED BOW figure into this?  Well, besides the fact that the Smart Cookies’ tag line is: be smart. be rich. be fabulous. (kidding!), the latest Cookie column was focused on factors to think about when you are searching out a mentor.  In addition to advising seeking out a traditional mentorship program and tapping into your network, they also suggested turning to blogs – in this case LOADED BOW – for information and inspiration.  I agree. 

I believe that mentorship relationships can exist on multiple levels and in multiple directions, and that we can – and should – turn to different people for different needs.  I also feel that the value of peer mentoring is often overlooked and undervalued.  By hopping online and searching for blogs that are relevant to your interests and industry, you can often find the advice that you are looking for.  If you find a blogger that you really connect with, don’t hesitate to contact them and say as much, because virtual relationships frequently go “offline” and you never know what doors may be opened for you.

I was honoured to be able to interview Andrea and Robyn of the Smart Cookies earlier this year, and will stay tuned for the launch of their blog, because lord I could use more of their advice!

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The Smart Cookies

If you have not yet heard of this amazing group of women, please let me introduce you! Andrea Baxter, Katie Dunsworth, Robyn Gunn, Sandra Hanna and Angela Self are the Smart Cookies. Consider these numbers:

$45,000. The debt they collectively paid off.
$42,000. The savings they collectively accrued.
$140,000. The collective increase in their salaries.

Impressive, indeed. Mind blowing when you consider that they did all of this in less than 2 years. In 2006, these ladies came together to form a money group and take control of their finances. Their personal achievements are clearly admirable, but the Smart Cookies have taken their club a step further to create their own thriving company.

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Andrea and Robyn to discuss the Smart Cookies business.

Loaded Bow:  Smart Cookies had a very public debut with your appearance on Oprah! This was not the beginning of Smart Cookies as a business though. What would you consider your launch? How did you transition from a personal money group to a formal business?

Smart Cookies: Well, I’m not sure that we ever had an official launch! We incorporated last summer, but we had made the decision to treat Smart Cookies as a business right from the beginning. We were always brainstorming how we could bring in revenue for the group and actually turn it into a viable business. There was a point at which we were talking about starting to walk dogs to make money for Smart Cookies!

We also talked about being on Oprah – joking, but serious – right from the start. We would say things like, “Oh, when we’re on Oprah, we must remember to tell her this…”!

Katie secretly submitted our story to Oprah. Her background is in PR and so she really excels at clearly and persuasively outlining the main points. Katie described how we had been inspired by an Oprah episode called America’s Debt Diet in 2006, and the results that we achieved from coming together as a group after that.

Three of us were working at the same company, and when Katie mentioned that Oprah’s producers had called, we just assumed that they had wanted to talk about our employer! We were so excited when we found out that they were actually calling about Smart Cookies!

Smart Cookies on Oprah

LB: How did that experience affect your business?

SC: Things moved so quickly after that! Jean Chatzky, an Oprah financial contributor, was on the show that day and she invited us to speak on her Oprah XFM radio show. Afterwards, she suggested that we write a book and that she would put us in touch with her literary agent, who has worked on some major projects including the South Beach Diet publications and the Shopoholics series. We weren’t sure if she was serious. But sure enough, she connected us!

When we arrived home, we didn’t even have a website for people to go to. The next day we bought the URL, popped the site up up with a “Comeback soon!” note and a generic email for people to contact us at.

LB: What advice would you give other women on the brink of launching their businesses?

SC: We believe pretty strongly in the principal of The Secret, the Law of Attraction.

LB: Well, it’s obviously working for you!

SC: I would highly recommend making a vision board for your business. That has been a really powerful tool for us.  We have personal vision boards and one for the business.

Also, mentorship has been incredibly important for us. Our mentors have provided us with amazing advice and knowledge. We have also established a Board of Advisors to help to guide the Smart Cookies in our future. These are individuals who have a strong background in strategic planning, finance and law, so that has been really valuable. Don’t be afraid to talk to people and ask for their help.

Finally, make sure you are turning to the experts. For example, we went to experts for branding and website design to help us with find the look that spoke to us and for us. We took out a business line of credit to develop Smart Cookies as a business.

LB: It’s amazing that you have 5 founders! What are the biggest benefits and challenges of working with friends?

SC: It has actually been a lot of fun!

From the very beginning we have been really open with each other. That was one of the benefits of starting off as a money group. At our first meeting we just put everything out there for each other to see! There has always been a great deal of trust. We are also very honest with each other, but that honesty is based in respect and kindness. Sometimes you have to say things to your business partners that you wouldn’t necessarily say to a friend and you have to make sure that it will be received well.

Katie, Sandra, Angela, Robyn + Andrea

Make sure that each person is doing what they are good at and honour their talents. It doesn’t make sense to put people in positions where they might struggle or not even enjoy. We have each found our niche in Smart Cookies and we hold each other accountable in these roles.

Every six months we go on a retreat together. We lock ourselves in a hotel room in Whistler and strategize where the business is going, how to get their and lay out any current issues within the company and group. Highly recommended!

LB: You have multiple projects on the go and have had careers outside of Smart Cookies. How do you balance it all?

SC: It was a lot! But it always feels different when you are working for yourself, it is so rewarding. We are very lucky to have a profitable company this early in the game, so we were able to quit all of our full time jobs elsewhere.

Robyn was working at Children’s Hospital and had just finished her Masters in Social Work when we made the transition to full time with Smart Cookies. And I (Andrea) had finally reached a place in my career where I was happy with the level at which I was working. So, on the one hand it was difficult to leave for Smart Cookies, but it was where our hearts were and we don’t regret a thing!  Now we can’t see ourselves working for anyone else!  Our parents were a bit freaked out though!

LB: They must be so proud of you now though!

SC: I (Robyn) feel like my other work is an outlet now. I do some contract work occasionally and I can really enjoy it because it is not something that I have to be doing.

LB: With the launch of your new Smart Cookies television show and the pending publication of The Smart Cookies Guide to Making More Dough (September 30, 2008), you have experienced amazing successes in an incredibly short amount of time! What are your long term goals for Smart Cookies?

SC: Well, we are really excited about our book right now! Jean Chatzky is writing the Forward. Thankfully, Jennifer Barrett, an Editor at Newsweek Magazine in NYC,  helped us to write it otherwise we would still be on Chapter 1! We will eventually like to have a series of books including a Smart Cookies guide to weddings (Katie recently paid for her $22,000 wedding in cash!) and a Smart Cookies guide to real estate (Angela is also a real estate agent), and more.

We would like to see the Smart Cookies television show be picked up by a network like Oprah’s new OWN Network or one like TLC in the USA. Our speaking events are expanding which is really exciting as well.  We want to start out by speaking to young, vibrant, employee-driven companies so they can be smart about their money and take advantage of their employee benefits.

Eventually, we would love to go international. How cool would it be if we could franchise?  That is a very ‘big picture’ vision, but something we would not be scared to pursue.

Honestly, we never dreamed that it would have gone this far. 

During both my meeting with Andrea and Robyn, and a Smart Cookies speaking event hosted by Young Executives for Success, I was so impressed by their passion for their work. Despite their amazing success, these women have all remained down to earth and in-check with what really matters. I am looking forwards to seeing where Smart Cookies takes them next as I have to doubt that it will be to great places.

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