By: Karra Barron

Andrea Baxter is one fearless chick. Sitting down with her, as she keeps warm with a pink cardigan and a mug of hot chocolate, you might not immediately pin her down as a force to be reckoned with. But by the end of our interview, it became clear that if you give Andrea any challenge, she will jump on it, rope it, and tie it down faster than you can say “calculated risk taking.” In fact, she’s so gutsy, she says she could leave everything behind today to start again in New York (her dream city) with nothing but her “tenacity, drive and business cards.”

And while she is well-known for being one-fifth of the Smart Cookies empire and principal of her own boutique agency, Bratface Marketing, Andrea actually has another claim to fame that very few people may know about.

Five years ago, as the Senior Commercial Marketing Manager for 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, her dream was to get the company name included in Starbucks’ “The Way I See It” series. At a time when only celebrities and infamous public figures were in the series, it seemed unlikely that Andrea could pull this off. She pushed back relentlessly against her skeptics, determined to get this big win for her company. It took months of hard work and persistence, but then came the day when she surprised everyone- including company CEO, Brian Scudamore- with one of the biggest successes in the brand’s history: Andrea had gotten 1-800-GOT-JUNK? on the side of over 10 million Starbucks cups.

“I just kept spreading and sharing [my] vision and ideas. Now I have that to my name for the rest of my career,” says Andrea. Her gutsy attitude and determined spirit led to many more career highlights- including a stint as Director of Strategic Marketing at Blast Radius- before she stepped into the high heels of entrepreneurship.

As a seasoned marketing executive and consultant, Andrea has worked with virtually every industry, from start-up to technology to food and wine. Despite her business savvy and huge corporate successes, Andrea also had an unfortunate addiction to non-fat lattes and shopping sprees that left her with major debt and zero savings. Thankfully, she had Oprah to turn to. Yes. That Oprah.

“I saw an episode of Oprah’s Debt Diet and realized I seriously needed to get my finances in check,” says Andrea. “So, I got four girl friends together, who were also struggling financially, and we worked as a group to start saving and get ourselves out of debt.” One e-mail to Oprah and an appearance on her show later, the Smart Cookies were born.

Since founding the company in 2007, the Smart Cookies have made numerous media appearances, toured throughout North America speaking about their proven system, published two best-selling books, and hosted their own TV show on the W Network. But despite all their success, Andrea missed doing what she loved and decided to go back to what she was most passionate about- marketing.

So in 2009, she started Bratface Marketing, the name of which came from a Newfoundland (she’s a St. John’s native) term of endearment that Andrea explains means “someone who drives you crazy, but you love them so much that you let them get away with anything.” They specialize in providing marketing solutions to franchise organizations, start-ups and mid-sized companies. Bratface offers a range of services that include social media marketing, traditional and interactive marketing, project management, brand development, and planning and strategy.

What does Andrea find hardest about venturing out on her own? “The lack of people. With Smart Cookies, we have 5 of us- 5 opinions, 5 personalities and 5 ideas to consider when making big decisions. With Bratface, it’s all on my shoulders, which is scary in itself, but also exhilarating.”

Andrea still remains part of the Smart Cookies though. She continues to work with the rest of the Cookies to spread their brand, story, and message throughout North America. As for Bratface, she hopes to continue growing the company, eventually penetrating into the US market.

As she takes her last sip of hot chocolate, I ask Andrea what she thinks it takes to be an entrepreneur. She throws out a very characteristic answer, “[Be] always willing to do anything…and keep believing in something even if people don’t understand your vision.” Fearless advice indeed.