If you’ve been following my blog over the last couple of months you may have noticed a sprinkling of Andrea’s name here and there and you may even have wondered why I seem to mention her so frequently – well today, after months of (my own) procrastination, I am finally getting round to this long over due blog post and will be introducing you to this insanely creative lady.
Who is Andrea Barras…
Andrea describes herself as a ‘graphic designer who helps clients build their brands through creative design work…’ but in my eyes she gives way much more than this service. With each and everyone of her clients she goes above and beyond, providing them with a hand to hold during the branding process.
In her own words she says ‘I love to involve my clients in the process and I love to talk about the business side of things – to share my own learnings, to help them streamline their own processes and generate new ideas and leads. I like to do more than expected and when I really gel with a client, the relationship often turns into a friendship – I follow through and support them along their entrepreneurial journey and making these sort of connections is very important to me’.
Working with Andrea is ‘so much more than just making you brand look pretty’ it’s about communicating the important information that your customers need to know. Andrea says it’s about ‘looking at how your business functions as a whole, making sure that the work I do for you is ideal for it’s intended audience’. She goes onto say that if the right points aren’t communicated ‘a pretty graphic is only going to get you so far!’.
Her experience & business lessons..
With the experience she has (10 years in the industry, 5 years of freelancing experience and a degree in Journalism specialising in Communication design) you can understand why she is so amazing at what she does but it still comes with it’s wishes, challenges and lessons. Her biggest challenge is time, or lack thereof. On a daily basis she juggles the needs of her two beautiful little girls, her clients and her other business – You Biscuit and on a very regular basis I find myself wondering how she manages to do it all and still be the fantastic mother she is?! Ands you really are true mummy inspo!
Through trusting her gut Andrea knows whether or not a project or client is right for her but on the odd occasion she has ignored it and pushed through with the job only to have to learn the lesson all over again. Ands’ mantra or motto ‘Don’t force the vibe!’ is something we often find saying to each other and her advice of how listening to your inner voice will save you the unnecessary stress down the line is priceless.
As freelancers we’re constantly learning some big lessons, one in particular that Ands has learnt recently is to stop doing work for free! She says ‘it undermines your confidence and the more you giveaway the more people will expect that of you. You attract what you put out into the universe – the clients will often be cheap and good at taking advantage of you but by valuing your time and skills more you will attract the customers who respect that.’
You Biscuit…
At the tender age of 11 Ands discovered she was a serial entrepreneur, always looking out for the next big thing. Towards the end of 2014 her ‘next big thing’ was only an idea but in true Ands style she acted on her idea and You Biscuit was born at the beginning of 2015 – just ahead of the massive adult colouring trend! You may remember my endless hours of colouring fun I had in April?!
Her inspiration for You Biscuit came from the many years of living in London and the heightened sense of patriotism you seem to get for South Africa while living over there – I’m sure many expat South African’s can relate to this. Ands says that ‘even though living in South Africa comes with many highs and lows she still loves everything about it’ and she hopes that her posters portray the huge love she has for her country and seeing so many of you, from all over the world, enjoying her posters has given her absolute joy – ‘Nothing beats receiving a photo from a happy customer!’.
In just a few short months You Biscuit has grown in popularity and is excitedly up for an award at this years Hello Ambassador conference, please show Ands and You Biscuit some love by placing your vote today.
If you’d like to find out more about Andrea and how she can help you grow your business be sure to check out her portfolio site, Clever Bird Banter blog or You Biscuit website for further details.
This is just lovely I love the work that you both do independently and together and the wonderful friendship that shines through
Thank you so much Veronica! I think we really need to organise a KZN networking morning so we can all meet each other!!!
Lovely! You two are the best and I would be lost without the both of you! X Great post Nix xxx
Thanks my darling x