Pixie Pickaxe Creative
Supporting service providers and creatives, we believe in efficiency and ease. Services include monthly virtual admin/ops assistance, project management, and system implementation.
Pixie Pickaxe is otherwise known as Andra C. Hermann. Andra partners with you to take your business from chaotic and stressful to calm and enjoyable.
About Andra
I believe a world with more happy & healthy business owners/freelancers/self-employed folks is a more equitable, more just world.
Hi, I’m Andra (that’s pronounced ANN-druh, btw). I use she/her pronouns and I’m the woman behind Pixie Pickaxe Creative.
Every day, I get to partner with amazing-impressive-creative-cool solopreneurs as they create happier, healthier businesses that serve their customers as well as themselves. We all just want to do our best and make our world a bit brighter, right? But working for yourself can be overwhelming & stressful. I strive to bring ease into my clients’ lives by taking admin tasks off their to-do lists and implementing simple but effective systems. I also get to be a sounding board, second-brain, and/or right (or left!) hand lady.
With nearly two decades in support & service roles in various industries (music, beauty, coffee, healthcare, insurance), the common thread in all my roles is supporting others. Apparently, I’m good at it, and—bonus!—I enjoy it. When I’m not working, you can find me [please don’t find me, I need alone time] reading, binging TV, sipping tea, taking a personality test, singing, and/or hanging out with my spouse, two stepkids, and a bunch o’ pets in the Pacific Northwest.
Company Values
These are the principles guide the way I work and what I want to achieve with Pixie Pickaxe Creative.
And yes, I made them into an acrostic with the word pickaxe… because why not?
-
I believe in doing good, working with intention, and doing business on purpose. I started this business to serve and to make the world brighter, healthier, and more equitable. Part of that is my commitment to giving. Each quarter, at least 2% of revenue goes to charitable organizations that align with my values. I also only work with clients who align with these values, so if you’re against things like reproductive rights for all, universal healthcare, protecting trans kids, and police reform/abolition, go ahead and see yourself out.
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose” —Dolly Parton
-
One size does not fill all; there is no one way we all walk through the world nor is there one way to do business. I recognize the many intersections people may live with and how those intersections affect the way we live and work.
I try to use my privilege as a white cisgender woman to support and uplift the voices of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, as well as disabled, neurodiverse, and LGBTQ+ folks.
I am continually learning and unlearning and I mess up. The work is never over.
“No one of us can be free until everybody is free.” —Maya Angelou
-
My clients are not numbers, but people I truly care about. It’s important that I consciously connect with my clients and their values so I can best support them and their missions. Connection through shared values, experiences, and interests leads to better partnerships. I believe in transparency and putting people & planet before profit.
“A conscious business chooses to follow a business strategy that seeks to benefit human beings and society as a collective.” —Kristen Diaz
-
I try to stay away from toxic positivity or surface-level niceness. Practicing kindness, to me, requires empathy, compassion, and depth. It allows room for bad days, for successes as well as failures, and for honest conversations. I try to treat my clients and myself with kindness and respect.
“There’s nothing sexier than kindness.” —Rhys Darby
-
The culture and systems we exist within value productivity over just about everything. I don’t think it has to be this way. I know that many people need to hustle just to get by and we’re stuck in a capitalist society, but I’m an idealist striving for a better balance between life and work (life being very purposefully first in that list) for us all. I wholeheartedly believe that rest is vital and that it should be prioritized.
“You don’t have to grind, hustle, accept burnout as normal, and be in a constant state of exhaustion and sleep deprivation. You don’t have to kill yourself spiritually or physically to live a fruitful life.” —Tricia Hersey, Rest is Resistance
-
Listen, when I said “I’m gonna make an acrostic out of my values,” I knew true success would hinge on finding an X word. And I have to commit to a bit, so no copping out with ex-something. But seriously, this is not a bit, I really believe in the spirit of this weird word. (Defined as “of, relating to, or constituting hospitality or relations between host and guest and especially those from different places of origin” or “warm, welcoming, and hospitable”)
I may be an extreme introvert, but I enjoy spending time with my clients, welcoming them into my world, and forming friendly and genuine relationships.
“One thing I do not have is a quote with the word xenial. I’m doing my best, okay?” —Andra Hermann
-
I’m not going to say working for yourself is easy, but I do believe you can have ease within your business. Yes, we’ll have bad days and failures, but we can get through those times with supportive systems in place – in the form of both tech and people. I want more healthy businesses led by healthy people because that makes the world a better place.
“Striving for success is healthy – but believing you need to succeed the first time around may backfire. Mentally strong people believe failure is part of the process toward a long journey to success. By viewing failure as a temporary setback, they’re able to bounce back and move forward with ease.” —Amy Morin