Meet Andrea Worldwide | Event and Social Media Staffing Founder/Owner & Investor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrea Worldwide and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrea, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
To me what matters most in my daily life and especially when running my business is the value of integrity. I work in an industry with high turnover that hires hundreds of brand ambassadors, models and influencers for one-time jobs, and many companies in this space have given their talent an unprofessional and dishonest experience. This causes a lot of hesitancy and pessimism from talent when accepting a job from an agency like Marquee that they maybe haven’t heard of before. I possess high moral standards that I learned from my parents while growing up, and that I witnessed from them in their professional (and personal) lives, no matter who was watching. My father ended his career as a small business owner where his honesty and moral compass were so very clear to me. I stick to the rulebook, follow contracts to a “T” and always pay our talent what they are owed, even if a client declined to pay us. My professional reputation is just that important to me.

I carry this value through my daily life and into my other businesses. If I say I will do something, I will do it, and I will do it the right way. I believe we live in an age where reliability and follow-through is so rare. To me, a considerable piece of having integrity is not just doing the right thing; it is follow through and execution of what you said you would do.


What should our readers know about your business?
I started my business on a whim. I was working a minimum hour job at a hotel with an MBA. On the side I would work promotions in order to make ends meet. I had recently moved to San Antonio and was having a hard time with the promotional agencies there that I was finding. A couple in particular were scamming young women into working for free. They tried to do it to me and I saw right through it.

I got fed up, quit the hotel job and opened my LLC online the next day (Marquee Image Models and Promotions, LLC) for $308 on a credit card that I didn’t have money to pay. I had absolutely no leads for clients so I started going out with friends and networking. A few prospects didn’t take me seriously, and tried to connect me with their current agencies so that I could “be a promo model” with them. I remember saying “no, I want to run the show.” I set up meetings and hustled until I landed a San Antonio campaign with a liquor distributor out of Texas. They were “testing me out” because I gave a lower price than their normal agency. I was up for the challenge.

Around the same time, I started networking with local bars and began putting on fashion shows for them every few weeks. I would round up some local models, a fashion designer, a photographer and put on a show for the crowd. I’d take a small cut from the door/bar and pay the models, and have something left over for myself.

Once the liquor promotions in San Antonio started going well (and I passed the test), I got asked if we could cover Austin events as well. And then Houston. Then Dallas. I was able to raise my prices as many campaigns came from corporations with big marketing budgets. Before I knew it we were covering events in Arkansas and every big city in Florida. I just never said no. I would fly to each city for brand trainings and generally would have no money to really cover it. My credit cards were maxed out for years. I even borrowed credit cards from my father because my limits weren’t high enough to cover all the liquor we had to buy. We’ve now staffed events in every big city of the United States. We’ve worked with global brands on huge campaigns!

To say this was easy would be a lie. Difficult is an understatement. I pulled all nighters for years. I cried many real tears when I couldn’t pay my electricity bill or put gas in my car. Try being maxed out on $50K plus on credit cards, owing $100,000 in bills to staff and having clients on Net 30 terms pay at around the 90-day mark. I overcame this by persisting. By never giving up. By never saying no. By always finding a solution. I also had a badass of a dad who wanted to see me succeed, and he carried me through a few of the choppy waves. I think the biggest thing I take away from starting a business: with necessity, you make it work. I don’t believe in having a business as a “side hustle” with the “real job” still paying the bills. I don’t think that nurtures growth; it’s just a cushion to not be as impactful and successful as you could be. Also, I believe in getting my hands dirty. I have worn every promo uniform under the sun, have been in every bar on a late night passing out shots, and have covered every shift day or night when needed in order to keep the business afloat.

For the past 4 years, my company has gotten into the virtual space. Now most of our brand ambassadors/models are working online doing short video and live streaming on different social media apps. We help them grow and build careers on social media, which they can do from anywhere. This embodies my lifestyle of being location independent and has become the true branding of Marquee. I will say that I could not still be doing this going at the pace I was in the beginning. I spent the first 8-9 years hustling and hustling and hustling. I don’t feel like I really “made it” until the past few years. I’ve been able to automate the business so that I have balance in my life and I can also work from ANYWHERE, REMOTELY, and I’ve been able to pursue other business ventures for the past few years, including helping develop and design Airbnb construction in Puerto Rico, getting heavily involved in the stock markets, cryptocurrency and blockchain investments, as well as investing in some start-ups and hedge funds. I’m also beginning to do some travel writing while I travel most of the time, and plan to plan some spiritual/yoga retreats as a new business. I believe that travel is the best education, and Earth is my office. 🙂

Most proud moments:

1) I remember one day sitting at a restaurant in Miami. I had a printout of about 13 pages of events sitting in front of me, along with a cold Corona, salt and lime. I was on call for Memorial Day. We had 99 events that day!

2) I ran one of the first fashion shows for the Inauguration of Fashion Week (Fashion Group International) to San Antonio.

3) I directed The Scorpions Girls, a team of brand ambassadors to San Antonio’s first ever professional soccer team, the San Antonio Scorpions.

4) I directed a fashion show at the San Antonio Youth Summit (charity).

5) We have clients now from all over the globe including Singapore and Japan. We have staffed virtual talent in South America, UK/Europe, Australia/NZ, US and Canada!

6) I am co-owner of seven amazing properties in Puerto Rico where I was able to contribute to much of the interior design, finishes and decor.

7) Being able to take trips around the world and have businesses that I can fully manage on-the-go!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Tim Ferriss The 4 Hour Workweek (book)

This book was such great encouragement for a life that I was already attempting to live, but I felt like an outsider. It helped me to fine tune some of my processes and have a more fulfilling work/life balance.

Website: https://marqueeimage.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrea.worldwide/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreaworldwide