Meet Brandi Barr of Above Barr Marketing, Baseball Paaralan (in association with BP GRIT)

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandi Barr.

Hi Brandi, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a native of the Phoenix metropolitan area. When I was growing up, I was always athletic, artistic, good with computers, and considered an extravert.

From the athletic background, I grew up at the softball fields and played baseball/softball from the time I could walk. This continued all through elementary school where I played in recreational leagues, club softball, and on to the middle school and high school softball teams. Then when I was 19 my father asked me to be one of the coaching assistants for his Major’s Little League team. He had a 10-year-old girl on his team of boys, and he thought it would be good for her to have me to relate too. Besides playing, I had also helped with my brother’s teams, in addition to supporting him so I thought why not. I was fortunate during this time to be a part of a coaching staff for the Tournament of Champions team and a Major’s All-Star team. As I got older and started to have my own children, I took a step back from coaching. It wasn’t until my youngest son started to play baseball that I got reengaged. I did not coach him when he played t-ball and machine pitch (I thought I was too competitive). But for the past three years, I have been his Little League Manager – player pitch (AA) to minors (AAA) to majors. In addition, I have been the 9U TOPS and 9-11U All-Star Coach. As he began to play club baseball, I would also help from time to time. Then in May 2022, my brother, who is a Varsity Head Coach at a local high school, decided to add a baseball club program to a current organization in north Scottsdale. I continued to help coach and oversee the back end with the parents.

This brings me to my artistic, good with computers, and considered an extravert background. Growing up, I was always into art coupled with an act for public speaking. For example, from the time I was in 4th grade and later 5th grade, we had a Toastmasters program. I was selected to give one of my speeches in a competition (on my pet hermit crab) where I won 2nd place in the state. I learned how to type at an early age, I dare even to say on a typewriter. This led to taking different computer classes in middle school (worked on the first school planner) and high school. From this experience, my aunt offered me a job when I started college. She thought I was good with computers and because of my personality I would end up in marketing. This job is where I learned a lot in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint; Adobe Pagemaker, and Corel Draw. This would be the start of my now 25-year marketing career, all while attending college at Arizona State University (ASU). Here I went from working part-time and school full-time to working full-time, school part-time. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies. When I graduated, I had 6 years of marketing experience and realized I didn’t want to move to another profession and start over.

I thought staying in this profession allowed me to use my competitive athletic personality with my artistic traits – I like winning. This is where my two worlds came together. Being involved in sports and having a marketing career focused on architecture, engineering, and construction are two both male dominated areas. However, my love of sports did make it easier for me socially with my career. I venture to say I’ve seen it all in the realm of professional marketing. I’ve had roles being the sole marketing person, regional marketer, national marketer, and global creative director. In each of these roles I learned perseverance, patience, communication styles, and how to be a leader. At one point, I was with a company for 15 years and thought I would be there until I retire. I was in corporate marketing for five years. I had never been someone who was good at corporate politics or in a sense always being expected to say yes without question. I knew I was good at my job and didn’t want to be limited to most of my day being surrounded with bureaucracy. This led me to start my own marketing company – Above Barr Marketing (March 2023).

This led me to today where my baseball and professional career collided. Due to the network I developed over my career my marketing business has taken off. Then in late 2023, my brother was offered from his mentor to take over a baseball club. My brother wanted me to partner with him not only for my sports background, but for my business knowledge and experience. Now I get to be involved in both baseball and professional marketing which I wouldn’t have ever expected was the next part of my journey after leaving the corporate world. Above Barr Marketing is growing quickly and about to hire staff and I am a part owner of a non-profit club baseball program which will field seven teams in our first year.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road has been up and down. When I started my marketing company, it was first a direction I never thought I would go. The hardest part for me was not immediately having, or being in the execution phase of, actual project work. My initial focus had to be on the back end of the business and designing my website and establishing the financial side. I have been very fortunate and thankful for my network. Without them, it wouldn’t have been as easy to have the work backlog. The baseball business was initially thought as going to be an easy road. However, the challenge was getting all of the 501(c)3 approvals in a timely manner. This was of the utmost importance as our teams were wanting to participate large national tournaments that are expensive which require fundraising. The lesson learned from this process is to always cross your t’s and dot your i’s and be patient.

As you know, we’re big fans of Above Barr Marketing, Baseball Paaralan (in association with BP GRIT). For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
At Above Barr Marketing, our approach is simple:

Strategize. Create. Elevate.

We start by strategizing with our clients to develop a comprehensive understanding of their business, goals, and target audience. From there, we create customized marketing solutions tailored to their unique needs and objectives.

We have the creativity and technical expertise to execute these strategies flawlessly, creating compelling content, eye-catching designs, and effective campaigns that get results. And as we continue to work with our clients, we constantly evaluate and refine our approach, helping to elevate their brand and drive even greater success.

Baseball Paaralan is designed to provide a positive and challenging experience both on and off the field. Baseball Paaralan is also home to BP GRIT (GRIT). A 501(c)(3) Organization focused on the development of youth baseball players. Our core objectives and intent include:

Positive atmosphere.

Learning how to handle adversity.

Developing baseball skills on the field.

Teaching the player to clearly communicate in their daily lives.

Being a positive and supportive teammate.

Staying in the moment and enjoy the challenge each one brings.

Understanding we have control over our attitudes.

Developing the attributes of class, character, and commitment.

Being grateful of the freedoms and opportunities living in the USA provides us.

Developing life-long friends and relationships.

Engage with passion and dedication on the field.

Transform your skills into strengths off the field.

Every moment spent at GRIT is a step towards greatness.

Embrace the journey, push boundaries, and redefine limits. Your story at GRIT is one of growth, resilience, and triumph.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
The most common advice I share with people is to work in an industry before you go out on your own. I can’t tell people enough that my network has been the key to the success of my business. I would also share that I never thought my love of sports would overlap with my professional career. My journey is proof to never say never. Lastly, I couldn’t do this without my support family (husband, daughter, two sons, and Frenchie (Sheldon)).

Contact Info:

• Website: www.abovebarrmarketing.com and www.baseballpaaralan.org
• Instagram: baseball.paaralan and above.barr.marketing
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558610307262
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/above-barr-marketing and linkedin.com/in/brandibarr
• Twitter: BP_GRIT

Image Credits
David Ritchie (D480X)