Andrea Cozier Mclean

I started my journey in entrepreneurship in 2015, straight out of college, at an economic development nonprofit where we taught a 16-week course for business owners, supported them through coaching and consulting, and ran a small co-working space. There I worked with diverse groups of business owners whose ages ranged from 24-65 across all income and education levels.

Some of them had children, some were previously incarcerated, and some were stuck in a cycle of poverty, and I took notes and developed tools along the way. At the same time I became an active participant in the creative community in Newark. As I navigated through the community, I noticed that artists and creatives also needed help being business owners.

At the same time, I started running a co-working space in Newark and my work as a Community Manager introduced me to a new set of entrepreneurs, business owners, and hopefuls with new issues and needs. Once the Covid-19 pandemic began and we shut down, more and more people in my network looked to start their own businesses and reached out to me for help.

I started Pinetart Co and began coaching creative entrepreneurs with big ideas. Word spread and my client list increased to include small business owners opening up new businesses in Newark and larger organizations looking for a community voice with professional experience.

Now, I consult businesses and organizations to bridge the gap between them and the community by offering project management, event strategy, community engagement, and business activation services with a unique perspective and organic approach. My coaching work allows me to connect entrepreneurs to larger organizations in order to create wealth and support the local ecosystem.