Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandra Baas.
Hi Sandra, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in the Netherlands, but I have spent most of my adult life living and working in different countries. Spain was home for more than 25 years, and later I moved to the United States.
My career has never been one straight road. I have always followed what interested me, what I wanted to learn, and sometimes simply where life took me.
I started in hospitality and worked for different hotel chains in Europe, including Sol Meliá and Hilton. I worked across guest experience, front office, entertainment, team leadership, weddings and events. Hospitality taught me to observe people closely. What they want, what they do not say, and all the small details that shape how someone feels about an experience.
Later, in Madrid, I co-founded Baasgalgo, a nonprofit dedicated to rescuing Galgos, the Spanish greyhound. It became a huge part of my life. We built fundraising campaigns, adoption programs, sponsorships, events, celebrity calendars, exhibitions, and e-commerce.
My background in marketing and PR shaped much of what we built at Baasgalgo, from the brand identity and campaigns to sponsorships, events, e-commerce, and product development.
I also designed gold and silver jewelry using pearls and gemstones, all incorporating the Galgo symbol, with production between Spain, Mexico and China. I created a line of products especially for Galgos too, including winter coats, raincoats, sweaters, collars and dog beds.
The Galgo symbol became part of the identity across the jewelry and accessories, and I saw firsthand how powerful a brand can become when people recognize it, understand what it stands for, and feel emotionally connected to it.
After moving to the United States, I spent more than a decade in luxury retail, working with Carolina Herrera, Camilla, Neiman Marcus, Dolce & Gabbana, Chopard, and Christian Dior.
Luxury retail taught me a completely different side of people. Someone can have the money, love the product, and still walk away. Trust, connection, timing, and how someone feels with you matter enormously.
Eventually, I knew I wanted another chapter, so I went back to college and studied digital marketing.
That gave me a deeper understanding of how brands show up online, while all my previous experience had already taught me how people connect, trust and make decisions.
I kept seeing the same thing. Some incredibly experienced founders were respected in real life, yet when you looked them up online, their presence did not reflect their level of experience. Their website, LinkedIn profile, or messaging often made them look smaller, less clear, or less established than they really were.
I understood that gap immediately.
That became Baas Studio.
Today, Baas Studio brings all of those chapters together. I work with experienced founders whose reputation in real life is often much stronger than the way they show up online. I help them clarify their voice, messaging, positioning, and story so people can understand their value before they ever get on a call.
That matters more now than ever. People are researching you before they contact you. They are looking at your website, your LinkedIn profile, your content, and deciding very quickly whether you feel credible, relevant, and right for them.
I know what it feels like to have years of experience that are difficult to capture in a few lines online. That is exactly the gap I help close.
Looking back, all those different careers make sense to me now. I have always been interested in people, identity, beauty, trust, communication, and what makes someone choose one person, one product or one brand over another.
Today I bring all of those years of experience together in one place.
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?
I have started over more than once, in different countries, different industries, and at very different stages of my life.
Every reinvention comes with a period where you are experienced, but somehow feel like a beginner again. You know a lot, yet you still have to prove yourself in a new environment. That can be humbling.
Moving countries also meant rebuilding networks, adapting to different cultures, learning how people do business, and sometimes leaving behind things I had already built.
Another challenge came when I moved from luxury retail into my own business. I had spent years working face to face with clients, where trust was built through conversation, observation, service and relationships. Online, that trust has to be created in a very different way.
When I started Baas Studio, I had to learn how to make myself visible in a different way. I already had years of experience building visibility, campaigns and recognition through Baasgalgo, but this time my own name, ideas and point of view were at the center. That felt very different.
Building a business has also taught me that experience alone does not automatically bring clients. People have to understand what you do, why it matters, and why they would choose you. I have had to work through that in my own business while helping clients do exactly the same.
There have been moments where I questioned the direction, changed things, tried again, and learned the hard way. I still do.
I think that is part of why I understand reinvention so well. I have lived it many times. Starting again does not erase everything that came before. You bring all of it with you.
Baas Studio is where I bring together everything I have learned about people, communication, branding, trust and visibility.
I work with experienced founders and business owners who are very good at what they do, but whose online presence does not fully reflect that. Their experience is there. Their reputation may already be strong. Yet when someone lands on their website, LinkedIn profile or content, that depth is often missing.
My work focuses on brand voice, messaging, positioning and storytelling, and I work in English, Spanish and Dutch.
I help people become clearer about what they want to be known for, how they talk about their work, and how to communicate their value in a way that feels natural, credible and true to who they are.
What sets me apart is the mix of experience I bring into the work. Hospitality taught me how to read people and understand experience. Marketing and PR taught me how to shape a message. Baasgalgo taught me how to build emotional connection around a cause and a brand. Product design taught me about detail and identity. Luxury retail taught me about trust, relationships and decision making. Digital marketing gave me the online tools to bring all of that into today’s world.
I also bring an international perspective. I have lived and worked across different countries and cultures, and I can work with clients in three languages.
I am especially drawn to people who have built real experience over many years and now find themselves at a point of change. Maybe their business has evolved. Maybe they are repositioning. Maybe they have outgrown the way they have been presenting themselves.
That is where I do my best work.
One of the things I am most proud of is helping someone finally see the value in their own story. Often they are so close to their experience that they do not realize what makes them different. I can usually see the thread, the strengths and the parts worth bringing forward.
My services include brand strategy, messaging and positioning, brand voice, storytelling, content direction and private strategy sessions.
At the end of the day, I want someone’s online presence to feel like the same person you would meet in the room. Clear, credible, experienced and unmistakably their own.
One thing I have learned through all these different chapters is that reinvention does not mean starting from zero.
Every career, country, business, client, success and mistake adds something. I still use things I learned in hospitality, Baasgalgo, product design, luxury retail, marketing and PR in the work I do today.
I think a lot of experienced people underestimate how valuable that combination can be. They look at their career and see separate chapters. I tend to see the thread connecting them.
That is also something I love helping other people uncover. There is often much more value in someone’s story than they realize. Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to see what has been there all along.
I also believe very strongly that it is never too late to choose a new direction. Experience gives you something to build from. You can evolve, change your mind, create something new and still carry everything you have learned with you.
As you know, we’re big fans of Baas Studio. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Baas Studio is where I bring together everything I have learned about people, communication, branding, trust, and visibility.
I work with experienced founders and business owners who are very good at what they do, but whose online presence does not fully reflect that. Their experience is there. Their reputation may already be strong. Yet when someone lands on their website, LinkedIn profile or content, that depth is often missing.
My work focuses on brand voice, messaging, positioning and storytelling, and I work in English, Spanish and Dutch.
I help people become clearer about what they want to be known for, how they talk about their work, and how to communicate their value in a way that feels natural, credible and true to who they are.
What sets me apart is the mix of experience I bring into the work. Hospitality taught me how to read people and understand experience. Marketing and PR taught me how to shape a message. Baasgalgo taught me how to build emotional connection around a cause and a brand. Product design taught me about detail and identity. Luxury retail taught me about trust, relationships, and decision-making. Digital marketing gave me the online tools to bring all of that into today’s world.
I also bring an international perspective. I have lived and worked across different countries and cultures, and I can work with clients in three languages.
I am especially drawn to people who have built real experience over many years and now find themselves at a point of change. Maybe their business has evolved. Maybe they are repositioning. Maybe they have outgrown the way they have been presenting themselves.
That is where I do my best work.
One of the things I am most proud of is helping someone finally see the value in their own story. Often they are so close to their experience that they do not realize what makes them different. I can usually see the thread, the strengths, and the parts worth bringing forward.
My services include brand strategy, messaging and positioning, brand voice, storytelling, content direction and private strategy sessions.
At the end of the day, I want someone’s online presence to feel like the same person you would meet in the room. Clear, credible, experienced, and unmistakably their own.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
One thing I have learned through all these different chapters is that reinvention does not mean starting from zero.
Every career, country, business, client, success, and mistake adds something. I still use what I learned in hospitality, Baasgalgo, product design, luxury retail, marketing, and PR in my work today.
I think a lot of experienced people underestimate how valuable that combination can be. They look at their career and see separate chapters. I tend to see the thread connecting them.
That is also something I love helping other people uncover. There is often much more value in someone’s story than they realize. Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to see what has been there all along.
I also believe very strongly that it is never too late to choose a new direction. Experience gives you something to build from. You can evolve, change your mind, create something new, and still carry everything you have learned with you.
I have reinvented myself more than once, and each time I have taken more of myself with me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sandrabaas.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandrabaas
