By Amanda Weber -

Returning to the Communications Building was like a flashback for Andrea Heuston (BA, 1997). Heuston had come back to her old stomping grounds to participate in a panel for Professional Development Week on Jan. 27: “Turning Entrepreneurialism into a Paycheck.” While many things have changed in her life since she had last stepped foot in CMU, she found that other things have stayed the same.

“It was weird to be back. The building smells the same, and I still remembered where the bathroom is!” She also remembers attending her favorite courses in the place where she began her journey into the professional world. “Nancy Rivenburgh taught a course in cultural communication. She was just fantastic.”

Today, Heuston has accomplished a lot, which made her the perfect candidate for speaking to a group of communication students. She works full-time as the CEO and Creative Principal of Artitudes Design Inc., her graphic design firm that she established in 1995. She hosts the popular radio show, “Artful Moxie” on KKNW, all about pushing past obstacles and learning from others’ experiences.

She is a board member with Olive Crest, a foster parent and adoption nonprofit organization. Not to mention, she’s also a full-time mom to two little boys, and a loving wife.

It’s amazing how much she is able to put on her plate, and still manage everything successfully. Heuston says what pushes her forward is her love for what she does. “I think if you love what you’re doing, you figure out how to do it all,” she said. Her passion for art was recognized recently when she was named one of five finalists for the 2010 Women Business Owners’ Nellie Cashman Award. She was honored as one of the 2009 “Top 40 Business Leaders Under 40,” by the Puget Sound Business Journal, and most recently Artitudes Design Inc. was named a 2011 finalist for Small Business Center of the Year, by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

But her path hasn’t been an easy one, and she’s had to learn to adapt along the way. When Heuston started her graphic design business, hiring employees was an area of business that she hadn’t experienced before, and that put her in some tough situations. “When I first started hiring people I clearly didn’t know how to do it. My first hire actually stole from me. My second major hire had an anger management problem and she ended up throwing a chair at a freelance employee. I’ve learned since; it just took some time to figure it out,” she said with a chuckle.

In 2008, Heuston became so ill that she fell into a coma for three weeks. Being a woman who was always in control of everything in her life, it was difficult for her to realize that she could no longer hold the reins to every project. “At the time I went down I did everything. To be able to step back and let others do their job well was difficult for me,” she said. “You think you’re infallible and then you realize you’re not.”

Because of these obstacles, Heuston says she has gained a new perspective on life as a whole. “I had a mind shift, that life is really what you make of it. I was a high-stress person. Everything had to be my way, in a certain way, and I learned that it couldn’t be that way.”

Heuston has learned over the years that attaining success in all areas of life is like walking on a balance beam, especially for a full-time professional, and mother of two. “My kids are exceedingly important to me, so I make time for them. My 9-year-old was here in the office with me this morning because I needed a little extra time with him,” she said. “There are those days, of course. The week before last I had 31 hours of meetings, and I hadn’t even worked on Monday because it was Martin Luther King Day! You have to look for balance. We have a beach house, and when I need to renew we’re out of here for the weekend.”

Artitudes Design Inc. also puts on an art docent program for elementary school students called Artitudes in Action, an idea Heuston came up with in 2006. “I brought it to the table in my office and said ‘Why don’t we create the lesson plans, gather the supplies, and put art back in schools?’ It’s really been well received. We have six classrooms so far this year,” she said.

The students adore the projects that are taught by a number of the Artitudes employees. Torn paper self-portraits, and yarn basket weaving, which turn out to be “great Mother’s Day gifts,” are among the most popular crafts. Heuston hopes to grow the program into a non-profit to be able to reach more children. “We get kids from all parts of the school, actually stopping us in the hallways saying, ‘When are you going to teach art to me again?’” said Heuston. “It is really rewarding.” The program won the company and international Stevie Award for Community Involvement Program of the Year.

With everything she does, there’s no question that Heuston has earned the precious time at her beach house, but there’s no stopping her. In the future, she hopes to write a book on her experiences in business and life and go on the speaking circuit, inspiring others to realize their potential. Heuston said, “To be successful you have to be able to redefine success every so often. That definition changes with culture, environment, economics, and everything else. For me, success is being happy doing what I’m doing, and doing what I want to be doing.”