Today we’d like to introduce you to Clara Baldwin-Dickneite.
Hi Clara, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I got my start in marketing much earlier than most. At sixteen, I wasn’t chasing a career, I was trying to create stability for myself and my family. We were leaving an abusive household, and I turned to entrepreneurship as a way to help us rebuild. What began as survival quickly turned into something bigger. I realized I had a knack for helping businesses grow through digital marketing, and I used those early ventures to put myself through college.
That experience is what shaped not just my career, but the way I approach every client and project. It gave me grit, empathy, and a sense of responsibility to use my skills for something meaningful. It also led me to start Peace Over Pieces, a nonprofit for survivors of domestic abuse.
After earning my degree in marketing, entrepreneurship, and computer science from Westminster College, I officially founded Ground Plan Studio. I wanted to create a boutique digital marketing firm that offered more than surface-level support. Too many business owners I spoke to had been burned by agencies that treated them like just another account. I wanted to build something personal, rooted in transparency, strategy, and true partnership.
Now, over a decade later, I’ve been fortunate to work with brands at every stage—from startups finding their footing to multi-seven-figure companies ready to scale. My work has been featured in Forbes, I was named a Top 100 Marketing and Advertising Leader by MADCon USA, and nominated for Business Woman of the Year. Today, I lead a small but powerful team that includes a former Meta and Google strategist and an incredible designer. Together, we bring both creative and data-driven precision to every project.
At the heart of it all, my story comes back to partnership. I don’t see myself as just a marketer. I see myself as a right-hand partner for the businesses I work with. When I step into a project, I treat it like my own. And after nearly 11 years, that personal approach is still what drives me every single day.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. For as long as I can remember, my world was shaped by my dad’s physical and mental abuse toward my mom, my siblings, and me. When we finally escaped, it felt like everything was crashing down around us. I barely made it to college. I took out loans, showed up to move myself in with nothing but a blanket, and even forgot a pillow. That moment summed up how rough those years were, scraping by and trying to hold on to the belief that things could get better.
Even after making it through college, the challenges didn’t stop. I graduated, landed my first corporate job, and thought I was finally on solid ground. But the pay was low, and on New Year’s Eve, I was let go. I remember feeling completely defeated, like I had worked so hard to get out of survival mode only to be right back at the bottom.
It was at that lowest point that I decided to start Ground Plan Studio. What began as a leap of faith became the most defining decision of my life. I poured everything into building a business that not only supported me but also gave me a way to create stability, growth, and opportunity for others. Every setback taught me resilience, and every challenge became fuel for building something meaningful.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work has always had two sides to it, and both come from very personal places.
Peace Over Pieces is the nonprofit I started to give survivors of domestic abuse the resources, support, and community I wish my family and I had when we were rebuilding. What began as a simple idea has grown into a platform with a book, a podcast, and a social community that now reaches over 50,000 listeners each month. The podcast has become a place where survivors and advocates can share stories in their own words, offering not just education but also comfort and connection to those who feel alone. The book is a more intimate extension of that work, pulling together experiences, lessons, and insights in a way people can carry with them. And our social presence keeps the conversation going daily, creating a space that is raw, real, and, above all, safe. What I’m most proud of is that Peace Over Pieces doesn’t just talk about survival, it’s about reminding people of their worth and showing them that healing and thriving are possible.
Ground Plan Studio is the other side of my work. It’s my boutique digital marketing firm, and in many ways, it grew from the same roots—turning struggle into strategy, and empathy into action. I specialize in social media, paid ads across Meta and Google, and long-term growth strategy, but what really sets us apart is the way we partner with our clients. I don’t believe in faceless agencies or one-size-fits-all marketing. Every brand I take on gets my full attention, backed by a small but powerful team that includes a former Meta and Google strategist and a brilliant designer. We’re known for building roadmaps that actually work, content that truly reflects the brand voice, and campaigns that deliver results without losing authenticity.
What I’m most proud of brand-wise is that Ground Plan Studio has become a trusted right-hand partner for founders and teams who need someone in their corner who cares as much as they do.
Together, these two pieces of my professional life, Peace Over Pieces and Ground Plan Studio, reflect the same core purpose: helping people and organizations grow stronger, whether that means healing from trauma or scaling a business.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
With digital marketing, AI has already changed everything. Over the next 5 to 10 years, it will completely reshape how we think about search engines, Google, and even how businesses communicate with their audiences. I think AI is beautiful when it has ethics built into it. I wish more people realized how much it can improve not only business but also everyday life when used the right way.
I’ve also noticed a big shift in the industry itself. Companies are turning away from large agencies more than ever, and rejection of those models is getting higher. Business owners are tired of being passed around, of not knowing who is actually working on their account, or of being charged without clarity or care. That’s why, in my personal opinion, the only sustainable way forward is to be extremely hands-on. I never want to farm out client work to third parties or treat marketing like an assembly line.
Because of this shift, I’ve added AI services to my own offerings, not as a replacement for real partnership but as a tool to help my clients move faster, smarter, and more strategically. At Ground Plan Studio, my role as a fractional CMO supported by highly skilled specialists allows us to step in wherever the gaps are. Whether that’s strategy, ads, or creative execution, we can fill those needs without losing personalization. I see the future of this industry being less about mass production and more about meaningful, intentional growth powered by a balance of human expertise and AI innovation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gpsmarketing.info
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clara.baldwin
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077838757337
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarabaldwin/
