Today we’d like to introduce you to Marielle & Michelle Helland.
Hi Marielle & Michelle , thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
(Marielle Story)
I was born in San Diego, California, and raised in Bergen, Norway. I grew up within the Norwegian school system, which wasn’t great. You knew early on that if you didn’t get good grades, you wouldn’t have a great career. School was a huge struggle for me, and I always needed to be in special classes to get extra help. Going to school was my least favorite activity. (I was later diagnosed with dyslexia and dyscalculia, but this wasn’t discovered until after I finished school.) My teachers knew I had struggles but never bothered to get me diagnosed.
It was difficult watching my friends breeze through their schoolwork and get amazing grades with barely any studying. I knew I was different from my friend group. They knew exactly what they wanted to be when they grew up, what college they wanted to attend, and had it all planned out.
For me, my options were very limited. But I felt there was more for me out there; I just had no idea what that was. I remember telling my closest friend that my dream was to become a wedding planner. She laughed and told me that wasn’t a career, just a hobby. So I never felt comfortable sharing my “wild ideas” with my friends.
In 2018, my younger sister Michelle and I had enough of the Norwegian school system and limited career options. We decided to travel back to the US and enroll in school here instead. We enrolled in Santa Barbara Community College, still unsure of what we wanted to do but determined to find out. Settled into our tiny studio apartment, our parents had just traveled back to Norway, and we were on our own. I had a tiny voice in my head saying this still wasn’t it, but I ignored it because we had just made a massive leap.
Due to our dual citizenship, we had to apply to Santa Barbara as Americans, not Norwegians, and enrolled through a Norwegian exchange program. Because of this, we didn’t get support from Norway, and when we started enrolling in classes, all the ones we wanted were already taken. We were devastated, and the thought of taking science and math (which we both flunked in Norway) was really something we didn’t want to do.
We took the bus from the college to downtown Santa Barbara and sat at a cute cafe with our laptops, trying to figure out our next steps. While sitting there, sipping iced coffee and watching the sunset over the mountains, I thought it would be nice to make money from our laptops.
That evening, back in our tiny studio apartment, we felt defeated and wondered what we were going to do. We had traveled across the world, taken out student loans, and now faced the prospect of continuing with classes we hated.
A couple of hours later, I was randomly scrolling on Facebook when an ad popped up: “How to start your brand and website design business online and travel the world.” Something clicked in me like never before: “THIS IS IT!” This is what we were supposed to do! We joined their 3-day free email challenge and were SOLD. We took the leap, dropped out of college, and got our tuition money back, which we used to enroll in online courses. That’s where our journey and our business were born.
Today, my sister and I have our design business, Elle & Elle Design Co. We help female photographers and wedding professionals build and scale their businesses through soulful branding and website design. It took years of online courses, blood, sweat, and many tears to get to where we are today. But we are so grateful we took that leap.
(Michelle Story)
I always knew I was different from the others in my class. I was the one who flunked tests and never got good grades. Everyone knew what they wanted to do with their lives, but I didn’t. I was scared because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t have the grades to go to a Norwegian college. I felt stuck. I wanted more than my friends and the 9-5 grind, but I didn’t know what.
One day, my sister and I moved to the USA and got into Santa Barbara City College. I was so nervous and scared. I thought this was the answer, but I was wrong. We got stuck with math and science classes again. One night, Marielle was scrolling on Facebook and found an ad for “Create Your Brand And Web Design Business.”
Something sparked in me! I was so excited because I’ve always been good at art and design. These were the classes I had in design school in Norway. We applied, got our tuition money back, and signed up for the online classes to build our own online business!
It was scary because I never had the best confidence, but I knew it was right for me. It took me a long time to get where I am now, but I made it!
After many courses, I’m now a brand strategist and graphic designer! It was a long and hard road, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m truly happy with my job now, can make my own schedule, and have the freedom to do what I want.
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?
It has not been a smooth road. I think when people say they started a business and made six figures that first month, they are not telling the full truth. When we entered the online world, we only heard the glamorous stories about making six or seven figures in the first few months. When we didn’t see that success as quickly, we went through all the emotions—are we doing this right? Maybe we are not cut out to be business owners?
Running your own business is hard! Anyone who tells you otherwise is not being 100% honest. We have been working hard to build our business, gain trust from our clients, and grow. That’s the real truth. I love the opportunity to write here about the honest truth so others starting their online journey aren’t blinded by all the shiny and glamorous things.
It takes time to grow your business, gain trust, and spread your name. If you are patient and understand that things take time when starting your own business, you won’t experience the emotions of wondering what you are doing wrong all the time. It’s such a fun experience to be able to work from anywhere and make money doing something you love. There is a lot of hard work that goes with it, but it’s definitely worth it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My sister Michelle and I have a brand and website design studio called Elle & Elle Design Co. We help female photographers and wedding professionals who are struggling to show up authentically online and develop their personal brand and website so they can reach their dream clients. We believe that your brand and website should be aligned with who you are and that it should reflect the unique value you bring to the world. Your brand should shine through as your unique self in a way only YOU can do. Your website will be a reflection of your unique personality and your dream clients will find YOU and want to work with only you because of that!
We are definitely most proud and honored to have helped so many amazing women grow and scale their businesses with branding and website design.
We believe what sets us apart is our personality and how we communicate with our clients. When hiring or working with someone, don’t you want to have fun conversations and feel like you’re working with a good friend? We truly believe the right clients will come when you let your true personality shine through.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
When building our business, we used service exchanges to create our portfolio and gather testimonials. This was a great way to start. After that, we began getting paying clients who saw our work from those service exchanges. Referrals are definitely the biggest part of our marketing. Also, if you find someone in a niche that you want to reach, you can collaborate with them to get in front of their audience.
Pricing:
- Branding Package ($2,500)
- Website In Two Weeks Package ($3,500)
- Branding & Website Design Package ($5,500)
- Website Audit ($450)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://elleandelledesignco.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elleandelledesignco/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elleandelledesignco/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@elleandelledesignco
