Who you're hiring
Twenty years came before this. Ten in technical support, explaining technology in plain terms. Ten more doing the marketing inside a custom home building, real estate, and land development company. Now both go into Melsmark, a business I'm building on kingdom principles. I work out of East Bethel and build for small businesses across Minnesota.
The name
Long before it was a real company, it was a mark I put on the back of handmade greeting cards. I drew them, colored them, and designed every one by hand for anybody I knew. And on the back of each one went my mark: Melsmark.
My grandma Deniece noticed. She looked at those cards and told me, “Someday that will be a real company.”
When it came time to take the leap, I didn't have to think long about what to call it. Grandma Deniece had already named it years earlier. She passed before Melsmark opened its doors, so she never got to see it. Her words are the only reason the name exists.
From greeting cards to business cards. Design has always been the constant.
The story
Before I ever picked up a design tool professionally, I spent about ten years troubleshooting technology for real people with real problems. That built a habit that still shows up in every project: start with what the person actually needs, then build toward it, instead of starting with what looks impressive. It is also why I don't make anybody feel stupid for asking what a word means.
Then I spent another decade inside a custom home building, real estate, and land development company in Minnesota, handling the marketing and design. I learned that industry properly. What a buyer looks for in a plat map, what a builder needs a rendering to do, how a development gets sold. What carried over to every other kind of business is narrower and more useful: I know what it costs a small business to say yes to something, and I know marketing has to earn its keep before anybody signs off on it.
I draw and paint when I'm not working, and that's the reason none of this comes out of a template. A plat map gets hand-labeled instead of exported. A rendering gets finished by eye. A website gets laid out by somebody who has spent years deciding where a thing goes on a page and why. Same habit, different surface. That's the difference between work that looks assembled and work that looks considered.
What that means for you
Most of the people who call me have a story about the last person who built them a website. I won't pretend I know your trade better than you do. What I know is what a small business can afford, what it feels like when the person you hired stops answering, and how to ask enough questions to get yours right.
What I stand for
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.”
I work by that verse. It's the standard, not a slogan. Half effort isn't on the table, even when no one but God would notice the difference.
I tell you the truth about whether you actually need me. If what you have is working, I'll say so, even when that means turning down the work.
I treat each project as a gift from God, and not just the dream ones. The small jobs and the hard days count the same, from the first email to the final handoff.
Straight answers, honest timelines, and telling you early when something needs to change. I'll never bill you to watch me spin my wheels.
The test is simple. If I were in your shoes, this is what I'd do. Same care, same attention, same standard I'd want for myself.
Karen Smith
Smith's Spotless Spaces
“I came into Mel's office clueless and frantic to get a website for my cleaning business. Not only was she affordable, she helped me come up with a logo and name with catch phrases. I couldn't have asked for a more professional and helpful web developer. My website was up and running in record time and flawlessly beautiful.”
Kim
KC Boulder Walls
“Mel gets it. She took the time to understand what we needed and delivered something that actually looks and feels like our business, not a generic contractor site.”
Ashley Bradehoft
Learning Explorers Childcare Center
“Mel was incredibly easy to work with, affordable, and honest throughout the entire process. Beyond her excellent web development skills, she also clearly explained SEO to me and significantly improved our new website's SEO compared to our old site.”
SUNjOY Studio
Dance and fitness, Kenyon and Wanamingo, MN
“Mel was such a joy to work with in our studio's website design. I can't rave enough about her attention to detail. She truly understands what users want and excels at delivering a polished product that radiates your brand.”
No pressure and no pitch. If a website isn't the right thing for you right now, I'll say so. I reply within 48 hours, every time.
