Have you ever felt like you or your business has been trapped “in the wrong story”? Have you ever wondered about the possibility of being someone else? Maybe you’re wondering what sort of legacy you or your business is leaving behind. Let me begin by saying, I know how you feel. Let me introduce myself: my name is Eleanor Anne Dote, but you can call me Ellie. I spent the first 40 years of my life as Darryl Dote, the name under which I performed many shows, accompanied many church services, and designed many pieces for churches, businesses, and organizations all over California.

I’ve spent the last two decades of my life intrigued by marketing and design, beginning with my 8th grade year when I joined the yearbook and journalism team at my school. My interest in design really took off with the arrival of Photoshop and PageMaker in our high school computer lab, and from there “the rest was history.”

In 1995, I got my first job out of high school – as a boat driver and storyteller at the Happiest Place on Earth. There, I experienced firsthand the power of immersive storytelling and learned how different ad campaigns and designs reach different audiences and how each theme draws on a different emotion to connect and bring stories to life. I watched as parents passed on their stories to their children and grandchildren, and the wide-eyed wonder as these children took it all in for the first time. It was truly a magical experience, and one that taught me a lot about who I wanted to be as a professional.

After spending 18 years in the Catholic communities of my upbringing – where I had been playing the piano and helping to develop liturgical experiences for several years – I converted to Evangelical Christianity, where I began eagerly working with a crusade ministry and church who exposed me to what it meant to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It was there that I learned the value of listening and of working hard to connect with your audience and using that to “preach for a decision” effectively and with results.

Fast forward to today, and after a stint in Anaheim, a brief amount of time at a popular coffeehouse with an all-too-familiar green logo, several experiences at various churches, and several years working for a web design firm, I have arrived here – launching my own business doing what I love to do best – working with people to help tell their stories and effectively use the tools at hand to guide people through effective messaging, branding, and design to results. More than a business, though – it’s about learning what makes your heart beat in the morning (other than a good cup of coffee) and passing that experience on together to your audience. Shall we take that journey together?