We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ellie Miller a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ellie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

How Did You Learn to Do What You Do?

I fell into web design by necessity. As a new mom juggling diapers and midnight feedings, I needed a website for my therapy practice. With barely any free time, I found myself diving into the world of web design during those precious, quiet moments. It became a sort of escape, and I realized I genuinely enjoyed the process. I started redoing my own site regularly, purely for the fun of it.

Knowing What You Know Now, What Could You Have Done to Speed Up Your Learning Process?

In retrospect, I could have saved myself a lot of time and stress by taking a structured web design course or two, rather than piecing everything together on my own. Joining a community of web designers early on would have been a game-changer too—getting advice from people who’d been there and done that could have saved me from many late-night “why isn’t this working?!” sessions.

What Skills Do You Think Were Most Essential?

Design Eye: Understanding what looks good and why was crucial. This includes layout, color schemes, and typography.
User Experience (UX): Making sure websites are not just pretty but also functional and easy to navigate.
SEO Basics: Knowing how to make sure my websites were found by search engines.
Client Communication: Learning how to talk to clients and understand their needs, which is just as important as the technical stuff.

What Obstacles Stood in the Way of Learning More?

Time, or rather the lack of it, was the biggest obstacle. With a baby and a practice to run, finding uninterrupted time to really dig deep into learning was tough. It was also easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information and not knowing which resources were the best.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hey there! I’m Ellie, and I help therapists and coaches create stunning, effective websites that connect them with their ideal clients. My journey into web design began out of necessity when I had to create my own website. I was a new mom with barely any free time, but I found myself using every spare minute to play around with web design. I fell in love with the process and regularly overhauled my site monthly. Realizing this wasn’t the best use of my time, I decided to branch out when others started asking me to design their sites.

What I Offer
I offer web design services and products made just for therapists and coaches, including:

-VIP Day Website Design: You pick a website template, fill in a couple workbooks, and I’ll put everything together for you in a day. Giving you all the resources you need to maintain and grow it.

-Fill-in-the-Blank Copy Workbooks: These workbooks help you DIY your site content with ease and authenticity. Like mad libs but for your site.

-Website Checkup: I’ll analyze your current site and give you detailed feedback on how to refresh it and make it work a little harder.

-Template Shop: A shop full of customizable squarespace website templates designed specifically for therapists and coaches.

What Sets Me Apart
I combine a deep understanding of the therapy and coaching industries with a passion for design. My goal is to create websites that not only look great but also build trust and connection with your clients before they even walk through your door.

What I’m Most Proud Of
I’m most proud of the positive impact my work has on my clients’ practices. Helping therapists and coaches attract and connect with their ideal clients is super rewarding. I’m also proud of the balance I’ve managed to strike between my professional and personal life, making time for my family while growing my business.

What You Should Know
Authenticity Matters: My work is all about helping you show up authentically online. Your website should reflect who you are and how you can help your clients.
Client-Focused Design: Every decision I make is centered around what will work best for your clients, making it easier for them to find and connect with you.
Continuous Growth: I’m always learning and evolving to offer the best services and tools to my clients.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Lesson Unlearned: You Don’t Need to Be an Expert to Branch Out

For the longest time, I thought that without being a coding wizard or having formal training, I couldn’t possibly create a professional website. Imposter syndrome had me convinced that I’d never measure up to those with degrees in computer science or years of experience in the tech world.

I have huge respect for those with formal web design and coding skills—their expertise is invaluable. However, what I learned is that passion, creativity, and a willingness to learn can also lead to great results. This led me to develop a unique process for website design that focuses on authenticity, client connection, and effective communication, without the need for advanced coding.

Now, I provide VIP Day website setups and detailed website checkups to help others create and refine their online presence without the tech stress. The best part? My approach empowers therapists and coaches with less web design experience to continually update and tweak their own sites. They don’t just get a beautiful website; they also gain the confidence and skills to keep it fresh and relevant.

So, if you’re thinking you can’t branch out into a new career or creative business because you’re not an expert, think again. You absolutely can. Passion, persistence and an excitement to keep learning can take you a long way.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

One resource that has significantly impacted my entrepreneurial journey is “Radical Acceptance” by Tara Brach. This book has been a total game-changer for me, especially when tackling tasks that push me out of my cozy introverted bubble, like anything that feels sales-y.

Radical Acceptance really drives home the importance of acknowledging and embracing all our emotions, even the tricky, uncomfy ones. It’s been a great reminder to make room for these feelings and keep sight of the bigger picture. Those small acts of discomfort are ultimately in the service of something much greater—getting to do work that genuinely excites me.

(I know, I know, this is such a therapist answer.)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.elliemillerdesignco.com