We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marelly & Joshua. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marelly & Joshua below.

Marelly & Joshua, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Well, we both are very creative people. I, Marelly, have always been interested in photography, design, and content creation. However, I never really took the chance to learn more about it, since I was very focused on being a full-time student-athlete. Fast forward , I took on a job in college during my Junior year as a Social Media Manager and Website Coordinator. That year I invested into buying my first camera as well. I learned a lot while on the job, and from there I went on to forming part of the Creative Marketing Team at the university I was attending at that time. Because of these jobs that I have had in the past, I was able to learn a lot from people that were more versed in the industry than I was. I went from a freelance photographer to helping people know how to create, market, and promote their brand through social platforms and websites.

I met my husband at the university, and surprisingly he was a business major. His passion for learning the principles of economics were an asset to starting up Schneider Creative Studios. This is a reason why I believe that we make a great team! Without him, I would not have known how to properly structure my craft. We probably would have not done anything differently to speed up the learning process because that is exactly what a process is for, and we had to trust the process to get here. As for skills, the most essential ones we possess are most likely time-management, customer relations, and communication. For example, when dealing with customers’ orders, we have to make sure that we can perform and deliver their content in a timely manner.

Moreover, with any kind of start-up, you are going to have your obstacles. Some of ours looked like financial limits and limited resources. Despite these parameters, we always try our best to do a little bit more research on how to make things possible for our clients. At the end of the day, the satisfaction from customers makes it all worth it.

Marelly & Joshua, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Schneider Creative Studios is a service that provides creative content creation in form of photography (sometimes videography as well). The areas of photography that we focus on are headshots, portraits, couples, family, maternity, events, and creative sessions. We do not limit ourselves to these umbrellas, we are always open to hearing how we can assist our clients and bringing their visions to life. Along with providing professional images to customers, we have also expanded our business to website design and social media management, and customized apparel.

We believe as the world continues to shift its sales and marketing from physical locations, we are here to support those decisions. The main problems we solve for our clients are their photography needs, and creative art which can follow the capturing of the photo, such as graphic design, social media marketing/management, website design/coordination, and any other visual creative ideas.

What sets us apart is our love for God and people. We are firm believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we strive to serve our customers with a grateful heart. Our mission is to help businesses succeed by teaching them how to use the resources available to them to market their ideas. Our vision is to make a positive impact on our clients, so that they can excel whenever they choose to take the next step on their own.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I (Marelly) believe that the biggest part of our story is the fact that I am NOT from the US. I was born and raised on the beautiful island of Curacao in the Dutch Caribbean. I came to the US specifically for continuing my education and sports career. However, obviously I met my husband in college, and we got married in 2023. Honestly, being from a different country isn’t always easy. For example, English is the 4th language I was taught when growing up, so sometimes it may be hard understanding or explaining oneself in a distant tongue. Yet, love is a very powerful thing because if you truly want something in your life, you will do anything to make that dream become true. Being a business owner now in the US has given me the confidence that I am able to start a business anywhere in this world.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

We think that the most rewarding part of being a creative is when we get to hear back from our clients, and they tell us how far our creativity has taken them. I (Marelly) have had a couple client whose portraits ended up being published on their books they wrote or organizational brochures. In other instances, I was also able to take on the role of being the Media Director and taking the Lead at certain events, and in these moments, I get reminded of how big of an impact we are truly making and how far we’ve come.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/schneidercreativestudios/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/104019365/admin/dashboard/

Image Credits

All photos have been taken and edited by Marelly Schneider-Balentina, Founder of Schneider Creative Studios.