Meet Marta De Movellan

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marta De Movellan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Marta, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

Throughout my career, whether during employer reviews or being interviewed for a job, I have consistently been described as “scrappy” and “adaptable.” I completely attribute that to my Dad.

When I was a kid, and I complained that I wasn’t capable of doing something, my father would simply answer, “Sahara Desert.” And what he meant by that was, if I was entirely alone in the Sahara Desert, how would I figure it out?

Before you paint my father as an unloving, heartless man (quite the contrary – he’s the best), this response generally applied to a lazy request for help opening a stubborn jar lid or reaching something on a high-up shelf. Nevertheless, the lesson stuck and has carried over into so many facets of my life.

That learned ability to come up with creative solutions in new situations has been key to my success. Not only as a full-time employee; but more than ever when I started my own business and had nobody to rely on but myself.

And it continues to circle back every time I encounter a new challenge, whether that is in business or life: What would I do if I were in the Sahara Desert?

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

After spending almost 15 years in the art world, working in marketing and communications for auction houses, art fairs, museums, and commercial galleries in New York and London, I decided to start my company, Studio Movellan.

In the art world, I was dealing with very expensive, unique luxury assets, but marketing with limited budgets, small teams, and juggling many projects across multiple time zones. This experience gave me a wide knowledge of social media, websites, events, email marketing, SEO, advertising, and public relations, which I feel uniquely positioned me to effectively support small businesses with their digital marketing.

Studio Movellan’s goal is to provide accessible and maintainable guidance and tools for small business owners to grow audiences, increase engagement, and build visibility. We believe it is vital to have a consistent and comprehensive online presence.

In addition to services like audits, social media management, and website builds, our most popular offering is The Social School. The Social School is a group coaching program designed to equip small business owners with the essential techniques and strategies to optimize social media platforms for their business.

Social media is essential for growing a business, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming or time-consuming. We believe that success comes from building a strong foundation on each platform—things like creating an optimized bio, producing engaging visuals, writing compelling captions, and using hashtags strategically. The Social School offers a framework to build an effective social media presence for your business without feeling burnt out or overwhelmed.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The first two are networking and not being afraid to put yourself out there. Unless you tell people about what you do, how are they supposed to know? I’ve been very fortunate that the majority of my business has come from word of mouth from family and friends, client referrals, or networking. When I first started my business, I joined local organizations that I felt were reflective of my ideal customer and tried to go to every single meetup, and it definitely paid off.

The third is avoiding perfectionism. It is one of the biggest killers in the early days of a small business. You don’t need a perfect website and logo to start; you don’t need to re-record your Reel a million times until you feel it’s perfect; you just need to do it.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

I LOVED Atomic Habits by James Clear. While it’s more of a personal development book, I think it has had the most impact on my business. So much of owning your own business is self-motivation and discipline. Especially in the early days, unless you have a business partner, there is no one else to back you up if you’re having a slow day. You need to promote your business, you need to serve your clients, and you need to manage your business. It’s a lot for one person, and I felt that Atomic Habits gave great advice and insight on creating more structure in my daily life, which has massively benefitted my business.

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Image Credits

Photo: Elyse Theriac @elysemariephoto

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