Straight answers.

EEBE is one person: me, Ellen Bestland. I design the brand, build the website, plan the content and set up the automations myself. When a project needs a specialist, like a developer or a printer, I bring them in and manage them. There is never an account manager between us.

I build the marketing for owner-operated businesses in Manitoba. The main offer is the Launch System: your brand, website, social presence and the automations behind them, built as one connected piece over three months, then handed to you with training. For businesses that mainly need help with social media, there's the Social Sprint, which runs about a month and a half.

Yes, because I grew up in one. My family ran their own business and I worked in a few others along the way, so I know what it's like when the person doing the work is also the person expected to do the marketing. That's who I build for: people who'd rather be on the job than writing captions. I keep the process short, I don't use jargon, and I don't book meetings during your busy hours.

I'm based in Winnipeg and work across Manitoba. My clients are in La Salle, Starbuck, Steinbach, Brandon, Stonewall and beyond. Rural is not an afterthought here.

No. Farms, trades, food and makers are where my results run deepest, but I work with owner-operated businesses of every kind. If you're a Manitoba business built on real work and word of mouth, you're my kind of client, whatever the industry.

Agencies sell you a team. I build you a system. In my 2026 study of 126 Winnipeg marketing agencies, not one published client results, and most described themselves in nearly identical words. My case studies show the numbers, like 2.49M views and 129% growth, and every engagement ends with your team knowing how to run what I built.

Cormier's Berry Patch reached 2.49 million content views in the 2026 season, with Facebook up 129% year over year. That's the third straight year of growth. Long-form farmer interviews I produced for the Prairie Fruit Growers Association pulled hundreds of thousands of views. Every number comes from platform analytics, and I'll show you how it's counted.

Yes, openly. I build AI-powered systems for clients, including market research, content pipelines and email automation, and I use the same tools in my own studio. The Manitoba market data on this site comes from research systems I built myself. Used well, AI is a tool that saves you hours without costing you your sanity (or your humanity). It does the heavy lifting on the background work. The judgment, the design and the writing stay human.

Half an hour on the phone, or at your shop if you'd rather. You tell me what's working, what's been abandoned and what you're sick of dealing with. I tell you straight whether I can help and what I'd fix first. You leave with a clear next step, whether or not we work together.

Not much. A rough idea of what you need, your timeline if you have one, and any brand materials you've already got, even if it's just a logo file and a business card.

Usually within a week or two of our first call, depending on the size of the project. I take on a limited number of projects at once so I can be all-in on yours instead of stacking it behind three others.

Less than you'd think. A couple of conversations early on, honest answers about your customers, and quick decisions at checkpoints. I do the work in between. Most clients spend a few hours total over the three months, mostly on the phone or computer.

No. That's the most common starting point. Everyone will happily sell you a piece: a logo here, some ads there, a website from somebody's cousin. Figuring out what you actually need and in what order is the job. That's mine, not yours. Tell me what's going on, and I'll map it out.

Your logo in every format you'll ever need, colours, fonts, and the rules for how they go together so everything looks like it came from the same business. You also get business cards, templates for the things you send out regularly, and a short guide so anyone on your team can use it without asking me. The goal is that a stranger sees your truck, your website and your invoice and knows they're the same company.

Then we keep it. The Launch System starts from what deserves to stay. Several of my favourite projects were evolutions rather than replacements. The goal is a presence that matches your quality, not change for its own sake.

If you're asking the question, you probably already know something's off, and that's not a skill problem. You're too close to your own business to see it the way a stranger does. Either way, the logo is the smallest part of the job. What matters is whether the whole picture makes people trust you before they've met you.

Only if we let it, and we won't. Corporate is a choice, not a side effect. A good rebrand makes you look more like yourself, not less: cleaner, more confident, and consistent everywhere, but still recognizably you. One of the first things we do when starting a launch is get clear on your style preferences.

Yes. I design for the people who already trust you as much as for the ones who haven't found you yet. We keep what people recognize, whether that's a colour, a name, a mark or a tone, and tighten everything around it. Your long-time customers should feel like you finally got around to it, not like you sold the business.

Of course. That's built into the brand design. I schedule feedback meetings along the way. If everything feels right, great, we keep going. If something feels off to you, we go over it until you're happy with it.

The structure, the writing, the design and the build. I plan what pages you need and what goes on each one, write the words so they sound like you and show up on Google, design it to match your brand, and build it so it's fast on a phone. You get training on how to update it and a short guide for later. Photography can be arranged if you need it.

Probably, but let's check. A site built for the computers people had in the 2000s usually breaks on a phone, loads slowly, and tells Google very little. Your work hasn't gone out of date, but the first impression has. In our first call I'll look at what you've got and tell you honestly whether it needs replacing or just fixing.

Yes. I build on Webflow, which has a plain editor for changing text, swapping photos and adding projects without touching code. Part of every project is a working session where I show you or your team how. If you'd rather not touch it, I'm still here after launch.

That's built in, not bolted on. Every page is written with the words people actually search, structured so Google and AI search tools can read it, and set up with the technical basics done properly. A new site won't hit page one overnight, but it will be set up to earn its way there.

Webflow. It's fast, secure, doesn't need plugins that break, and lets you edit your own content without a developer.

A focused social media package for businesses that have the brand and website sorted but no time or plan for posting. Over about a month and a half we set up your accounts properly, build a content calendar you can actually keep up with, create the first round of posts and templates, and train you or your team to run it.

The goal is to get your team running it, so you're not hiring somebody new and you're not paying me forever. If there's somebody in your office who's comfortable with tech and willing to take it on, that's the person to hand it to. If nobody fits that description, I'll give you options for ongoing support.

Fewer than you think. For most Manitoba service businesses, that's Facebook and Instagram, with Google Business Profile treated like a platform of its own. If your customers are other businesses, LinkedIn joins the list. We don't spread you across six platforms to look busy. We pick the two or three where your customers actually are. That protects your time and your employees' time.

Social media doesn't give you instant results. It's a long-term strategy: as people get to know you, they reach out when they need your services. If you want to speed that up, Facebook and Instagram ads are a good supplement, and if that's something you're interested in, we'll build it into the game plan.

The follow-up you keep forgetting to send, sent automatically. A form on your website that puts the lead in your customer list and sends them a reply without you touching it. A content plan that drafts itself from your photos. Research on your market that would have taken you a week, done overnight. I set these up so the boring, repeatable work happens on its own and you spend your time on the parts that need a human.

During the build, all you need to do is answer emails and show up to meetings. For social media afterward, a little comfort with technology helps. If somebody on your team is tech-savvy, they should be the point person for it. Either way, I'll teach you what you need to know and leave you with how-tos so you can learn as you go.

Not if it's done right. Automation should handle the parts nobody misses, like reminders and follow-ups, so you have more time for the parts people do notice, like actually talking to them. Every message I set up is written in your voice, and anything that needs a real answer gets routed to you.

You'll have a firm price in writing before any work begins. I keep the number open until we've talked, because the right scope depends on what you already have, what's actually holding you back, and what success looks like for you. Half an hour on the phone is usually all I need to put real figures in front of you. No hourly surprises, and no invoice you didn't see coming.

The Launch System runs three months. The Social Sprint runs about a month and a half. When I price a project, I price in being all-in with you for the time we work together, so your project isn't stacked behind three others.

Yes. A deposit to start, then payments at key points through the project, set up to fit your needs. I take credit card, cheque and e-transfer.

That's the test I hold myself to. Part of the planning is working out who takes over what once the project is finished, so the marketing system keeps working for you. Every project ends with documentation, templates, and a working session with the people who'll run it. Berry Time and Prairie Grove still run marketing I set up, in their own voices, without me.

I check back three months on to see what's working and what's come up. Most clients keep going with me in some form, whether that's a monthly check-in or help with a season's content. Nobody has to. And you can always call me. Same person, same number.