IN THE SPOTLIGHT WITH LUCI MCPHERSON 

 

Multi-hyphenate, brand-building powerhouse Luci McPherson is the creative force behind some of the most magnetic brands in the online space. From launching her business as a Creative VA fresh out of fashion journalism school to becoming the go-to branding and energy strategist for trailblazing women, Luci has spent nearly a decade transforming vision-board dreams into visual gold.

But this isn't just about beautiful logos (though, trust us, she delivers). With a brain wired for brilliance - hello, AuDHD superpowers - and a heart tuned to energy healing, Luci blends strategy with soul, tech with intuition, and design with deep inner knowing. She doesn't just design brands; she sees people. Her clients say she "gets them" before they even get themselves, and with results that have brought grown women to tears (the good kind), it's no wonder her tagline is basically legend.

With a toddler on one hip, a baby girl on the way, and a thriving business in full creative bloom, Luci is living proof that motherhood and mission aren't mutually exclusive. She's raising babies and brand empires with humour, heart, and a healthy dose of "watch me do it anyway." Over to you, Luci…

 

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SO, LUCI, WHAT’S YOUR STORY? 

I launched my business first as a Creative Virtual Assistant back in 2016 when I realised I didn't want to graduate from my degree in Fashion Journalism and end up in the intern grind of publishing. I've always been very creative and techy, and it seemed like something that a lot of people in the online space (specifically bloggers) needed help with. My education was focussed around writing, photography and digital layout, so it lent itself really nicely to that world! I taught myself web design and studied brand theory and marketing to offer those services too.

After a year, I niched down to Brand & Website Design, Development and Strategy; the rest is kind of history! For almost the past decade, I've worked with some of the most influential women in the online business space, from coaches to authors and influencers to thought leaders, helping them with their launches and brand strategy, design, funnels, and everything in between.

It definitely helped scratch the itch in my brain for variety that I'd been craving (that I'd later discover had been ADHD all along!).

 

YOU'RE KNOWN FOR HELPING WOMEN BUILD MAGNETIC BRANDS, BUT ALSO FOR BEING AN ENERGY PRACTITIONER. CAN YOU TELL US HOW ENERGY WORK WEAVES INTO YOUR BRANDING PROCESS AND WHY IT'S YOUR SECRET WEAPON? 

Yes! So, I certified in Theta Healing during the pandemic as I've had a personal interest in spirituality and energy work for a long time and had personally experienced the world of Theta work. I've always been highly intuitive, and honing that skill felt like a natural progression.

Energy work is weaved quite organically throughout my client process, as it entirely depends on where the individual client is energetically speaking when they come to me. Quite often, I can sense a strong undercurrent of imposter syndrome or if they aren't necessarily being true to themselves in their brand values. Instead, they just describe how they feel about another person's brand they like and subconsciously want to copy. Those kinds of designs (when left unchallenged in the discovery phase) are always visually very beautiful but lack the depth and resonance needed for a really impactful brand story. I find the client then also lacks connection with their own brand as deep down they know it's not really theirs but rather heavily influenced by somebody else they admire. It just feeds the never-ending imposter syndrome cycle.

I can pick out these inconsistencies a mile off very early on in the discovery process, then work with the client on the underlying belief systems at play to restore their sense of self-conviction and confidence in their own mission, vision and values (which I also support them with from a commercial brand strategy point of view). That means the brand they walk away with is 100% true to them and nobody else. And that makes for otherworldly levels of momentum in what they do next!

A piece of feedback I received so frequently that I actually made it my brand tagline was, "Luci, you see me when I don't even know how to see myself." And I believe that's largely thanks to my intuitive practice!

 

CLEARLY YOU BRING BIG INTUITIVE ENERGY TO YOUR WORK. HAS THAT EVER LED YOU SOMEWHERE TOTALLY UNEXPECTED WITH A CLIENT OR EVEN CHANGED THE DIRECTION OF A WHOLE PROJECT? 

More times than I can count! Quite often, it's at the initial concepts stage when I'll have been squirrelling away on a client's discovery questionnaires to distil their words into a visual story. Their answers will say one thing, but I'll pick up on threads weaved throughout their answers that tell a different story. I will always follow those threads and present them with the concept I intuitively felt needed to come through. It doesn't always hit, but the 7/10 times that risk pays off, the client's reaction is so worth it. In the past month, I've (accidentally) made three clients burst into tears during their initial concept reveals because of how much I've 'understood them' when nobody else had until that point! That always feels so special.

 

WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU LOOK FOR WHEN HELPING SOMEONE REALIGN OR REBRAND? 

I first look at how they view themselves and their brand. Their mission, vision and values are always a dead giveaway for why things haven't been clicking for them lately when coupled with concepts like colour psychology or their brand messaging and picking out the misalignments.

 

YOU'VE SHARED THAT YOU'RE AUDHD. HOW HAS THAT NEURODIVERGENT MAGIC SHAPED THE WAY YOU DO BUSINESS, AND WHAT SUPERPOWERS HAS IT GIVEN YOU AS A BRAND CREATOR AND ENERGY PRACTITIONER? 

For starters, it really was the driving force in my business taking off the way it did back in 2015! I was fully booked within 8 weeks of 'launching' and had to quit my long-time job at Apple and submit my final major uni project early to keep up with my workload before graduation.

My ADHD means I pick up new skills really easily, and not just to an acceptable working level, but to a very high professional level. It's a bit of a toxic trait and in-joke among the neurodivergent community that if we don't excel at something immediately, then what's the point… that works out in our favour a lot when it comes to capitalising on our passions!

I've been able to offer specialist expert-level services in Branding, Web Development, Marketing Strategy, Energy Work and more as opposed to being a 'one-trick pony', and I truly believe that has been why I've hired so enthusiastically by so many powerhouse clients because they know I've got them no matter what they need in the online business space.

Autism brings a level of objectivity to work that can largely be subjective. I can subconsciously pick out patterns and trends and work them to my client's advantage when it comes to things like their launch strategies, products and offer suites and even their mindset and growth. I love to systemise and automate processes, which makes for much-needed order to the chaos behind the scenes for many in business, and I'm able to see clear paths and solutions when others might get overwhelmed with options.

Basically, one side of my brain thrives on the excitement of creating the new, while the other side comes on behind it and turns those flowing ideas into commercially successful strategies and systems! I'm also pretty sure my autism is to thank for a large portion of my intuitive abilities too. It's a common misconception that we all struggle with empathy and reading between the lines… A lot of the time, autistic people are the most in tune in the room!

 

WHAT DO YOU WISH MORE PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD ABOUT NEURODIVERGENT ENTREPRENEURS?

It's not a setback, but a superpower and a neurodivergent service provider will find the most efficient, easy, and jaw-droppingly impressive way to do something while prioritising its joy and money-making abilities at all times.

We thrive with a challenge, and while we may need an extra clarifying conversation here and there along the way, the results and outcomes are on another level… we don't do things by halves!

 

HOW DO YOU HANDLE CRITICISM?  

Even with a pretty robust mindset after all these years in this space, I think it's normal for anybody to have a moment of hesitation or disappointment when they experience criticism – especially when it's regarding something they really enjoy. 

That being said, it's impossible to survive in a creative discipline like design and get your feelings hurt every time a client has amends or dislikes something you've created! I always encourage my clients to be completely honest because my integrity as a designer lies in creating something that has a lifelong impact for them and their brand… and if they walk away from our time together less than ecstatic with the results, I've not done my job.

Sure, there are designs I've presented that I'm super excited about that fall flat and end up on the cutting room floor… but I just keep them back in my ideas bank for the future when they might be just the thing another project needs!

 

SO MANY WOMEN SECOND-GUESS THEIR BRAND VOICE OR VISUALS; WHAT'S YOUR ADVICE FOR CUTTING THROUGH THE NOISE AND OWNING YOUR UNIQUE EDGE? 

Stop looking at whatever other people are doing, even if they're your idol or exactly what/who you're striving to sit alongside in your market. Those people aren't looking in any lane other than their own… and neither should you!

 

YOU'RE BUILDING THIS FIERCE BRAND EMPIRE WHILE RAISING A TODDLER BOY AND PREPARING TO WELCOME A BABY GIRL; HOW ARE YOU NAVIGATING THE JUGGLE OF MOTHERHOOD AND MISSION? 

Honestly? Surrendering to the duality and being kind to myself, knowing that it is never going to be 50/50. When you enter Motherhood, your perspective on everything changes (I know, cliché, but really eye-opening when you experience it). I know I will never give myself to my work in the same way I did before Atlas was born, and I also know I will never fully be able to switch off my work brain like my husband can with his clock-in, clock-out kind of job.

Motherhood has made me more resilient in every conceivable way, and that's trickled into my work in the form of immense discernment around who I work with, what 'stressors' I give my energy to, and what my tolerance level is for people pushing my boundaries. 

It's opened my eyes as to what actually matters in life, and yes, while work fundamentally matters as a huge part of my existence, I'm no longer losing sleep or breaking my own boundaries in an effort to please people.

I love that my work allows me freedom in creativity and time, as I felt very much like I was going to wilt and perish by around 4 months postpartum with my son, not having used my brain for anything other than breastfeeding and surviving colic. It took a while to relinquish the guilt and feeling that I was doing Motherhood wrong because I was longing to work again. Lucky for me, I get to create at my laptop with a baby in a sling, so you'll probably catch me tinkering in some design work come September – or else I may lose my mind in the monotony of newborn life again!

 

WHAT'S HARDER, BRANDING A REBELLIOUS CLIENT OR REASONING WITH A TODDLER MID-TANTRUM IN THE SUPERMARKET? BE HONEST. 

Oh, a rebellious client, hands down. At the risk of sounding like a total smug k***head, I find tantrums relatively easy to navigate, so long as I keep my empathy hat on; he'll be out of it in 10 minutes or so. A client who refuses to let go of an idea that is fundamentally not going to work for their brand is like a 3-month exercise in endurance, diplomacy, debate and gentle parenting all rolled into one!

Luckily, I don't tend to attract those types of people anymore, and the women I work with choose me because I'll challenge them and open their minds to new ways of perceiving their genius!

 

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE PODCAST RECOMMENDATION FOR OUR READERS?  

I got real podcast burnout over the pandemic and stopped consuming a lot of thought-leadery content as it started to give me the ick in many ways! These days, I enjoy a comedy podcast like Parenting Hell or Normal Gossip.

 

WHAT DO YOU KNOW FOR SURE? 

That catastrophising is a waste of time. The worst thing in the world can happen, and the sun will still rise, you will drink your coffee and eat your toast the next morning. The fact we're here, in the positions we're in, goes to show that it has never not worked out for us. Entrepreneur life can be hard on the ol' mindset, so I remind myself of this frequently!

 

LET'S TALK HUMAN DESIGN. HOW HAS UNDERSTANDING YOUR DESIGN AS A PROJECTOR IMPACTED HOW YOU RUN YOUR BUSINESS?  

It certainly made sense of a whole bunch of things for me, finding out my role is as a guide to help people see what's true. I don't buy into it 100%, as Projectors aren't meant to be the 'doers', but I do get great satisfaction from the 'doing' in a lot of cases!

That being said, my superpower is, without a doubt, helping others see their highest, truest selves and how that translates into a powerful and magnetic brand story, so it encouraged me to lean into the intuitive elements of my methodology more confidently. As a recovering people pleaser, the awareness also helped embolden me to recognise when I've been at risk of falling into someone else's orbit and keeping my own energy and boundaries sovereign.

 

WHAT'S ONE THING YOU'RE CURRENTLY OBSESSED WITH THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BUSINESS? 

Curating my soon-to-be daughter's SS26 wardrobe (because Baby Boden Instagram ads have me in an actual chokehold)

 

WHICH MOTIVATIONAL SONG WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO ADD TO THE CEO RADIO PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY FOR YOU?  

I am Woman by Emmy Meli.

 

FINISH THIS SENTENCE: "IF I WEREN'T DOING THIS, I'D PROBABLY BE…" 

If I weren't doing this, I'd probably be writing a book about Motherhood as an AuDHDer… maybe I still will someday 👀

 

If you want to know more about Luci and her work, check out her website or find her on Instagram.