WHAT THIS WORK IS REALLY HERE FOR
My mission is to help established midlife - or mid story - founders bring the next expression of their work to life, creating brands, websites and visual worlds that feel like a true reflection of who they are, what they believe and where they're going.
I want to contribute to a world where more of us are able to build fulfilling businesses around who we are, rather than conforming to a prescribed model of success. A world with more individuality, more imagination, more meaningful work and more ways of doing business.
THE REAL BACKSTORY
Beyond the big vision...can I be honest with you?
In 2022, my business was failing.
My nervous system was in tatters, and I reached a point where I couldn't keep trying to make it work by doing more of what I thought I was supposed to be doing.
So I started looking much more honestly at myself. How I worked, how my energy moves, what I need to thrive, what I believe.
And I knew it was time to start bringing the parts of myself I'd always kept separate from my business into the room too. Human Design and astrology became part of that exploration, and they completely changed the way I understood myself, my business and my brand.
What followed was a much deeper understanding of who I actually am. I started finding language for things I'd always struggled to articulate. I became more willing to express myself, more courageous in my work, and more sure of myself than I'd felt in my whole life.
That experience shaped the way I work now.
I don't believe the inner and outer worlds of a business are separate - the more deeply you understand yourself, the more clearly you can express what is yours.
BEHIND THE SCENES
I'm a nature-dweller, Dorset creative & recovering GenXer
MY SOUL FOOD: Walking in the forest, swimming, listening to podcasts, taking part in a sound bath, watching the moon and seasons. Or enjoying a glass of wine, good food, meditation, new music, or in a deep & meaningful with my online business family,
Walking in particular has become a creative and spiritual practice for me. It's where I think, notice, process and let ideas emerge.
Every project starts in the forest!
I believe business should have room for the whole of you, and that the way we work needs to nourish us.
I'm drawn to founders who've lived a few chapters and found themselves wanting something more. Ambitious women, but perhaps with a different definition of ambition.
Women who care about what they're creating, want their work to mean something, and aren't interested in sleepwalking through the next chapter. If that's you, you're my person.
I've had to unlearn a few things myself
I came to business from commercial finance, so I knew how to be sensible, capable and good at what I did. I also knew how to fit in.
Starting Fresh Leaf in 2018, after motherhood and a few years of trying to work out what came next, gave me a different kind of education.
I've had to unlearn a lot of the ideas and GenX conditioning I'd absorbed about what success is.
That you have to constantly be visible, that you need a perfectly defined niche, that more is better, that marketing means getting inside someone's pain and making it uncomfortable enough that they'll buy the solution. And that and there's a right way to build a business.
I've had to lay all of it down.
And the more I've come home, the more interested I am in supporting businesses that look as good from the outside, as the feel to live in.
What I believe instead
I believe you can be ambitious without being extractive.
That marketing can be invitational.
That you can sell without manipulating people.
That a business can be commercially sound and still have a soul.
That your individuality isn't something you need to iron out to become more marketable, it's the very thing that makes your work valuable.
And that the right people don't need to be convinced that you're for them.
They need the opportunity to recognise themselves.
That's why I care so much about creating the right conditions.
A website that gives people space to explore rather than pushing them towards a decision, a brand that feels like an extension of the founder, words that sound like something you'd actually say and photography that lets people see who's behind the work.
Who I work with
Often women. Often in midlife. Often founders who've lived a bit.
People who've built something, learned a lot and reached a point where their business is morphing into something new.
Coaches, consultants, therapists, practitioners, artists, photographers, designers, creatives, small studios, purpose-led founders and independent business owners.
But the industry isn't really the important bit, what matters to me is that you there is meaning.
That there's something behind the business that matters to you. That you're not just trying to build something that looks successful, but something that feels worthwhile to build and that you can stand behind.
The values I bring to this work
Individuality
There is no template for being you. Your perspective, personality and way of seeing the world are part of what makes your work valuable.
Creative spirit
Curiosity, imagination and possibility matter. I like following the thread, exploring what wants to emerge and finding creative ways to bring ideas into form.
Human spirit
Business is made by people, for people. I believe in honest, thoughtful marketing and using technology as a tool without losing the human at the heart of the work.
Congruence
The things you believe, the work you do and the way you show up should belong together. When the inner and outer worlds align, people can feel it.
Were we destined to meet?
I believe every day is an opportunity for new beginnings and when you trust in yourself and move with life, the people and opportunities that are meant for you, come. For that reason, you're probably meant to be reading these very words right now? Serendipity is a beautiful thing.
If you feel an affinity with any part of my story, I'd love to connect. I’d be honoured to be part of your world.
"Lucy is truly a master of her craft"
I could not be more delighted with the outcomes of my work with Lucy, she truly is a master of her craft. The biggest benefit for me of working with Lucy is that she offers the full package - brand photography, brand development and website design. The brand that Lucy has helped me to develop is a true reflection of me and it shines through everything with a consistent and beautiful look and feel.
- MELISSA HAGUE -
Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.
JOSEPH CAMPBELL
