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

Lucy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

“Take the shot. If you don’t shoot, someone else will. You have practiced more than the rest—bet on you!” is my favorite piece of advice my mom has given me.

My mom has always been my biggest supporter from everything to my business, college, friendships, and simply navigating life. I inherited my go-getter mentality from my mom, and she has taught me confidence, drive, and the importance of having balance. She has shown me the ropes of what it takes to not only be a businesswoman, but a mother to four children. She takes care of business inside and outside of our house. She commands a space and knows what she brings to the table. She has taught me to hold my own, believe in myself, and of course always take the shot.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

“Tell me about yourself,” is my favorite question, because I get to answer with, “I have had my own creative design business for seven years,” and my favorite follow-up question is, “How old are you again?”

My name is Lucy Hiller. I am 19 years old and a freshman marketing & communication design major at Miami University. I am an aspiring entrepreneur celebrating year seven of my creative design business, LVH Creates. I specialize in freelance logo and graphic design and have a passion for turning my client’s brand mission into a visual reality.

Back in 2017, I started selling handmade cards and art while posting my monthly bullet journal spreads via my Instagram account. In 2019 I took a product and graphic design class and fell in love with the art of typography, graphic design, and brand image. I was instantly hooked and began selling custom posters and prints, and realized that digitalizing my artwork was a whole new territory I wanted my hands on.

I worked for several different nonprofits throughout my high school career including my very own, The Minnetonka Design & Lettering Club (D&L). D&L’s 60+ members helped organizations market themselves to the local community through the posters our club created for them. Roughly a year ago I accepted the title of Head of Marketing Materials for the woman-founded 501(c)3 nonprofit, Letters of Love Global which provides emotional support for patients in Children’s Hospitals around the world. This past June my informational art pieces were displayed at Letters of Love’s annual GALA which hosted 580 attendees and raised $15,000.

I now do personal commissions through my Instagram (@lvhcreates) and focus primarily on brand design. My mission through LVH Creates is to create branding that is a cohesive visual identity for my clients that allows them to feel confident in their brand.

Although I started young and there are so many lessons I have yet to learn about what it takes to be an entrepreneur, I know for certain that I am doing what I love.

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

One thing most graphic designers won’t tell you is how painful the revision process can be. There have been countless times when I meet with my clients, they explain their brand vision and tell me that I have “full creative freedom” (an artist’s favorite words). They leave me to develop a mood board, venture off with the creative ideation process, and come back with what I believe fully encompasses their brand image. Almost 99.9% of the time my ideas get fully turned down at the second meeting. My clients usually can’t describe what they want…they just know it’s not what I presented. The revision process is sticky, uncertain, and most of all frustrating. Multiple rounds of revision can lead to creative burnout (fast) and oftentimes entering another round after having your artwork denied is the hardest part. I have learned that to thrive as an entrepreneur one must build creativity, curiosity, confidence, and resilience. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing hard work, dedication, and resiliency pay off.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

What I believe helped me build my reputation within my market and allowed me to find new clients was staying consistent with social media, specifically producing content in the form of videos. As society’s attention span continues to shorten, the content we must produce follows. After years of only posting carousel images on Instagram, I started to notice that most of my clients found me through TikTok once I entered the platform.

This past year has brought me so many opportunities that have truly been surreal. LVH Creates has made huge strides as I have dug deep into my entrepreneurial aspirations. As I reflect on the big projects I have worked on this year, I can’t even imagine what my 7th-grade self would say. From creating packaging design, rebranding and marketing huge events, creating numerous logos, designing apparel, and selling posters and prints, to having my very first editorial work published in the 17th issue of UP Magazine I am proud to say that I have found my calling in life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sites.google.com/view/lvhcreates/home
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lvhcreates/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-hiller/