Laurie McGinley (Jaquin) | FS.024

Written By Katie Kangas
 

Guardian

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Via Lucent

 

In this episode of the Flying Solo Podcast, host Katie Kangas speaks with Laurie McGinley, licensed architect, private advisor, and author of The Dissolve. Laurie began her career in architecture but found herself increasingly drawn to design transformation in people’s lives. Today, through her advisory practice Via Lucent, Laurie guides leaders to refine their career, recover from burnout, and dissolve invisible barriers.

Laurie describes her firm in three words: Clear. Catalytic. And Unapologetically Uncomfortable.

As a guide, Laurie’s natural bird archetype is the Jaquin, a modern mythical guardian, a jaguar with wings. Strong, protective, and unafraid to use its claws, the Jaquin represents both power and support. Like the Jaquin, Laurie helps her clients confront what is holding them back and flies them past their invisible barriers. Leaving behind a genuine transformation.

Throughout the conversation, Laurie and Katie discuss burnout in the construction industry, the importance of designing a job that energizes rather than exhausts, and the necessity of continuously iterating your business model. Laurie shares how her own firm evolved as she refined her focus, messaging, and offerings—treating her business the way architects treat design.

Laurie’s clients come to her because they are stuck. They know something needs to change, but can’t say what it is. This led to the three-step transformational framework from her new book, The Dissolve: name the invisible barrier, soften your relationship to it, and intentionally move through it. Everyone’s barrier is different. The barrier may be perfectionism, overwork, or reluctance to charge what you're worth. 

This episode is a reminder that architects are not only designers of buildings. We are designers of careers, cultures, and lives. When we intentionally design our work, dissolve our barriers, and build supportive communities around us, we create practices that allow us to soar to new heights.

 

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Laurie McGinley (Jaquin)

Season 2 of the Flying Solo Podcast is sponsored by the Minnesota Architectural Foundation, whose mission is to invest in excellence, leadership, discovery, and equity within the profession of architecture.

To join this flying solo movement, you can follow Flying Solo Arch on Instagram where Katie posts content to encourage your business life. Find out which bird defines your marketing strategy with the Bird Quiz on the Flying Solo Website.

For even more resources and encouragement, you can find all the Flying Solo episodes on the Gābl Media platform at gablmedia.com - the premier destination for podcasts about architecture and design. And if you’re looking for community, connection, and real conversations, check out the EntreArchitect Network at entrearchitect.com/ . Whether you join one of their Masterclasses or the free Facebook group, you’ll find a community of small firm architects sharing ideas, challenges, and wins - proving that while we may work solo, we’re never alone.

As Mark R. LePage, founder of Entrearchitect, says - it’s all about doing better practice and better work every day.

 
 
Katie Kangas
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Damaris Melo-Gyasi (Jabiru) | FS.023