Meet Kreda McCullough | Brand Strategist & Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kreda McCullough and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kreda, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Oh, that’s a thing? LOL!! When I first started my entrepreneurial journey, I didn’t have a work-life balance at all. I went all in as an entrepreneur. But it began to affect my family — so much so, my then 6 year old told me I worked too much. That hit me pretty hard. I would stay up until pretty much the next day to complete projects. I was taking on way too much. I would be so tired that I had no energy for my family. I was trying to make all the money I could and create brand awareness. I was doing that, but doing it all wrong.

It took me a while to learn to say no and really set boundaries so I could create a healthy work-life balance. So now, I’ve created a set schedule for work, including client calls. When I turn my computer off, it’s off. The weekends are strictly for me and/or my family and anyone who works with me knows it. I also like to enjoy life as well — hang out with family and friends, singing in the choir at church, at karaoke, resting. I need that time. That’s my recharge. You can’t pour from an empty cup.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
It took me a while to get where I am today. It has definitely been a journey. I had worked in corporate America since I was a senior in high school with a wide variety of jobs. I would get promoted on the jobs, but none of them made me feel like I was making an impact on anything outside of “company business”. I was fired from a lot of the companies because I had a difference of opinion on several things and I would get bored because I wasn’t able to be creative.

I would create programs and flyers for family, friends, my church in Powerpoint. HA! It was then that one of my coworkers asked me if I were a graphic designer. I had no clue what that was. I just knew that I was creating things on the computer. Once I found out what a graphic designer was, I did some research. I found out what programs I should use to create designs and it was on from there.

It wasn’t until 2015 that I had the opportunity to really pursue this career, full-time. I went to school, and it was up from there — Kreda had started a business. In starting that business, all I knew was to register the business with a name which was Mac GraphiX Media & Design at the time, and the business was going to blow up. But it didn’t happen exactly like that.

When I started Mac GraphiX, all I knew was that I had the skill to start a graphic design business. I knew my business needed a name. I knew I needed a logo so people could see that I had started a business, and know that I was serious about that business because I had a logo, some business cards, a Facebook and Twitter page.

I knew what Mac GraphiX stood for, but Media & Design??? What was that?? I had no idea…it had a professional sound and it had the word “design” in it….that’s it, and people were going to see my name (Kreda McCullough) and see my designs and business was gonna just pop off…I had no idea about a brand anything. I mean I was branded but it wasn’t the brand I had created, it was a brand that people who knew me had created, it was their perception of me based on what I putting out there about my business…the way I was showing up or trying to show up.

People would come to me asking for a logo, I would design it and we would go through several revisions because they didn’t know what they wanted. Like me, they had just started a business and needed a logo.

Long story short, I enhanced my skill set, learned who I was and how I wanted to show up, went through a brand make-over, which included strategy and design, and I figured out my niche. I had to really dig deep to figure all of this out, really get inside of every aspect of my brand, including the psychology aspect. This process helped me ween out people who would come to me only wanting a logo because I advised that they would go through this same process.

Now that I’ve branded Mac GraphiX and created Brand with Kreda, I’m able to show up consistently and attract my perfect clients by being my authentic self…I’m able to help coaches, consultants, and expert service providers grow and scale their business by teaching them how using Brand Personality in their brand strategy and design can help them attract their ideal clients along with the other important elements of branding — because a logo without a strategy is just a graphic.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
It’s been a while since I’ve actually “hung out”. When the world was “open” you could catch me at Living Room on a cool R&B and/or poetry night, Catfish Haven, or The Kasbah. Unfortunately, all of those places are shut down, now. So I would probably be on social media, checking for flyers to see what’s happening in the city as far as nightlife is concerned. I love sports, so I would try to get to a Nuggets or Rockies game. I’m not a Broncos fan, but Empower Stadium is a cool place to experience. I “like” going to the mountains, but I’m afraid of the drive. If I could get up there with a safe driver, that would be an option — preferably not in the winter, though.

I like to hang out with friends and family, house party style – play some cards or dominoes, dance, sip a little bit, and sing all of the 90’s R&B songs we can. LOL! I also like to attend church at Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church, where I sing in the choir. After church on Sundays, I like to go out to eat either Pappadeaux’s in DTC or The Yard House downtown. Pre-pandemic, my Mama would cook on some Sundays and invite us over, which I miss tremendously.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My Mama! She’s my biggest supporter — my biggest cheerleader! She doesn’t understand everything I do, but she still supports it. She’s my favorite girl!! I love her sooooo much!!!

Website: https://www.brandwithkreda.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandwithkreda

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kredamccullough/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/brandwithkreda

Facebook: https://facebook.com/brandwithkreda

Youtube: https://youtube.com/brandwithkreda

Image Credits
McBoat Photography