You can connect with Amelia Lee and her business via her podcast, website, instagram and facebook.

Tell us about you:

I'm Amelia Lee - an architect, wife, mum to 3 teenagers, podcaster, educator and serial renovator (although not always in that order). In my online business, Undercover Architect, we help and teach homeowners how to get it right when designing, building or renovating their homes.
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Tell us how your business came to be

Undercover Architect began in mid 2014 as the result of some big personal and professional shifts. In late 2013, I travelled to Uganda with not-for-profit, The Hunger Project on a leadership and immersion program. I'd applied for the trip after having some personal challenges, and at the time, I was co-owner of an architectural practice where I had 5 business partners, and we had a team of 20 across studios in Brisbane and Sydney. I was also mum to 2 kids aged 6, 4 and 2, and we were doing a large scale renovation of our own home. So, life was VERY full. Around 1% of director positions in architectural practices are held by women - and here I was one - and owning your own architectural practice is considered a penultimate goal for many in the industry. And whilst my business partners were super supportive and I worked flexibly between home and the office, I found I always felt I wasn't doing anything well, wasn't being the mum I wanted to be, that my business partners were waiting until my kids were off to school so I could then step into the business properly. To be part of the trip, we had to fundraise $10,000 and cover the expenses of our travel. I found out a lot about the people I'd surrounded myself with at that point, and I started questioning what I wanted for the future. The trip itself, of course, gave me a big shakeup. We really have won the birth lottery. My kids have won the birth lottery. I saw the changes that many - especially women - were making to their lives and futures through the work they were doing in The Hunger Project. And I saw (with all my privilege and opportunity) all the excuses I was putting in front of me to not change mine. My husband and I had renovated 3 houses in 12 years - we'd lived in them, had a baby per renovation, all the kids had learned to climb ladders before they walked. And we'd done it so we could have some flexibility with caring for the kids together whilst they were little, whilst trying to use our skills to build a financial nestegg ... all with the dream of one day moving to the Byron Hinterland. Each time we put a house on the market, we'd look around, but it always seemed out of reach. I came home from Uganda and told my husband we needed to stop delaying the dream, it was never going to be the right time or feel financially solid... so I told my business partners I wanted to leave the business, and instead of buying another home to renovate when this third one sold, we rented and started looking to move. At the same time, I knew I'd need to find a way to earn money in this new location. I looked at everything BUT architecture ... however, I kept coming back to this understanding that: my experience both personally and professionally, as well as my training and qualifications, enabled me to help in a lot of ways. I knew that working 1:1 with clients would reduce my impact and influence. I felt that people were always getting to me too late as well - and as a result, not learning the key things that would impact their journey and home if only they learnt them early enough. I also had seen how difficult it can be for women to navigate this industry - I'd had that experience with our own renovations where tradies would arrive, see me with a baby on my hip, not realise I was the architect, and treat me SO differently to how I was spoken to on site in my day job!! I'd see how powerful the work of The Hunger Project was in empowering women through education to change their futures, and I thought about how I could use that same idea within my industry. We moved in June of 2014, and Undercover Architect began - to be a homeowner's secret ally, and to help empower them with the questions to ask, the key info to know, and the confidence they can be invested and collaborative in bringing their home dreams to life. It began as a blog, whilst I did design concept services for people remotely over Skype, and then at the end of 2014, I created my first online course ... and it's grown from there to now helping hundreds of thousands of homeowners globally.

What has been one of your best business calls/decisions to date?

It was super scary at the time, but there was a point where I was doing both design concept services and teaching in my online courses, and I had to make a decision whether to hire a team to help with the design work, or stop doing it altogether, and instead focus on education. Making that decision has enabled me to keep my team relatively small, enable me flexibility, whilst significantly scaling the impact I can have with my time and knowledge. To step away from doing architectural design services however was a really big call professionally.

‍ If you could re-do / change something about your biz - what would it be?

Interestingly, I probably wouldn't give it the business name it has. The title 'architect' has certain connotations in mainstream audiences - people often think as architects being elite or only for rich people. To call yourself an architect requires a lot of extra work, exams, experience etc (and then ongoing CPD), so it's an important differentiator - especially when there's a lot of self-taught people giving not-so-great or only surface-level education in this space. However, I remember someone in marketing saying to me very early on that "undercover architect' may be a self fulfilling prophecy in being a really well kept secret! I know of lots of people in my community who are fearful of putting their professional team off side by telling them they're getting advice from my content and courses!

What does your typical day look like?‍

Most days I'm at my laptop writing content, doing a podcast interview, supporting our member community, or working with my team on our latest project. I try to have all my meetings within school hours (they're mostly online), and mostly I work from home, however sometimes I relocate elsewhere (local library, cafe etc).

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Describe a time when you took a risk - how did it work out for you?

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Leaving a very successful architectural practice and moving our family to the Byron Hinterland and starting a business with 3 kids aged 7 and under, whilst being the main breadwinner was a massive risk. It's been incredible to live where we live, and have a work life that has flexibility and autonomy, whilst building a business that continues to help so many create homes that truly work for them.

What’s something raw & unfiltered you’ve been through / never told anyone about your business or motherhood?

Some know this - but the trip to Uganda was initiated because I had a miscarriage in Aug 2013. At the same time, a dear friend was acquiring her coaching certification and she offered to do some sessions with me as part of gaining her hours. She did an exercise with me with post-it notes where we went through our values, both personally and professionally. We then ordered each from top value, to lowest value - and I very quickly realised how out of alignment my personal values were with my professional values. She was the one who brought me the trip to Uganda - she was enrolling as well - and it was the beginning of all of this adventure of the last decade.

Your daily motto?

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"Believe it's possible" and "A rising tide floats all boats"

What is something about running your business that you wish you had been told sooner?

Your business is telling people about the business you're in and marketing isn't optional.

How do you maintain your motivation?

To be honest I don't all the time - but for the most part, what I do really excites me and I love being able to help people in this way. I have a dream where every home is built as a site specific, sustainable home that improves the lives and lifestyles of those who live in it ... and we can't get there fast enough as far as I'm concerned. Plus, my family, and showing my kids what's possible when you consistently commit to something you're passionate about, also motivates me hugely.

What’s one thing you know that will benefit our audience? Let them know!

As mums and women, you no doubt are able to advocate fiercely on behalf of others when you need to ... and yet, when it comes to your own home and a renovation or new build, it can be challenging to enter and operate a male dominated industry that (in many parts) relies on you 'blindly and naively trusting' the process and its professionals, and being led along the way. However, YOU unlock what is possible for your future home - it's your vision, your money, your goals, your decisions. And when you prepare yourself by getting educated and informed, you can feel credible and confident and actively collaborate in bringing your home dreams to life. And that's how you can create a home that truly suits you, now and into the future - whoever you're working with, and whatever your dreams, your location or your budget.

What are your favourite business tools (and why?)

Slack - team comms Google suite - we use it for so many things Canva - makes great graphic design super easy My 90 day journal - helps me stay focussed on goals for each quarter I love working from a laptop as it gives me huge flexibility

What is one facet of your field that you would like to see changed?

That every single home (whether built or renovated) is designed and constructed to suit its site and climate. We'd make such a radical impact on the sustainability of our built environment, and the quality of life we all lead. And that project homes are sold with an orientation recommendation (and they refuse to build them if they don't suit the orientation of the site they're being built on).

What projects are coming up next?

We're in the process of adding to and improving my signature online program, HOME Method. We have some amazing content planned for the podcast about intergeneration living and modular construction. And I have loads of other things planned for the rest of 2025!

Has there been a significant business mentor in your career?

I've had so many - mentoring is such an important part of growing a business. I think being a business owner requires you to keep working on yourself and your own self-imposed limits on a regular basis.

What’s your approach on ‘the juggle’?

Ha! Accepting that it'll never be or feel perfect, I generally (in hindsight) always wish I could do better, and now my kids are teens, I have super honest and open conversations with them about both those things - and I apologise when I know I've messed up or they call me on something. My mum was divorced, had to work full time away from the house, and missed out on a lot of activities and events as a result, and my Dad wasn't involved at all. I knew, when I became a mum, that I wanted us as parents to be able to 'attend all the things' and be around much more - and my husband and I have been able to do that - however as a business owner, it means I'm often working a lot around the kids, they see my with my phone and laptop a lot, which can mean I'm not always present as well! Nothing is perfect, I'm sure they'll have their own perspective on how they want to do things when they're older, but I feel we are held to such a high standard and need instead to give ourselves grace. I tell my kids that I was a whole person before I was a mum, and I want to role model my pursuit of my dreams and using my skills and abilities to improve the world. My family are amazing, my husband is super present and involved, and 'the juggle' to me has not meant balance of work and life like they're two separate things - it's meant blurring all the things so that ultimately, it works as it needs to day to day.

What’s the best part of being part of the Mums & Co community?

That you're highlighting the stories of mums doing incredibly ambitious things - and providing a supportive network of education and resources for them too.

How has Mums & Co helped you?

I've loved the information I've read online and I've done a few of your workshops as well.

Who are the mumbitous business owners you would like to shout out to here?

‍Rachael Bernstone - Sounds Like Design; Sarah Lebner - Cooee Architecture

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