How to Lead Through A Crisis
How to Lead Through A Crisis
How can business owners align their passions to build a business?
It took me a few years to realize it, but the Sketch Effect exists at the epicenter of three of my biggest passions. I encourage any entrepreneur, or anyone pursuing their passion, to find their own epicenter—the overlap of what drives them.
For me, the first passion has always been art. I’ve loved drawing since I was a kid, always doodling, even in class. I was an art minor in college and eventually earned a master’s degree in illustration. I’ve always loved the creative process of making something from scratch.
The second passion is communicating ideas and telling stories. Ever since I was young, I loved comic strips. I’d grab the newspaper, open it to the comics, and spend breakfast reading them. Comics made me a lifelong fan of storytelling, especially when it’s compelling, relevant, and actionable.
The third passion is people. I love working with people, being around people, and serving them. The Sketch Effect exists right at the intersection of these three areas. We’re working with clients face-to-face in their meetings, helping them communicate ideas and tell stories, whatever those stories may be. And we do it through visual art—drawing and animation. It’s an incredible blessing to have built this business and to serve clients in such a meaningful way.
What should entrepreneurs consider when adapting their career paths?
The entrepreneurial journey has been a winding road, full of twists and turns. To be honest, I never set out to be an entrepreneur, run a business, or be a CEO. That was never part of my professional master plan. Originally, I wanted to be a cartoonist, to have my own comic strip, maybe even win a Pulitzer Prize, and have a career as a syndicated cartoonist.
But, like all of us, life happened, and things made me change course. One major factor was graduating during the 2008 recession, a tough economic time. On top of that, the print industry was collapsing—newspapers and magazines were shutting down, and even Pulitzer-winning cartoonists were losing their jobs.
Another realization was that I didn’t want to work alone. Many illustrators, cartoonists, and creatives tend to work in solitude. I love people; I enjoy working around others, learning from them, and growing together. I realized that the traditional career path of a professional artist might not align with my passion for collaboration.
The third pivotal moment was landing an entry-level, part-time marketing job at Chick-fil-A in Atlanta. I was green and didn’t know much about business, but working at Chick-fil-A gave me a front-row seat to what it takes to build a successful company. I learned about creating a strong culture, leading well, developing people, growing a brand, refining products, innovating, and prototyping.
These milestones led me to this point. I saw an opportunity with the Sketch Effect and began to develop and prototype the idea. Now, 10 years later, I’m running a growing business, working with amazing clients, and reflecting on the journey that brought me here.
How can business owners make better hiring decisions to build a strong team?
One bad decision I look back on and wish I could change relates to how I approached building my team. I love working with people and always envisioned having a big team and a strong culture around me. Part of that vision was genuine—I wanted to invest in, encourage, and lead people well. But, honestly, pride was also mixed in. I wanted to show off a big team, to have people see my success and think, "Wow, William has really made it."
In hindsight, I realize I was too quick to hire. I didn’t vet people properly and didn’t consider other options, like hiring contractors or part-time team members. This led to issues like keeping toxic or underperforming team members for too long. Looking back, I would have taken a more structured approach to hiring, been less quick to make full-time offers, and been more deliberate and cautious in my hiring decisions. Doing so would have saved us a lot of turmoil and tension.
How can business owners track and implement continuous improvements?
Businesses live and die by sales, so we’re always tracking that metric. Another KPI we track, which is a bit different from the usual metrics, is what we call "Make It Better" efforts. These efforts are hard to quantify but make a big difference.
As a team, we meet monthly to list ideas for improvement across the business. These ideas can be anything—from major initiatives that might take years to complete to smaller fixes like simplifying our client intake forms. We set a target for how many “Make It Better” improvements we want to accomplish each month. This approach has been incredibly valuable; it’s enhanced both our work and the business overall. While it’s not a traditional KPI with dashboards and precise measurements, it embodies our commitment to continuous improvement. We track these points whenever something is meaningfully improved.
When should business owners prioritize purpose over cost-cutting during a crisis?
Crises can create confusion if you're not grounded in purpose. Fortunately, I have a clear purpose behind the business, and we have a guiding purpose for the company as well. For me, it’s about creating an environment where people are becoming their best and giving their best. To achieve that, we need a team.
In a tough season, I could have laid off my team, cut budgets, and reduced resources. That would have been a reaction based on confusion, fear, and self-preservation. But that’s not aligned with my purpose. My goal is to invest in people, to keep a team around me, and to foster an environment of growth and excellence.
In that challenging time, my purpose was to keep the team intact. I didn’t want to cut overhead or lay off any staff. I wanted to support them through the uncertainty, as fear was high. My role as a leader was to instill courage—even when I was uncertain myself. I focused on projecting courage, giving the team something to rally around, and preserving the business and the team.
Yes, we lost money on payroll that we wouldn’t recover that year, but we kept everyone on board. I believe that clarity in that moment came from knowing our purpose.
*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.*
