Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Will Hong. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Will, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Our company ethos is “a rising tide lifts all boats.” We prioritize helping others more than booking new business – a very backwards way of thinking, especially in the agency world, let alone a capitalistic one. But this mission is something very dear and important to me.

Some people may call me naive for believing this. But I have come to realize a very important truth in life: you cannot control anything. Even if you have billions of dollars in your bank account or countless items of security, you are never really in control of anything. Life is bigger than all of us and it can thrash us around like a bath toy in the ocean. But there is one thing we can choose to control – how we live each day in the present.

This revelation has caused me to rethink everything in my life, including how I do business. Understanding the limits of my control has created vast opportunities on how to enjoy each new morning. And when it comes to work, I see opportunities to help others everywhere.

So how does this philosophy pay the bills? After all, a business needs to make money to succeed, let alone survive. Chalk this up to being naive yet again, but I believe that if you win, I win. We all win together. It’s time for us to stop focusing on competing with each other. Instead, we should be asking how can we collaborate together.

This mentality is especially pertinent to me as an Asian American. Growing up, I didn’t receive the same level of support and guidance as my non-Asian friends. This wasn’t necessarily do to hate or racism. It’s a product of being part of a small minority (though hate and racism was and is still definitely involved and relevant to any person of color, but that’s a whole different and vast topic to address).

But when I did experience the care and guidance of an ally, mentor, teacher, or friend, it was something so uplifting and soul-filling. It gave me glimpses of confidence and belief, two critical ingredients for growth and identity.

And this turning of the tide proves pertinent to today’s landscape, especially in the AAPI community. For too long, we were pitted against each other. Koreans stay in this lane, Filipinos stay in yours, Japanese do your own thing, etc. But this new, upcoming AAPI generation is showcasing more openness to collaboration and support. And a big reason for this is that this young generation is growing up in an America that looks starkly different from my childhood. Asians may still be a minority demographically, but culturally, we are in the mainstream. My kids are growing up with heroes… that look like them. I cannot emphasize how important that is to a people group.

With all this said, my mission is to help those around me, even if that requires me to forego monetary compensation… for the time being. But if I can help others succeed, I believe that I will as well. Sometimes in direct ways and perhaps most times in indirect ways. But I am fully satisfied knowing that we are all rising together.

This new mindset has allowed me to observe some interesting insights. I am now more focused on growing true relationships with my clients. I actually 100% care for them and their success. And this has caused the work product to become even better and more meaningful. Clients are no longer strictly business partners, but actual human relationships. It’s amazing how the quality of work increases the more you care about someone.

So let people label me as naive. I’m fine with it. But what people deem as naive, I define it as hope. Hope that we can all start working together to build something amazing and worthwhile.

Will, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Since I was a child, I’ve been obsessed with stories. The way it touches people’s souls, how it challenges beliefs, and how it brings people together.

I first explored the art of storytelling in entertainment and content. I worked in film and television as a writer, director, producer, editor, and designer. During that time, I fell in love with human stories and decided to go into documentaries (this is back when digital film was starting to just become mainstream!). But since I didn’t know how to make money making documentaries, I decided to go to business school. USC seemed like the perfect choice with its ideal blend of Film and MBA programs. Little did I know that, while it was still the perfect choice for me, it wouldn’t play out how I expected. Thus is life!

My first semester pursing my MBA degree, I met my first mentor and eventual boss, Sasha Strauss, a brilliant brand strategist and professor. His guidance opened the world of branding to me. And that’s when I learned a pivotal truth that changed the course of my career – every business problem is a story problem.

Since graduating from business school, I have been involved in brand strategy in various roles, both on the client and agency sides. After heading up different strategy departments as well as a stint as a CMO for a beverage company, I joined Major Futures, a global brand strategy firm, as a Senior Partner. And most recently, I founded a new group out of Major Futures called Major Asians, an initiative focused on bringing Asian and AAPI brands and leaders to the forefront of the US Market.

Major Asians is a full service brand and business strategy firm built & run by AAPI leaders, designed to serve the dynamic needs of Asian and AAPI-led brands. We are on a mission to help Asian leaders around the world better connect, develop and grow.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I have tried multiple “strategies” in growing my clientele. Some of them worked, but none of them were ideal or efficient. This is because you don’t need a “strategy” to grow clientele. You just need to be authentic and genuinely care. You do this by listening and by being inquisitive. Appreciate the person you’re speaking with and cultivate an actual relationship. Throw away the sales tactics and tips. Be present. And most importantly, be you, in the truest form. If you don’t know how to do that, then take a step back and find yourself. Otherwise, you will be wasting your time.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

#agencylife means that you will inevitably meet “nightmare” clients. This is unfortunately unavoidable.

I’ve had my share of these moments and one in particular comes to mind. This client project was going so smooth and positive (as it usually does) and then like a flip of a light switch, everything changed. Without any warning, accusations were being thrown at me and my team. Our work, that was previously lauded one week prior, became “unacceptable and low tier” overnight. It was as if we were dealing with a completely different client. Soon afterwards, the client told me that we were no longer going to be their agency partners.

Confusion and anger consumed me first. Not just for me, but on behalf of my team. How could a client do a complete 180 in a such short period of time, without any warning? What went wrong? And with each question, doubt started creeping in. Did we mess up? Did I misunderstand something? Did I do something wrong?

The reality was, we did nothing wrong. Sometimes you’ll have these types of clients. It’s the nature of the business. And I learned a very important lesson – don’t ever let a client define your identity as a team, partner, and person. You can only control what you can control. So I decided to act in that manner.

Morale as down and my team members were doubting themselves. So I decided to do a short but effective exercise with them. It sounded cheesy at first, but in the end, it was effective. I decided to hold a “cleansing ritual” with my team. We all wrote down all of our frustrations, fears, doubts onto post-it notes. We took these notes and threw them into a metal trash can that we brought outside. And with safety measures in hand, we lit it on fire and watched our anger burn away.

Life requires you to be resilient. And sometimes, you may need to find creative ways to bounce back. But know this – you can and you will.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.majorasians.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/majorasians/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willkjhong/