There’s significance in the concept of a decade. Fundamentally, it’s a simple measurement of time, but also, somehow, summiting a ten-year journey carries meaning. It signifies something earned, something to be revered, something of importance. Many of us would agree that ten years of experiences will undoubtedly leave us transformed by its end.

This past summer, Sprout Creative celebrated the close of its first ten years in business. The story of our first decade is one of triumph, losses, and lessons hard learned. Today, our business has had the privilege of expanding its scope of vision to a national client base, while being able to maintain a firm footing in Topeka, the community that helped cultivate it. As we continue forward, we celebrate our unique journey by continuing to commit ourselves to our unwavering, "due north" focus on helping others tell their own great stories.

Our CEO, Caleb Asher, has had a panoramic view of Sprout’s ten-year endeavor. Beginning with its (very) humble start operating out of his home, like in all great tales, Sprout’s also includes a “glow up”. In 2018, Sprout made it to its current home, a renovated, historic building that exists in all of its rustic-whimsical, industrious charm in downtown Topeka, then shortly after added a production studio space in the Crossroads district of Kansas City. Even more than figuring out how to restore 100-year old rafters, or what it takes to convince bats to voluntarily vacate a building, Caleb’s had plenty of time to discover much about what it means to build and guide a company based on the cornerstone of "good people doing good work for great clients".

By keeping the words of wisdom imparted to him by friends and family close to his heart, over the years, he's learned about the value of storytelling in capturing the human experience and how our stories keep us all connected, especially when it feels most impossible. “I fully appreciate now that business is about storytelling and relationships,” Caleb says, “not just the relationships with clients, which are the driving force of what Sprout does, of course, but it’s also all the surrounding relationships with my family, mentors, and the team”.

Caleb has no shortage of thanks to express for his family, who have invested greatly in him and helped make Sprout the company it is today. He credits his wife as being the catalyst of the business’ inception, as the two celebrated their 25th anniversary this year, and attributes all Sprout that has and can become as a testament to her support.

The strength of these relationships have helped Caleb to endure and find solace in a philosophy he’s adopted to maintain a strong sense of identity, especially during the difficult times of growing a business. When reflecting on the ways that navigating a global pandemic strengthened his commitment to leading with authenticity, he says: “we had to make shifts and adjustments. There are things that make you adapt when times are hard, but it’s that adapting that really causes you to grow. Throughout those times it was important to me that our core values never changed, and they never did- being able to maintain the integrity of who we are, especially when it’s hard, is something I want to celebrate”.

Actually, we’ve found a lot to celebrate over the years. We’re grateful to be recipients of formal recognition and awards from organizations like the MarCom Awards, Inc. 5000, Ingram’s, xTopeka Ad Fed, and Washburn Small Business Development Center; these moments have consistently given us pause for humility along our uphill trek. But one of the greatest sources of our pride is, as Caleb puts it, “getting to see people believe in what we do”. Our most cherished moments of joy have come from the clients who we helped grow and who, in turn, helped grow us, as well as from each of our team members along the years, all of whom have made lasting imprints, no matter how long they were part of the Sprout family.

We understand integrity to be a pattern of behaviors, behaviors that don’t necessarily ever get easier to perform, but become strengthened as you find the confidence to trust your instincts. In the beginning of our second decade, it’s that confidence that we’re carrying with us. “It’s about finding the people who already are in alignment with what our values are and figuring out how we, together, can best share stories that capture the truth, and tell those stories for exactly what they are”, says Caleb.

Now, it didn’t take us ten years to realize that everyone has the power to inspire and help people with our words and actions, we've known that all along. It’s the obstacles we’ve faced and opportunities we’ve seized through the years that have helped us to realize our place and strength in that truth. It just needed some time to “take root”, as we love to say. The tenth anniversary is represented by tin which, admittedly, isn’t the most alluring of all metals, but hear us out, the end of a decade (and the start of another) is celebrated with tin because of its inability to rust. It reminds us of resilience tested and durability found, and that’s something we find ourselves smiling about.