Some leaders pivot by choice.
Others pivot because standing still is no longer an option.

Amy Pierquet knows what it means to lead through fear — and to come out stronger on the other side. Founder of Waterfront Graphic Design, Amy has spent more than two decades helping businesses tell their stories visually, while quietly rewriting her own story of resilience, reinvention, and courage.

For Tiffany Odutoye, this conversation began where so many powerful connections do — a simple LinkedIn introduction that turned into a deeper, trust-based conversation. Amy’s journey resonates with anyone who has ever faced a moment where fear and growth stood on opposite sides of the same decision.

Listening to Amy feels like sitting with someone who’s been tested — and chose to keep going anyway.

When the Industry Changed Overnight

Amy started her career as a traditional graphic designer, specializing in print — magazines, publications, and large-scale layouts. For years, the work was steady and familiar. Then the world shifted.

Between 2008 and 2010, the publishing industry collapsed rapidly. Advertisers disappeared. Print publications thinned out. And within a three-month window, Amy lost every single client.

What followed was one of the most difficult decisions of her career: cling to what she knew, or step into the unknown world of digital design and websites — something she openly admits she didn’t want to do.

Fear sat at the center of that moment. Fear of learning something new. Fear of failure. Fear of losing income.

But fear, she discovered, doesn’t mean stop. It means pay attention.

Choosing Learning Over Avoidance

Instead of walking away, Amy chose education.

At a time when online courses and YouTube tutorials didn’t exist, she taught herself through books, experimentation, trial, and patience. Every new skill chipped away at the fear — replacing it with confidence earned the hard way.

Even when self-doubt showed up — what she affectionately named “Silly Sally”, the voice in her head that told her she wasn’t good enough — Amy learned how to challenge it. She didn’t wait for confidence to appear. She built it through action.

That willingness to stay uncomfortable became the foundation of her success.

Future-Proofing Through Flexibility

Today, Waterfront Graphic Design is a full-service digital marketing and design firm — offering websites, SEO, branding, and strategy. And when tools like Canva and AI emerged, Amy didn’t panic.

She adapted.

Rather than seeing these tools as threats, she sees them as opportunities — ways to help business owners who get stuck, confused, or overwhelmed. Her value isn’t replaced by technology; it’s amplified by it.

Amy’s leadership is grounded in service: helping people get unstuck, guiding them through mindset blocks, and reminding them that tools don’t replace expertise — people do.

Community, Mentorship, and Paying It Forward

One of Amy’s strongest leadership values is community.

Whether through mentoring fellow entrepreneurs, making meaningful introductions, or helping the next generation explore career paths before committing to them, Amy believes in testing, learning, and sharing knowledge openly.

She embodies the principle that givers gain — building relationships rooted in generosity rather than transactions.