When Your Business Feels Stuck Start at the Roots | The WIP by OrangeWIP

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Some seasons make your company feel stuck. Sales slow. Energy dips. The team feels disconnected. It’s tempting to push harder and chase momentum—but sometimes the real work is happening where you can’t see it.

Growth doesn’t start at the surface. It starts in the roots: purpose, values, clarity, culture—the parts of your business nobody sees but everyone feels.

When nothing’s moving the way you want, it’s easy to think something’s broken. Often, it’s a signal to go deeper: to revisit why you started, and to make sure you’re leading from your values instead of reacting to whatever’s loudest.

If you’re in a stretch where progress feels slow, this perspective might change how you see the season you’re in.

12/10 - Breakfast Briefing: December 2025

12/11 - Winter Connect 2025

12/12 - 2025 Annual Legislative Breakfast

Can a cold plunge unlock the clarity that founders spend years chasing?

Kris Rice, founder of ChillPod, turned a backyard experiment into a hardware startup in the booming cold plunge wellness space. She gets real about founder mental health, overseas manufacturing, product design chaos, and the gut instinct that pushed her forward when experience alone wasn’t enough.

Her journey is a raw, bold look at what it takes to build a physical product—and stay grounded through the messy middle.

🎧 Discover how she navigated the messy middle, and why leaning on intuition can be a founder’s greatest advantage.

Is your voice missing? Speak Up.

Do you have an entrepreneur story to tell? A point to make? An idea to share? We want to hear from you! Sign up to be a Hello Chaos guest today.

Katie “Bell” Williams is one half of the duo that makes up Hammer & Bell Design-Build, the custom woodworking firm behind some of the most complex historical restoration and custom projects in the Charleston area. Together, Katie and her business partner Jack Bassett are known for their ability to pull off designs that no one else in the country would even attempt. Katie talked with us about running an authentic, balanced business that embraces innovation while holding onto history.

When did you fall in love with woodworking?

I decided to be a woodworker based on my love of architecture and old things, but I wanted a practical application of form and function. I had to actively choose woodworking every single day because it did not want me at first. It wasn’t forgiving, and it didn’t come easy. There was a point where I started respecting the process and challenge more than the results, and I think I found the love in those moments.

How do you identify the best clients for your business?

The biggest challenge is that no one understands what this work costs. Less and less people in the industry understand it because tradespeople are being removed from the process, and people further up the chain are dictating the budget to the client. The truth is no one knows; everyone is guessing. 

South Carolina’s Business One Stop lives up to its name.

VentureSouth is one of the busiest early stage investment groups in the Southeast. They've got over 400 angel investors who've put more than 60 million dollars into 90 companies. Their whole thing is helping promising startups get the money and mentorship to grow.

Funding usually lands somewhere between a quarter million and a million dollars. If you want to be considered, you need to be based in the Southeast, already making some revenue, and have a shot at delivering solid returns in the next three to five years.

Banish bad ads for good

Your site, your ad choices.

Don’t let intrusive ads ruin the experience for the audience you've worked hard to build.

With Google AdSense, you can ensure only the ads you want appear on your site, making it the strongest and most compelling option.

Don’t just take our word for it. DIY Eule, one of Germany’s largest sewing content creators says, “With Google AdSense, I can customize the placement, amount, and layout of ads on my site.”

Google AdSense gives you full control to customize exactly where you want ads—and where you don't. Use the powerful controls to designate ad-free zones, ensuring a positive user experience.

Take control of your ads