Staying Grounded When Everything Feels Unsteady | The WIP by OrangeWIP

Sometimes things fall apart. A plan doesn't work out. Your team hits a rough patch. You're running on empty. The instinct is to power through and move on fast. But not every breakdown is a failure. Sometimes it's actually pointing you toward something better.

Real leadership isn't about avoiding pressure. It's about staying solid when it hits. The best founders don't panic when cracks appear. They slow down. They pay attention. They figure out what still matters and what's worth keeping. They know their foundation isn't the business structure. It's the work itself and what they stand for.

When everything feels shaky, clarity is your edge. Focus becomes your fuel. How you handle that moment matters way more than having the perfect plan.

12/01 - How to Build Your 2026 Startup Operations Plan

12/03 - 2025 Holiday Party & Oyster Roast

12/04 - SYP & Santa

Can a founder truly grow if they keep hiding the parts of themselves that feel messy?

Kelly Dowd, founder of FIDA Design, built a business by embracing the chaos he once tried to quit. He gets real about growing up in Nigeria, burning out in corporate America, rediscovering his identity, and using neurodivergent wiring as a creative advantage. This episode is a deep dive into strategic empathy, self acceptance, and the power of building from who you really are.

Hear how Kelly turned chaos into clarity and why your wiring might be the blueprint you have been ignoring.

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.

The Apple TV+ series “WeCrashed” dramatizes the story of the global coworking venture, WeWork. It depicts a certain coworking culture: founder as a god, fast paced, go for broke, world domination on a mission. As an emerging social entrepreneur, I found it to be as fascinating as it was frightening. It showed exactly why I’d never joined a cowork space.

But my business partner, Katie Zenger, raved about femme x COLUMBIA. It’s a social club and coworking space that aims to curate progressive spaces that use the power of community to advance women. She was adamant that femme x’s atmosphere, mission, and gorgeous castle-like historic location were perfect for our next venture.

I had to know the details, and so I grabbed a few minutes with Nell Fuller, founder and CEO, to find out how she runs a company that’s nothing like “WeCrashed.”

How do you make the experience of working in a femme workspace different from any other cowork spot?

Our mission and vision are grounded in moving women forward through community, so right out of the gate, the culture and the energy of the space set us apart. We’re housed in a historic home built in the 1830’s and restored in 2020. Most coworking spaces tend to have warehouse, tech-bro vibes with concrete floors, classic ping-pong table, and red solo cup vibes. 

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

It’s not just a place to register for licenses and permits. It’s a launchpad packed with tools founders actually need.

You can register your business online, access planning templates, get tax guidance, and stay on top of compliance from both the state and federal level. It also points you toward assistance programs you may qualify for like grants, loans, and financial support designed to help you grow instead of guess. And if that wasn’t enough, they offer training on everything from employer tax withholding to job development credits so you can operate with confidence.

This is one of the most underrated starting points for any South Carolina entrepreneur. If you have not explored it yet, now is the time.