Grounded Success
Reading Grounded Success by Kemi Nekvapil instantly aligned with me.
“Success” is usually defined by a destination — something you eventually arrive at when your business looked a certain way, earned a certain amount, or reached some invisible benchmark you had created in your mind. But the more my creative practice evolved, the more I realised that version of success felt unstable. Fragile. Dependent on things outside of myself.
Kemi talks about success through the lens of nature: cyclical, interconnected, sustainable. Nothing in nature rushes, hustles, or “arrives.” It simply continues to grow, rest, regenerate, and contribute to its ecosystem in a way that honours its true nature.
And honestly? That felt like the most powerful permission slip.
Success in Business Isn’t a Finish Line — It’s an Ecosystem
As business owners, we often think of success as one defining moment — launching the brand, landing the client, hitting the income goal, completing the website, finally getting organised.
But most of what truly matters… never ends.
Being a present partner.
Caring for your wellbeing.
Doing fulfilling work.
Deepening your creativity.
Building your business slowly and with intention.
These aren’t boxes to tick. They’re practices.
And practices need space, rhythm, and ongoing care.
Just like an ecosystem.
When I look at my own business through this lens, “success” becomes:
being excited to work
having the freedom to choose how I work
feeling calm, grounded, and self-aware
being able to take a walk or swim on a weekday
having control over my time and my days
supporting my community while sustaining myself
doing what I love with courage and joy
creating with intention, not panic
experiencing peace more often than pressure
None of that requires hustling.
All of it requires honouring my nature.
Values as the Roots of Success
Through this reflection, three values surfaced as the foundation of who I am and how I want Shiplee Studio to operate:
Grounded. Calm. Creative.
These guide every decision I make — from the clients I take on, to the pace at which I work, to the systems I’m building behind the scenes.
They also help me recognise when I’m drifting away from myself… especially in moments of “failure.”
Failure Is Feedback (and Often a Turning Point)
One of the biggest breakthroughs from Kemi’s book was reframing failure.
A branding project that went over time?
A client relationship that became difficult?
A process that didn’t feel good anymore?
Those weren’t signs I was “bad at business.”
They were signals.
Signals telling me:
I needed stronger boundaries
my process needed refining
my systems needed strengthening
I deserved to work in a way that honoured my values
That “failure” became the catalyst for updating my client journey, starting to build my Investment and Welcome Guides, and restructuring my workflow so I could thrive — not just cope.
Failure didn’t break my ecosystem; it nourished it.
Sustainable Business Is Built on Ease, Not Busyness
One line from the book has stayed with me:
“Bringing ease into our work is not laziness; it’s a grounded, compassionate and strategic way of honouring our ecosystem.”
I think every small business owner needs that printed somewhere on their desk.
We glorify busy. But busy is brittle. It burns out the soil we’re trying to grow in.
Ease, on the other hand — ease creates longevity.
Ease gives us time to think, to create, to restore, to make choices we’re proud of. Ease lets us show up for clients in a grounded, present way. Ease allows your brand to grow in a way that feels true rather than forced.
Success isn’t how much we can carry.
It’s how lightly we can move while creating meaningful impact.
My Grounded Commitment Moving Forward
Grounded Success helped me reconnect with the creative, calm, intentional way I want to run Shiplee Studio.
It reminded me that:
my business is an ecosystem, not a race
my values matter more than metrics
sustainable growth is slow and steady
I am allowed to build a business that feels good — not just looks good
the most important things have no finish line
And I want the brands I create for clients to feel the same way: thoughtful, rooted, intentional, aligned.
Because branding isn’t just colours and logos.
It’s the expression of your nature — your story, values, purpose, rhythm.
When we build brands from that place, they don’t just look beautiful.
They feel true.
If this grounded approach to branding resonates with you — or you’d like to bring more ease and alignment into your business ecosystem — my inbox is always open.
Let’s grow something meaningful together.
