We’ve talked before about the value of doing hard things, and this episode is proof that we are true to our word. In the middle of everything else going on, Vija took on one of the hardest things a human can do: A marathon at the bottom of the world in Patagonia. Hear about how she learned from her experiences, the lessons she learned, and moving forward when failure is the only option. Connect on Instagram: Read: It Takes What It Takes: How to Think Neutrally and Gain Control of Your Life Seych...
Oct 31, 2022•34 min•Ep. 134
Often we’re told to focus on what we need to improve at. Starting with school, where we’re trained to train our weaknesses instead of leaning into our strengths. But leaning into your own personal strengths can lead to extraordinary results. We’re going to share the tools you can use to identify your own strengths, and what you can do to leverage those strengths for success. Connect on Instagram: CliftonStrengths Online Talent Assessment Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija ...
Oct 24, 2022•32 min•Ep. 133
One of our favorite things here at Empire Building is travel. It does so much: It reinvigorates us, gives us new experiences, allows us to spend time with family and friends, and more. Whether traveling for work or for the joy of it, we have some tips for getting the most out of your trip. We’ll share some of our favorite places we’ve visited, as well as how to manage the three parts of every trip: pre, during, and post. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @via...
Oct 17, 2022•35 min•Ep. 132
Leaders are readers. Books offer some of the best return on value you can get anywhere—you can learn the lessons of amazing leaders for just a few dollars and some time. We’re going to share the books that we’re reading and what we’re learning from them. Books mentioned: The Power of Regret by Daniel H. Pink The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins Lifestyle Investor by Justin Donald Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura ...
Oct 10, 2022•36 min•Ep. 131
Being married to an entrepreneur can be a challenge. Whether it’s balancing the needs of a business and a family, or trying to draw the right boundaries, it doesn’t come easy. It can be rewarding and amazing but it’s also full of sacrifice. It’s important that entrepreneurial couples get on the same page about their priorities and values. We’re going to talk about setting goals together as a couple, finding alignment as a team, and some of the mistakes we’ve made before during the process. Conne...
Oct 03, 2022•25 min•Ep. 130
We’re at the final part of our series on leadership, and we’ve saved the best for last: Culture. Culture is the core of your business. We’ve all experienced what it looks like when a culture is strong, and we’ve also seen what it looks like to be in a toxic culture. We’re going to learn about how to create a good culture at work. Resources: Empire Building Episode Recap: Vision Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji Wendy...
Sep 26, 2022•32 min•Ep. 129
One thing that many people don’t like to talk about in business but that’s essential to growing your empire are numbers. There are four numbers that every CEO should know in their business. We’re going to share what those numbers are, why they matter, and how you can optimize for them. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan...
Sep 19, 2022•42 min•Ep. 128
As we continue our series on leadership, we’re going to focus on leading people. Specifically, what are some of the traits that world-class CEOs have that you can incorporate into your leadership? We are going to share 10 traits of all the best CEOs and why those traits are so important. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan...
Sep 12, 2022•26 min•Ep. 127
In the last part of our leadership series, we tackled communication—one of the biggest challenges leaders face and the greatest opportunity for success. Since communication is so important, we’re diving even further into the topic with specific tactics to improve your communication skills. We discuss optimal communication methods, the value of repeating important messages, and triggering phrases to avoid using. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sarah...
Sep 05, 2022•30 min•Ep. 126
The third part of our six part series on leadership is all about what is possibly the most important quality a leader can have: effective communication skills. It’s often underrated, but leaders are required to communicate with their teams every day. If that communication isn’t strong, clear, and effective, your organization is going to encounter problems. We’re sharing our six steps to communicating effectively as a leader. Listen well Give feedback Say what you mean Use non-verbal cues to your...
Aug 29, 2022•43 min•Ep. 125
How we talk to ourselves affects our leadership more than anything, and vision is no exception to that. As leaders, we need to develop the muscle of trusting ourselves by holding true to our word and to the promises we make to ourselves and others. We’re going to talk about vision-casting as a leader and how to cast a vision so inspiring that no one wants to leave, as well as the four C’s that you need to define when vision-casting. It all starts with ourselves. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle V...
Aug 22, 2022•34 min•Ep. 124
We’re kicking off our 6-part series on leadership with one area that’s foundational to all aspects of being a leader: Self-leadership. Your success as a leader is directly proportional to how well you lead yourself. Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent or running a Fortune 500 company, the ability to lead yourself is paramount to a purpose-driven life. We’re going to share our best tactics for mastering the art of leading yourself. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Wil...
Aug 15, 2022•39 min•Ep. 123
Oscar Wilde said “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Being genuine is key to building rapport. Empire Builders are often naturally good at building rapport, but that’s not always the case—and it’s so important. Whether you could use some improvement in this field or someone on your team needs the help, we’re going to share eight easy ways for you to get better at building rapport. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sarah Reynolds: @sarahrey...
Aug 08, 2022•17 min•Ep. 122
Most empires and organizations have a separate sales force and operations team. One makes all the promises to clients and customers, and the other team has to fulfill them. But getting these two teams unified is harder than it seems. We have six steps you can follow to help unify these essential teams and get them working synchronously. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan...
Jul 29, 2022•38 min•Ep. 121
Are you hitting the ceiling in any areas of your life? Many times when things are going well for you, something else happens to drag you back down—almost as if we’re hitting some invisible peak. This may be, as Gay Hendricks calls it, an “upper limit problem.” We’re going to explore this concept, help you identify where it may be cropping up in your life, and share with you what to do about it. Connect on Instagram: Read: The Big Leap Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sar...
Jul 25, 2022•34 min•Ep. 120
The economy is changing fast, and we may be on the cusp of a recession. That means us Empire Builders may need to pivot, and managing your expenses becomes more important than ever before. We’re going to talk about everything you need to keep in mind when making a shift, especially when revenue is declining. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan...
Jul 18, 2022•41 min•Ep. 119
One feeling is very real as you build your empire: Fear. Whether that comes from anxiety or fear of the unknown, it can show up in a number of ways. Fear itself isn’t a bad thing—it serves an important function in helping us survive. But it’s what we do about that fear that really sets us apart. We’re going to offer three steps you can rely on as a leader to take action in the midst of fear. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sarah Reynolds: @sarahrey...
Jul 11, 2022•19 min•Ep. 118
Making sure you’re giving your customers the best service possible is important when building an empire. But as a person, your time is equally as important. How do you manage to give world-class customer service without sacrificing all of your time? We’re going to give some tactical tips for giving five-star service and creating raving fans—all while protecting your time. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji Wendy Papas...
Jul 04, 2022•23 min•Ep. 117
Building a big business is hard enough work on its own. And it only gets harder when coupled with one of the most difficult jobs a person can have: Parenting. It’s possible to do both well, but it isn’t easy. We’re going to share six tips for balancing both and show you how it’s done, while still being real about how hard it can be. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan...
Jun 27, 2022•29 min•Ep. 116
In uncertain times, many people don’t want to be honest about what’s going on—even to themselves. They bury their heads in the sand and just hope someone else magically figures it out for them. The truth is that in uncertain times, you must be ready to save yourself. Or, at the very least, you need to take a couple of key things first. That’s what we’re going to discuss today. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji Wendy ...
Jun 20, 2022•25 min•Ep. 115
In Brené Brown’s book Dare to Lead , she says “The number one cause of shame at work is fear of irrelevance. The number one cause of fear of irrelevance is change.” Sometimes as we build our empires, our success can unearth a deep-buried fear we have: That our own business will outgrow us. We’re going to tackle some of the thoughts around that fear, especially for any organization that is growing or changing. Connect on Instagram: Read: Dare to Lead Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija William...
Jun 13, 2022•38 min•Ep. 114
Building empires is hard work, and oftentimes the work ethic that makes it all possible is passed down to us from our parents. As working parents, we constantly worry about whether our kids are being raised right. And when you’re very financially stable, it can be hard for kids to grow up understanding the value of a dollar. We’re going to share eight things you can do to help your kids not only build wealth, but value it. Connect on Instagram: nathanbarry.com Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp V...
Jun 06, 2022•28 min•Ep. 113
Every empire builder is going to go through hard times. We’ve had our share of them, and over the last few years of the pandemic we’ve heard from many of you who have reached out as well. Today, we’re going to tell you that you’re not alone and give an inspirational pep talk, because you can do hard things. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan Empire Building is produced and published by Cra...
May 30, 2022•32 min•Ep. 112
In real estate, you spend a large amount of time chasing leads. When one of those leads turns out to be a dead end it can feel like a lot of time wasted. Today, we’re going to share tips for you to prequalify your leads, saving you time in the long run. While our examples will revolve around prequalifying a real estate lead, these tactics can be applied to any sales industry. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji Wendy P...
May 23, 2022•22 min•Ep. 111
Time is our most valuable, precious, and limited asset. So let’s talk about managing it using a framework known as “The 4 ‘D’s of Time Management.” It’s the best way to help separate the fake urgent tasks from the highly important ones. Listen and gain control of your time. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan Empire Building is produced and published by Crate Media ....
May 16, 2022•37 min•Ep. 110
Being a parent is hard even in the best of times. Throw in a pandemic, homeschooling, and trying to build an empire on top of that? Good luck! Parenting fails are bound to happen – we all have them. In honor of Mother’s Day, we’re going to share some of our biggest fails as moms, and hopefully, make you feel better about yours. Connect on Instagram: Send your parenting fails to empirebuildingpodcast@gmail.com with the subject “parenting fail” and we’ll share them on the show! Seychelle Van Poole...
May 09, 2022•32 min•Ep. 109
Last week we told you why holding weekly accountability meetings with your key staff was so important. Today, we’re sharing the nitty gritty details of how to actually hold them, down to what you talk about, how to keep things on track, and what to do if an employee keeps missing their accountability markers. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @viavija Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan Empire Building is a production of Crate Media...
May 05, 2022•14 min•Ep. 108
Accountability is key to any successful empire. Everyone needs to be on the same page about the company’s goals and drive in the same direction in order to make progress. The 4-1-1 is a powerful tool for setting goals, both for you and for the key people in your company. We’re going to teach you how to have productive accountability meetings with your team, and why doing so is important. There’s so much to say on this one that we’re going to be back with more, next episode. Connect on Instagram:...
May 02, 2022•40 min•Ep. 107
Being an entrepreneur can make it difficult to make – and keep – close friendships. You get so focused on your business that the people you used to spend time with start filling that time with other people. This can be painful because, although you may love your work, you don’t want it to be at the cost of your friendships. We’re going to give five tips on how to maintain and grow healthy friendships as an empire builder. Connect on Instagram: Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp Vija Williams: @vi...
Apr 25, 2022•30 min•Ep. 106
Elizabeth Faircloth and Andresa Guidelli are the hosts of The Real Estate InvestHER Show. They have 27 years of combined experience and a portfolio of over $130 million. When they wanted to find a group of supportive women to build community with, they found that such a thing didn’t really exist… yet – so, like any good entrepreneurs, they created it themselves. We talk about making mistakes, future opportunities, and striking a balance that feels good to you. Resources: therealestateinvesther.c...
Apr 18, 2022•43 min•Ep. 105
