Empire Building

Latest Episodes:

54. How to Scale Your Culture as Your Company Grows Apr 26, 2021

Show notes

Growth is great, but if you’re not purposeful about growing and scaling your culture alongside your business it can quickly deteriorate. So how do you grow your business while simultaneously protecting your culture? Come alongside our journey as we struggle with this as well. We talk about what company culture is, what’s working, and what we’re still figuring out.

What’s working for us:

Define common language about values, purpose, and standards
Hire to your culture
Lead by example
Build a system focused around culture
Create an environment where transparency, truth, and standards are clear and open
Treat your people right
Implement cultural ambassadors

Connect on Instagram:

Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
Vija Williams: @viavija
Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

53. Hiring Starts at Home Apr 19, 2021

Show notes

When you’re an entrepreneur, you need to let go of the things you’re not good at or that can be done by someone else in order to grow and scale. What many people don’t understand is that hiring starts at home — especially at the start of your business. We’re going to talk about what hiring at home means, how to determine your hourly wage, ways to overcome leverage guilt, and provide you with ways to get leverage at home.

Connect on Instagram:

Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
Vija Williams: @viavija
Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

52. Building Your Personal Brand Apr 12, 2021

Show notes

For most small businesses, the founder and CEO is the brand. No matter what you do, if you own a business or you’re an employee, it’s essential to have a personal brand and focus on growing it. When you build a brand around yourself instead of your career, it will serve you well in whatever you do. It is your job to tell your story, and that’s what building a personal brand is all about.

We have six steps to building a personal brand:

Decide what you want to be known for
Know your audience
Understand what you’re passionate about and what you’re good at.
Define your ideal platform(s)
Know your end goal
Surround yourself with mentors

Connect on Instagram:

Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
Vija Williams: @viavija
Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

51. How to Never Lose Your Top Players Apr 05, 2021

Show notes

Without relationships, there is no trust. People do not come to work day after day just to punch a time clock — they come to work for a person or group of people. For them to give it their absolute best, and for us to get the best out of them, they must have relationships with their leader. As your empire grows bigger this becomes harder and harder, so it's continually more important to give it your focus and attention. There are eight steps to lead in your relationships, showing people that you care, and keeping your top talent.

Understand your team’s story
Learn what makes people tick
Connect on social media
Names (and pronunciation) matter
Find a common interest
Catch them doing something right
Be part of their life journey
Invest in your people

Building an empire isn’t just about building big businesses — it’s about building big lives. And that means not just your life, but your people’s lives too. So get out there and care for your people.

Connect on Instagram:

Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
Vija Williams: @viavija
Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

50. Confidence in the Workplace Mar 29, 2021

Show notes

So many people — women especially — struggle with confidence in the workplace. We still have a long way to go when it comes to gender stereotypes, and one of the more pervasive ones that women face is that they can’t be too aggressive or confident without appearing to be abrasive. This programming starts in childhood when boys are encouraged to be competitive and take risks while girls are encouraged to be kind, sweet, and polite. You have to have confidence to succeed. Let’s discuss how to fight back against that programming and cultivate more confidence in the next generation of women.

Resources:

Read: "How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Second or Less"

Connect on Instagram:

Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
Vija Williams: @viavija
Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

49. How to Deal with Difficult People Mar 22, 2021

Show notes

“In the school of life, difficult people are the faculty. They teach us our most important spiritual lessons, the lessons that we would be mostly unlikely to learn on our own.” —Mark Rosen

When you’re growing big businesses, dealing with difficult people is a necessary skill to learn. You can't control how other people act, but you can control how you respond and how you let their actions affect you. We’re going to talk about why it’s important to deal with difficult people and offer some tips for how you can do it gracefully.

Connect on Instagram:

Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
Vija Williams: @viavija
Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

48. Health Hacks for the Busy Empire Builder Mar 15, 2021

Show notes

If you don’t take time for your wellness, you’re going to be forced to take time for your illness. If you listen to the hints your body is giving you, you won’t end up having to bear its screams later. Both your health and your finances are going to affect your life, whether you focus on them or not. So why not focus on them and make everything better? We’re going to walk through our hacks to focus on your health when you’re a busy empire builder.

The big rocks when it comes to health are:

Nutrition
Sleep
Exercise
Relaxation

We’re going to touch on each of those as we give you our tips.

Connect on Instagram:

Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
Vija Williams: @viavija
Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

47. 6 Coping Mechanisms for Stress and Anxiety Mar 08, 2021

Show notes

When you’re building big businesses and big lives, that can lead to excess amounts of stress and anxiety. We’re going to discuss coping mechanisms for dealing with stress, anxiety, and overwhelm as we are all actively going through it ourselves.

We have six steps we’ve been using to cope:

Figure out your problem list
Prioritizing competing values and interests
Do it, delay it, delegate it, or dump it
Enlist support
Take care of yourself
See the big picture

Connect on Instagram:

Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
Vija Williams: @viavija
Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

46. Tiffany Fykes: Leaping into the Fire to Chase Your Joy Mar 01, 2021

Show notes

Tiffany Fykes is the perfect example of leveraging a big business to create a bigger life. She entered the real estate industry in 2009, and within just four years, built a million dollar producing team at Fykes Realty Groups — all while doubling the size of her family. On top of that, all of this happened while Tiffany was living in a different city and traveling with her family! We talk about what led to her decision to move, what it was like to operate a business remotely, and following through on your dreams.

Resources:

fykesrealtygroup.com

Connect on Instagram:

Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevp
Vija Williams: @viavija
Sarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsoji
Wendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

45. What To Do When You Don't Want To Pick Up The Phone: Overcoming Call Reluctance Feb 22, 2021

Show notes

In their book “The Psychology of Sales Call Reluctance,” Shannon Goodson and George Dudley explain that call reluctance is the reason why 80% of new salespeople fail in their first year. We’re going to explore what call reluctance is, why people experience it, and the top 10 ways to overcome it.

10 Tips for Overcoming Call Reluctance: