Empire Building

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: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

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. PinkThe Four Hour Work Week by Tim FerrissHow the Mighty Fall by Jim CollinsLifestyle Investor by Justin DonaldUnbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura HillenbrandThe Diamond Eye by Kate QuinnThe Lifeguards by Amanda Eyre WardMultipliers by Liz WeismanThe Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben HorowitzFalling Upward by Ricahrd RohrFinal Gifts by Maggie Callnhan and Patricia Kelly13 Fatal Errors Managers Make and How You Can Avoid Them by W. Steven BrownWill by Will SmithHello, Molly! by Molly ShannonConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

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.Connect on Instagram:Join the Goal Setting Retreat at the1thing.com/events and use code WENDY for a discountSeychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

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: VisionConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

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: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

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: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

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: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

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 wellGive feedbackSay what you meanUse non-verbal cues to your advantageHave integrity with your wordMake it about them, not youConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

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 Van Poole: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasan

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: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasan