Empire Building

Most children growing up today are accustomed to both parents working, but back in the day it was traditionally the male who brought home the bacon and the female fried it in the pan. We’re well past those days — today nearly a third of American households have a female breadwinner. However, many of the other traditional dynamics haven’t changed: Women still do more childcare and housework than their husbands, and men still feel the pressure to be the breadwinner. There are ways you can have a healthy marriage and family and still be the primary breadwinner, and we’re going to walk through four important aspects that make it happen.Respect each otherGet clear about financesAlign your goalsIt’s not easy but it’s worth itConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanEmpire Building is a production of Crate Media

If there’s one rule to life, it’s that change is the only constant. There will be disruption and there will be changes in your business. You have to learn to grow, motivate, and lead your team in the midst of change and disruption. Change often leads to fear, and your job as a leader is to alleviate those fears as much as possible. We’re going to look at what you need to focus on when change is happening and how to react to it.Grow:Focus on revenueProtect your mindsetSurround yourself with other leadersMotivate:Communicate consistentlyLead:Freezing is not an optionYou don’t have to see the top of the stairwell to know the next stepCheck in with your peopleConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanEmpire Building is a production of Crate Media

Sue Adler is the #1 real estate agent in the entire state of New Jersey. Not only is she a kick-ass business person, she’s also a kick-ass person with a kick-ass life. She’s living proof that if you are talented and a hard worker, you can start over in any market in your chosen craft and succeed. And even with all of that success, she travels three months out of the year and when she’s gone she is completely checked out from the business — and it thrives while she’s gone!We talk about why she decided to move from Philadelphia to New Jersey, how entrepreneurial real estate can be, and using boredom to fuel growth.Resources:sueadler.comlinkedin.com/in/sueadlerDay at Sea - Peter JacobyConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanEmpire Building is a production of Crate Media

When you’re busy and you’re stressed, things are going to end up going askew. We’re going to talk about what’s stressing us out right now, what we’re going through, and how we’re processing and tackling it. We’re all emerging from the pandemic era and there’s so much changing. The stresses of that are underlying everything else that’s happening. We talk about admitting that you need help, recalibrating as we reopen after COVID-19, managing with everyone being in a different place, and what we want to keep from this time.Connect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanEmpire Building is a production of Crate Media

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 standardsHire to your cultureLead by exampleBuild a system focused around cultureCreate an environment where transparency, truth, and standards are clear and openTreat your people rightImplement cultural ambassadorsConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanEmpire Building is a production of Crate Media

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: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanEmpire Building is a production of Crate Media

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 forKnow your audienceUnderstand what you’re passionate about and what you’re good at.Define your ideal platform(s)Know your end goalSurround yourself with mentorsConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanEmpire Building is a production of Crate Media

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 storyLearn what makes people tickConnect on social mediaNames (and pronunciation) matterFind a common interestCatch them doing something rightBe part of their life journeyInvest in your peopleBuilding 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: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanEmpire Building is a production of Crate Media

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: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanEmpire Building is a production of Crate Media

“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 RosenWhen 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: @seychellevpVija Williams: @viavijaSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanEmpire Building is a production of Crate Media