
Empire Building
It’s no secret that business owners face a unique set of challenges, often juggling marriage, parenthood, and career aspirations. Empire Building brings together five influential women who are unapologetic in their goals to build big businesses and live big lives. Another common goal? Helping others do the same.Tune in for authentic, unfiltered conversations with Wendy Papasan, Seychelle Van Poole, Sarah Reynolds, Kymber Lovett-Menkiti, and Tiffany Fykes, as they invite you to be a part of their journey.
Latest episodes

Sep 30, 2024 • 23min
238. 5 Reasons You're Burned Out & What To Do About It (2)
Welcome back for Part Two of our episode on burnout!As a reminder, in Part One, we covered the five reasons you're burnt out:You don't know what matters most to you. If you do, you aren't prioritizing it. You think you can do it all, have it all, and know it all. You take no time for recovery after stress. You don't know your numbers, especially your finances. You don't get that it's not about winning; it's who you become on the way.In the last episode, we covered what to do about number 1 and number 2, so today, we'll jump right in at number 3. We break down stress into seven different categories and give you tactics for how to recover from each one. We identify the key financial figures you should know. We wrap up with a discussion about how important it is to value your journey and pick good fellow travelers.Don't forget to check out the links below to join our communities of support!Resources:Join Her Best LifeJoin the Net Worth ClubConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanKymber Lovett-Menkiti: @kymbermenkitiTiffany Fykes: @tiffanyfykesProduced by NOVA MediaThis podcast is for general informational purposes only. The guest's views, thoughts, and opinions represent those of the guest and not KWRI and its affiliates and should not be construed as financial, economic, legal, tax, or other advice. This podcast is provided without any warranty, or guarantee of its accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or results from using the information.

Sep 23, 2024 • 24min
237. 5 Reasons You're Burned & What To Do About It (1)
Are you regularly physically and emotionally exhausted? Are you more cynical and detached than usual? Are you feeling like all your hard work isn't actually accomplishing anything? If you answered yes to those questions, you're probably experiencing burnout.In today's episode, we dive into the five reasons you're burnt out:You don't know what matters most to you. If you do, you aren't prioritizing it. You think you can do it all, have it all, and know it all. You take no time for recovery after stress. You don't know your numbers, especially your finances. You don't get that it's not about winning—it's who you become on the way.We cover how to address numbers one and two in this episode. Stay tuned for Part Two, where we cover the rest!Resources:Join Her Best LifeConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanKymber Lovett-Menkiti: @kymbermenkitiTiffany Fykes: @tiffanyfykesProduced by NOVA MediaThis podcast is for general informational purposes only. The guest's views, thoughts, and opinions represent those of the guest and not KWRI and its affiliates and should not be construed as financial, economic, legal, tax, or other advice. This podcast is provided without any warranty, or guarantee of its accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or results from using the information.

Sep 16, 2024 • 35min
236. Why You're Not Attracting Talent
The most rewarding part of building a big business is that you get to bring other people on the journey with you. You need to make sure they’re the right people, though. In this episode, we go over how to attract the best talent for your team.We break it down into five steps: be a confident leader, define your value proposition, evaluate your culture, determine who you’re missing, and create a talent funnel. For each one, we give specific tactics.The people you work with are key to your success and your happiness. We hope this episode helps you build and maintain an excellent squad!Resources:Join Her Best LifeRead The Millionaire Real Estate AgentWork with Anna KruegerLearn more about the Empire CircleConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanKymber Lovett-Menkiti: @kymbermenkitiTiffany Fykes: @tiffanyfykesProduced by NOVA MediaThis podcast is for general informational purposes only. The guest's views, thoughts, and opinions represent those of the guest and not KWRI and its affiliates and should not be construed as financial, economic, legal, tax, or other advice. This podcast is provided without any warranty, or guarantee of its accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or results from using the information.

Sep 9, 2024 • 34min
235. Business Lessons Learned the Hard Way
Each one of us has made mistakes and learned lessons the hard way while building our big businesses. In this episode, we share those lessons with you, hoping to spare you some of the pain and heartache.We discuss everything from the importance of documenting all your processes as you start your business to learning how to let people go as they move on from your team. For each lesson learned, we give you examples from our own experiences.This episode is our gift to our listeners. You are not alone on this imperfect journey to building a big business and an even bigger life.Resources:Listen to Episode 135. Health Journey with Sarah ReynoldsListen to Episode 233. How to Be a Leader That Someone Wants to Follow: The 4 A’s of LeadershipJoin Her Best LifeRead Acres of DiamondsConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanKymber Lovett-Menkiti: @kymbermenkitiTiffany Fykes: @tiffanyfykesProduced by NOVA MediaThis podcast is for general informational purposes only. The guest's views, thoughts, and opinions represent those of the guest and not KWRI and its affiliates and should not be construed as financial, economic, legal, tax, or other advice. This podcast is provided without any warranty, or guarantee of its accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or results from using the information.

Sep 2, 2024 • 22min
234. Steps to Fix and Avoid Overcommitting
As women, especially Empire Builders, we are at high risk of being overcommitted. It’s even considered normal for a lot of us, but we should expect better for our lives. Our lives should be filled with rest, family time, and enjoyment. In this episode, we cover how to step back from being overcommitted and how to avoid it moving forward.We talk about using a physical pen to paper and a color-coded highlighter scheduling system. We talk through how to back out, apologize, and ask for help. Most importantly, we talk about learning to say that word we all have been trained to hate, “no.” No is a beautiful word.So schedule that rest time, delegate what you can, and live the life you’ve always dreamed of.Resources:Join Her Best LifeConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanKymber Lovett-Menkiti: @kymbermenkitiTiffany Fykes: @tiffanyfykesProduced by NOVA MediaThis podcast is for general informational purposes only. The guest's views, thoughts, and opinions represent those of the guest and not KWRI and its affiliates and should not be construed as financial, economic, legal, tax, or other advice. This podcast is provided without any warranty, or guarantee of its accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or results from using the information.

Aug 26, 2024 • 31min
233. How to Be a Leader That Someone Wants to Follow: The 4 A’s of Leadership
Good leadership is hard but critical. The number one reason agents leave a brokerage is because they’re seeking better leadership. If you’ve hit a leadership wall, or if you haven’t even thought about leadership as an ongoing journey, this episode is for you. We share the tips and systems that have been the most helpful to us as we lead our empires.We break it all down as the four A’s of leadership: autonomy, authenticity, accountability, and appreciation. We cover self-investment, growth plans, trust, high standards, the five love languages, and much more.Your empire will only grow to the level that your leadership grows. Listen to this episode, and never stop pursuing leadership development for yourself.Resources:Join Her Best LifeLearn more about Brain Boero’s 1000WATT’s researchCheck out Dianna Kokoszka’s website Take a look at Brene Brown’s Rumble ProcessWatch the Simone Biles documentary on NetflixConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanKymber Lovett-Menkiti: @kymbermenkitiTiffany Fykes: @tiffanyfykesProduced by NOVA MediaThis podcast is for general informational purposes only. The guest's views, thoughts, and opinions represent those of the guest and not KWRI and its affiliates and should not be construed as financial, economic, legal, tax, or other advice. This podcast is provided without any warranty, or guarantee of its accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or results from using the information.

Aug 19, 2024 • 26min
232. Our Best Tips to Save Time at Home
At the risk of sounding like Betty Crocker, we have some amazing homemaking tips for you today. We go through ways to make your cooking, finances, and overall home management more efficient. That way, you can cut down on your stress and increase quality time with your loved ones.We dive into juggling kids’ and spouses’ schedules, mandatory date nights, meal prep hacks, and dividing up house chores. We also share some apps and platforms that have been lifesavers for us.So no—we don’t cover how to make a doily for your next tea party. We just swap tips and funny stories about managing life.Resources:Apply to join Her Best Life Empire CircleConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanKymber Lovett-Menkiti: @kymbermenkitiTiffany Fykes: @tiffanyfykesProduced by NOVA Media

Aug 12, 2024 • 26min
231. 10 Tips for Crafting a Bio That Gets You Noticed
If you’re like us, writing your bio is probably the last thing you want to do on your to-do list. You’d rather be out doing the work and pouring into others. We get it. But an excellent bio is important, so in this episode, we give you 10 tips to get it done and get it done well. Bios lay the groundwork for first impressions. Whether you’re applying to a new position or trying to get a new client, a strong bio makes all the difference. Plus, you owe it to yourself to not hide your accomplishments and skills.The tips we review: 1. Tailor your bio and have multiple versions. 2. Have a short bio and a long bio. 3. Start strong. 4. Ask for help. 5. Use a template. 6. Explain how you got to where you are. 7. Include interesting hobbies. 8. Write in third person. 9. Revisit your bio once a year. 10. Include an updated headshot.So go out there, write that bio, and send it to us because we would love to see it!Resources:Share your bio with us: empirebuildingpod@gmail.comListen to Episode 221. Overcoming Imposter SyndromeThe Muse’s Professional Bio Template Studoc’s Professional Bio TemplateConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanKymber Lovett-Menkiti: @kymbermenkitiTiffany Fykes: @tiffanyfykesProduced by NOVA Media

Aug 5, 2024 • 14min
230. Health Hacks Every Business Owner Needs to Know (Part 2)
Welcome back for Part 2 of our health hacks conversation! Today, we cover mental health, exercise, stress management– and, of course, the overlap of all three.We share our favorite ways to move: Walking meetings, weightlifting, and Peloton. Remember, the best exercise is the one you actually do, so explore which kinds of exercise you enjoy the most– yes, pickleball counts.We also talk about finding moments to be present, seeking counterbalance, and trusting in yourself. Most importantly, we talk about the power of human connection. If you feel like human connection is a missing piece for you as an empire-building woman, you can always join us at Her Best Life.Resources:Join our community at HerBestLife.comConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanKymber Lovett-Menkiti: @kymbermenkitiTiffany Fykes: @tiffanyfykesProduced by NOVA Media

Jul 29, 2024 • 20min
229. Health Hacks Every Business Owner Needs to Know (Part 1)
Just like finances, health is going to happen to you whether you focus on it or not. If you do not take time for your wellness, you will be forced to take time for your illness. That is why we are here to share our health hacks with you! First, we cover nutrition: How to make sure you drink plenty of water, protein-packed snack ideas, and more tips on how to fit healthy fuel into your busy life. See below for Tiffany’s Powerball recipe!Then we get into sleep: Making sure your bedroom is dark and cool, keeping a sleep schedule, putting a notepad by the bed, etc.Our conversation gets so in-depth that we actually have to hit the pause button and turn it into two episodes. So, stay tuned for Part 2 next week, where we will talk about mental health, stress management, and exercise!Tiffany’s Powerball recipe:1 1/2 cups whole rolled oats1/4 cup chia seeds1/4 cup flax sleds1/2 cup peanut butter1/4 cup virgin coconut oil1/4 cup honey1/4 cup mini chocolate chipsStir together peanut butter, coconut oil, and honey in a small mixing bowl until smoothCombine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Pour peanut butter mixture over dry ingredients and mix until evenly combined. Form small balls with 2 tablespoons of mixture and place in a glass storage container. If the mixture does not stay together easily, refrigerate it for 20-30 minutes. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!Resources:Read “Sleep Smarter” by Shawn StevensonListen to Episode 195. How to Own a Business and Sleep at NightConnect on Instagram:Seychelle Van Poole: @seychellevpSarah Reynolds: @sarahreynoldsojiWendy Papasan: @wendypapasanKymber Lovett-Menkiti: @kymbermenkitiTiffany Fykes: @tiffanyfykesProduced by NOVA Media