Empire Building

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

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:

1. Make a lot of calls
2. Know how everything works
3. Ask really good questions
4. Understand what you’re selling
5. Build your bunker
6. Get mentored
7. Have conviction that you are helping people with their challenges
8. Every no is one step closer to a yes
9. Ask yourself “What’s the worst that could happen?”
10. Set up a goal to keep going

Resources:

• Read: "The Psychology of Sales Call Reluctance"

Connect on Instagram:

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

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

When it comes to managing your business, there’s a topic that most people don’t like to talk about: Firing people. It’s probably the hardest part of being in business. But in order to make sure we know how to fire people the right way, we have to be willing to have conversations about it. We’re going to offer our experience and approach to this, and how to get in the right mindset about firing. We also offer our personal scripts for handling these difficult conversations.

1. Performance improvement plan
2. Have a plan
3. Be in person (when possible)
4. Be brief
5. Be clinical in your words and passionate in your tones
6. Show your heart
7. Be clear and direct
8. Listen to them
9. Be careful not to over-sympathize
10. End on a positive note
11. How you tell the team

We are not human resource experts, so please consult somebody before taking action on this advice.

Connect on Instagram:

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

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

We know leaders should be good at motivating and communicating, making decisions, delegating, and holding people accountable, but there’s one skill that has the potential to make or break a leader and often gets overlooked: emotional intelligence. You’re going to learn the definition of emotional intelligence, why it’s so important in the workplace, and four ways you can improve it.

The four ways to improve your emotional intelligence:

• Self-awareness
• Self-regulation
• Work on your internal motivation
• Become more empathetic and work on your social skills

Connect on Instagram:

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

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

Communication is essential, both in your business and your personal life. Whether you’re succeeding in one area but not the other or you could use a little help with both, it’s an important topic to cover. We’re going to talk about some of the big rocks around this topic: cadence of communication, the tools you can use, and the rules of engagement.

Creating a cadence:

• What you should talk about annually
• What you should talk about weekly
• Making a plan and putting it on the calendar

Tools you can use:

• Google Sheet
• Mint
• Quickbooks
• Personal Capital
• Parking lots
• Read "Dare to Lead"

Rules of engagement:

• Address issues head-on within 24 hours
• Setting boundaries for your work

Resources:

• The ONE Thing Couples Goal Setting Retreat

Connect on Instagram:

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

When you’re building an empire, all of your time is valuable—including the time spent at home. We’re going to give you some quick and easy tips for making your home life more efficient so that you can make the most of all of your time… whether it’s work or recreation.

We go over the topics of:

• Finances
• Cooking
• Meal prep
• Health
• Organization
• Household management

Connect on Instagram:

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

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

Did you go a little overboard on your holiday shopping this year? Or maybe you’re struggling to make ends meet due to a difficult business year or job loss? Whatever the case is, we expect a lot of people will be focused on knocking out debt this year. We have six easy steps to help you pay off your debt.

1. Think about how you feel about money
2. Get clarity around your financial situation and own it
3. Create your debt payoff plan
4. Create a budget and cut expenses where possible
5. Make more money
6. Surround yourself with people who help you

Connect on Instagram:

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

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

As children, the world is full of rules and boundaries. Being raised this way trains our brain to seek permission for the things we want to do—for days off, to get a raise, to move up the ladder. It’s a part of our society. But the one person we never ask permission from is the most important person in our lives: ourselves. Last year was a wild one collectively, but no matter how it was for you personally, it’s time to give yourself permission to make 2021 your best year yet. We’re going to help you define what it would mean to live extraordinarily in the seven core areas of your life, as well as helping you through some of the roadblocks that may come up along the way.

Connect on Instagram:

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

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

There’s something about a new year that’s so refreshing. People often use this time to look at themselves, examine their lives, and try to fix things… or they talk about doing that, at least. 60% of Americans make New Year’s Resolutions, but only 8% of those actually follow through with them! We want the Empire Building community to be a part of that success, and true resolutions are all about creating habits. Our habits determine who we become, whether they are good habits or bad, and relying on self-discipline just won’t cut it. We talk about making a building block habit, assessing your seven circles of life, how to create a snowball effect, and creating a habit loop.

Connect on Instagram:

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

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media

Earlier this year, Wendy declared that she was going to “win” the pandemic. And the four of us, in our own ways, can say that we’ve won this thing. We’re going to share lessons learned from the pandemic and the year, and how we’ve applied them to our businesses and lives—and how you can, too.

Resources:

• 29. 8 Communication Skills That Will Change Your World

Connect on Instagram:

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

Empire Building is a production of Crate Media