Podcast Summary

Podcast: TheUPside Podcast
Host: Theresa Flood
Episode: Part 2: Can You Build a Big Business & a Big Life? An Interview with Seychelle Van Poole
Guest: Seychelle Van Poole
Date: February 10, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Theresa Flood continues her conversation with Seychelle Van Poole, focusing on practical strategies and mindsets for building both a thriving business and a rich, fulfilling personal life. Through tactical advice and real-life stories, Seychelle emphasizes intentionality, boundaries, and the power of community. This part-two discussion is loaded with frameworks and permission-giving insights aimed at entrepreneurs who don’t want to choose between professional and personal success.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The "Joy Album": Naming What Matters Most

• Description of the Exercise ([01:19]–[02:46]):

  • To define what a "big life" looks like, Seychelle recommends creating a "Joy Album."
  • Scroll through your phone’s photos from the past year or two, pick those that fill you with joy, and assemble them into a dedicated album.
  • Use these photos to reflect on what and who brings you happiness—this becomes a compass for designing your big life.
  • Quote: “Any photo you look at that kind of gives you a warm feeling or a smile, I want you to heart it, I want you to add it to that album. And all of a sudden you’re going to realize what an abundant experience you have already.” – Seychelle Van Poole [01:52]

• Outcome:

  • Journaling on what you want more of from this album helps clarify your goals and priorities for both life and business.

2. Reverse Engineering Your Schedule: Life First, Business Second

• Strategy Overview ([02:46]–[05:01]):

  • Instead of giving your best time to business and scraping together what’s left for life, Seychelle advises putting family, friends, experiences, and self-care on your calendar first.
  • Plan out major events 1–2 years in advance—school breaks, vacations, meaningful trips—and treat these as non-negotiable.
  • Only after that do you determine which time blocks are available for business.

• Quote: “So that’s how you start. Because now when you look out and a client asks for an appointment, you already know if you’re going to be in or out of town. ...I’ve very, very, very rarely had a client that was not willing to adjust by a day or two to accommodate.” – Seychelle Van Poole [05:01]

• Key Mindset Shift:

  • Don’t operate out of fear of loss—respect your value and your time.
  • Set boundaries and confidently communicate availability to clients.

3. Weekly Review & Family Involvement

• Practical Application ([06:31]–[08:15]):

  • Every Sunday, Seychelle reviews 2–3 weeks ahead to integrate work, family, school, and community events.
  • Involve significant others and children in calendar planning, creating space for real priorities.
  • This tight planning increases capacity and focus, making work more productive in less time.

• Example:

  • During COVID, Seychelle started daily morning walks with her husband Nick to align on family and business priorities. Even after normal schedules resumed, this ritual continued by simply moving team meetings back by 30 minutes.
  • Quote: “When you lead from the front of the life that you want to have, it’s actually permission giving for everybody else in your world to realize that they can have that too. And that’s really cool.” – Seychelle Van Poole [09:29]

4. Communicating the Why: Leadership & Transparency

• Team Buy-In and Storytelling ([10:07]–[11:09]):

  • Clearly communicate the reasoning behind scheduling boundaries to prevent misinterpretation and encourage team alignment.
  • Example: Explaining why meetings start later lets the team understand it’s about making space for family, not laziness.

• Quote: “As a leader, when we communicate clearly and effectively, then everybody gets to buy into that.” – Theresa Flood [10:59]

5. The Power and Challenge of Saying "No"

• Embracing Boundaries ([12:12]–[14:12]):

  • Seychelle invested a year in therapy learning to say “no,” recognizing that each “no” is a “yes” to something else that matters more.
  • It’s critical to have clarity on your yeses (core values, priorities) to confidently say no, even to appealing opportunities.

• Quote: “No means yes to something else. And I think explaining what the yes is makes the no...” – Seychelle Van Poole [14:12]

6. Recognizing and Managing Burnout

• Identifying Burnout ([15:04]–[16:45]):

  • Burnout often manifests after a long stretch of overcommitment, not overnight.
  • Seychelle uses the “hair tie” analogy: you keep stretching (overloading yourself) until you suddenly snap.
  • Regularly review your calendar 2–4 weeks in advance to avoid clustering too many obligations and to counterbalance heavy weeks with lighter ones.

• Quote: “I said yes to too many things that were too far out...and then I wake up, and it’s all this week. It is all this week. I said yes to everything this week.” – Seychelle Van Poole [15:45]

7. The Importance of Building Together: Community & Support

• Building Your Tribe ([17:00]–[17:48]):

  • Life’s richness is multiplied when shared with the people you love—include your community in your journey.
  • Her Best Life was born from this need for women to connect, grow, and support each other as they build businesses and lives.

• Quote: “Building a big life is so much more fun when you get to do it with the people you love.” – Seychelle Van Poole [17:00]

Notable Quotes

• Seychelle Van Poole:

  • “You’re literally going to create a separate photo album. And on those hard days, you’re going to go back and look at that.” [01:51]
  • “Nobody died in the process of doing this. … It’s absolutely possible to do that.” [04:17]
  • “If they don’t respect that, if they can’t handle that, then maybe I have somebody else … that would be a great match. And maybe it’s just not my client. And that’s okay too.” [05:01]
  • “When you lead from the front of the life that you want to have, it’s actually permission giving for everybody else in your world to realize that they can have that too.” [09:29]
  • “No means yes to something else.” [14:12]

• Theresa Flood:

  • “As a leader, when we communicate clearly and effectively, then everybody gets to buy into that.” [10:59]
  • “To be able to say no, you do have to have such clarity on what you’re saying yes to.” [14:14]

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:34: The “either/or” myth about business success vs. life fulfillment
• 01:19: Creating your Joy Album
• 02:46: Reverse engineering your schedule—life first, then business
• 05:01: Communicating boundaries with clients, practicing abundance
• 06:31: Weekly planning drills and involving family
• 09:01: The power and ripple effect of intentional life-work boundaries
• 10:07: Communicating the “why” behind scheduling decisions
• 12:17: Mastering the art of saying “no”
• 15:04: Burnout, scheduling, and counterbalancing
• 17:00: Building big life and business together; importance of community

Final Strategic Takeaway

Seychelle’s advice to entrepreneurs in the trenches:

“Building a big life is so much more fun when you get to do it with the people you love … If you have the ability to talk about this and experience this with multiple people instead of just living your big life when everyone else around you isn’t, it’s so much more fun.” [17:00]

Resources Mentioned:

• herbestlife.com – Community, events, and resources for women seeking to build both big businesses and big lives.
• “Empire Building” Podcast – Seychelle's podcast on business and leadership.

Tone & Approach:
Warm, practical, and permission-giving. This episode is inspirational but grounded in real, actionable strategies, delivered with humor and sincerity by both host and guest.