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Making of an Empire

Making of an Empire

Written by: Aditi Jajal-Newey
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Making of an Empire pulls back the curtain on the unglamorous work of building an iconic business empire. Expect honest conversations, strategy breakdowns, and lessons from founders and creators who are in the arena, not just talking about it.

© 2026 Making of an Empire Careers Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Marketing Marketing & Sales Personal Success
Episodes
  • Ep. 21: Secrets to an Epic Personal Brand Photoshoot with Laverne Wyatt

    Ep. 21: Secrets to an Epic Personal Brand Photoshoot with Laverne Wyatt
    Jun 30 2026
    Most founders are still using a photo that is three to five years old. It no longer matches who they are, so they show up less and quietly shrink the vision. Laverne Wyatt fixes this for a living, and as this conversation shows, it is rarely about the photos. It is about closing the gap between who you are inside and how you appear to the world.Let's Dive Into the HighlightsShame sharing: When your visuals do not match your ambition, you post out of obligation. That image carries an energy of shame, reads as amateur, and pulls in clients and revenue at that level.Like attracts like: A four-year-old photo shows a half-capacity version of you, so it draws opportunities at that level. Raising the price or retweaking the landing page does not fix it if the image stays the same.The invisible founder: Smart, ambitious people talk themselves out of being seen. The real barrier is fear of the camera and the risk of a result they cannot use.Discomfort is the signal: If a pose feels comfortable, you are probably slumping. The slight strain of holding it right is the first sign you will look good on camera.She cannot make you like yourself: An hour into a shoot, a client kept hunting for flaws. Laverne named it. She can handle the styling, posing, and lighting, but not the self-criticism. The client shifted, relaxed, and the photos changed.Behind the BreakthroughLaverne Wyatt is a brand photographer and strategist and the founder of Onbrandia. After more than 23 years in brand design across Norway, South Africa, and global markets, she saw that what founders were missing was not better photos. It was a process built around who they are becoming.She shoots on location across Europe in natural light, with no filters and no AI editing. Her work combines brand strategy, styling, and direction so the result is a set of usable assets, not just nice pictures. She is known for making the process fun and for helping founders feel safe in front of the camera.The Guest Said It Best“You need to look like the price you want to charge now.”“My job is to hold a vision of who I see them becoming.”“I can put makeup on you, help you, show you how to sit, what to wear, all of those things. But I cannot help you to like yourself.”“The only reaction that matters to me is, wow, is that me?”“Technology is not a miracle, it's not going to save us. Everyone thinks a new technology is going to save them. You have to focus on emotions.”Key TakeawaysAudit your assets for gaps. Review your website, LinkedIn, posts, and speaker sheets first. The goal is a usable shot list, not 30 nice photos you cannot use.Plan before you shoot. A good shoot starts weeks earlier with a strategy session and a founder questionnaire. That work sets the location, wardrobe, and direction so the day itself feels safe.Build a signature look around your brand colors. You do not need a whole new wardrobe. Add a few core pieces and brand-colored accessories so you still feel like yourself while sending the right cues.Practice your poses in advance. Run through poses in the mirror to build muscle memory. Expect mild discomfort on the day. That strain means you are doing it right.Do the inner work too. Styling cannot replace self-acceptance. Deciding you are worth showing up as your best self is what makes everything else land.A Question for YouThink about the photo you keep using because updating it feels risky. What is that old image costing you in visibility and opportunity, and what would change if you let yourself be seen as the founder you are becoming?Take the Next StepLaverne creates founder photoshoots planned and shot on location across Europe. Visit her site to download her guide to professional poses, then book a Photoshoot Strategy Call.Website: https://www.onbrandia.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/laverne_ws/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lavernewyatt/ ________________________________________________________________________________Connect with Making of an EmpireThank you for tuning in to another episode of Making of an Empire! Our mission is to help you unlock the tools you need to build a business and a life that reflects your highest potential.Connect with Aditi:Website: https://www.plentitudestrategy.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aditijnewey/Substack: https://substack.com/@aditijnewey
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Ep. 20: How to Protect Your Cash Flow and Get Paid with Zakia Khalid

    Ep. 20: How to Protect Your Cash Flow and Get Paid with Zakia Khalid
    Jun 23 2026
    Every business owner knows the sick feeling of an unpaid invoice. The work is done, the relationship was good, and then the payment simply does not come. Zakia Khalid recovers that money for a living, and she does it without the baseball bat. This conversation is about asking for what is yours, and why doing so is not the thing that damages a relationship.Let's Dive Into the HighlightsIt takes two hands to clap: Chasing an invoice four times does not make you the one harming the relationship. The party who stopped honouring the agreement took the first step.Are they really your best client? A customer who places lots of orders but never pays on time may not be the asset they appear to be.The compounding cost: An unpaid bill costs twice: once for the work already done, and again for the time and energy spent chasing it.The missing S: One client chased payment for ages with no reply. She had been sending invoices to an email address missing a single letter. Once corrected, the payment came through.Pay the small businesses first: Aditi shares her own early policy of letting a large telecom bill default before ever leaving a small supplier waiting, because the small business feels it and the giant does not.Behind the BreakthroughZakia Khalid is an independent solicitor, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, specialising in debt recovery and litigation from pre-action conduct through to enforcement. Her model is built around accessibility and affordability, giving small and medium-sized businesses the kind of legal support that larger firms often price out of reach.She is a trusted partner to finance companies, debt collection agencies, and businesses across the UK and internationally, known for clear, commercially sound advice that favours resolution over the courtroom. She also hosts the podcast Calm the Conflict: The Art of Resolution.The Guest Said It Best“It takes two hands to clap.”“Are they actually your best customer if they are not paying you on time?”“Time is energy. So give it, put it in the hands of a specialist.”“It can be done with compassion. It can be done with grace, debt recovery. It doesn’t have to be all ugly.”“Don’t be afraid to ask for what is yours.”“Every business deserves to be paid for the work that they do.”Key TakeawaysReframe who is harming the relationship: If you have chased politely and repeatedly, you are not the one putting the relationship at risk. The non-payer already did.Build a one-page credit control process: Write down when invoices go out, when reminders follow, and the point at which you escalate. Most digital invoicing tools can automate the reminders for you.Make payment terms and methods crystal clear: Put your terms, any late penalties, and your bank details plainly on the invoice or in a signed contract. Vague or unsigned agreements make recovery slower and harder.A formal demand signals seriousness: A solicitor’s letter before action shows the other side you are ready to take the next step, and it often moves you up a long line of waiting creditors.Pick up the phone before sending another email: When a larger client stalls, the finance team is often detached from the work. Speaking directly to the people you work with moves things faster than another reminder in the inbox.A Question for YouThink about the invoice you have been putting off chasing. What is really stopping you from picking up the phone today, and what would it take to ask, plainly, for what is already yours?Take the Next StepZakia helps businesses recover unpaid invoices and trains credit control teams across the UK, including those contracting with parties abroad. She also hosts the podcast Calm the Conflict: The Art of Resolution, on mediation and alternative dispute resolution, available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms.Website: www.zakiakhalidlaw.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zakiakhalid/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/40xJaA8cXxnLhHWkvCJT9U?si=c1256d6870214eaf _______________________________________________________________________Connect with Making of an EmpireThank you for tuning in to another episode of Making of an Empire! Our mission is to help you unlock the tools you need to build a business and a life that reflects your highest potential.Connect with Aditi: Website: https://www.plentitudestrategy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aditijnewey/ Substack: https://substack.com/@aditijnewey
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    59 mins
  • Ep. 19: Resetting Your Most Crucial System with Bassam Alaujan

    Ep. 19: Resetting Your Most Crucial System with Bassam Alaujan
    Jun 16 2026
    What does it take to climb 25 years to the top of the corporate world, managing director, CEO, every box ticked, and discover the summit is empty? In this episode, Aditi sits down with executive performance advisor Bassam Alaujan for a conversation about the moment external success and internal collapse arrived at exactly the same time. This is not a story about slowing down. It is a story about learning to regulate the one system every leader runs on and most never think about: themselves.Let's Dive Into the HighlightsThe Top of the Mountain Moment: Bassam ticked every box on the way to managing director and CEO, then reached the summit and found nothing he was looking for. Why arriving felt like emptiness, not victory.The Double Hit: How a near-bankruptcy and a divorce landing at the same time became the rock bottom that forced him to stop and ask what he was actually doing.The Untamed Horse: Bassam's image for the mind, and the gym-like, repeat-it-daily practice of nervous system regulation that turns it from master into servant.The Reset Between Meetings: Why five minutes of breathing between one meeting and the next is the difference between showing up clear and exploding on whoever happens to be in front of you.Running From or Running Toward: The question Bassam puts to clients caught in the hamster wheel, and why most people would rather not know the answer.Behind the BreakthroughBassam Alaujan spent 25 years building companies, teams, and a career that looked, from the outside, like it was working. He served as Managing Director of JCDecaux Saudi Arabia, Director General of the Saudi Exports Development Authority, and CEO of a fintech startup. Along the way he navigated near-bankruptcies, led through COVID, and delivered results under sustained pressure. What the results didn't show was the cost. When that gap became impossible to ignore, it began a different kind of investigation, one combining performance neuroscience with intensive contemplative practice, including silent retreats and breathwork immersions.Today, Bassam works as an Executive Performance Advisor and Coach. He works with CEOs and senior leaders who are performing at a high level and beginning to sense it isn't sustainable. His focus is the physiological foundations of leadership performance: sleep, nervous system regulation, and cognitive load. He holds an Executive MBA from INSEAD, is fluent in Arabic, English, and Japanese, and is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.The Guest Said It Best"You can't control every outcome. The only thing you can do is show up and be the best version of yourself." "When I reached the top of the mountain, I did not find what I was looking for." "The problem is that our mind is giving us that perceived fear that we are living in, but the reality is not.""Lonely is when I don't feel heard, when I don't feel seen, when I don't have people who feel what I feel." Key TakeawaysAwareness is the Starting Point: You cannot change a pattern you cannot see. Becoming the witness of your own thoughts and body sensations is where every shift begins.Regulation is a Muscle, Not a Mood: Breathwork and presence aren't one-off fixes. Like training in a gym, they're built through daily repetition until returning to centre becomes the default.Mind What You Consume: The information you take in shapes your nervous system the way food shapes your body. What you scroll before sleep becomes the first thing your mind reaches for at dawn.Bookend the Day with Gratitude: Opening on gratefulness fills your cup. Opening on your to-do list puts you in deficit, owing more than you have to give.Enough Safety to Drop the Mask: Find the one person, coach, mentor, or friend, you feel safe enough around to take off every cape and hat. That, not advice, is where the real work gets done.A Question for YouBassam reached the top of everything he was chasing and found it empty, then rebuilt by getting still rather than getting more. So if you paused right now and honestly asked yourself what you are running from, or running toward, what would the answer be?Take the Next StepBassam runs an Elite Performance advisory practice for CEOs and senior leaders who are performing at a high level and sensing it isn't sustainable. If that's you, his work is built for exactly that moment.Connect with Bassam: Website: https://bassam.alaujan.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bassamalaujan _________________________________________________Connect with Making of an EmpireThank you for tuning in to another episode of Making of an Empire! Our mission is to help you unlock the tools you need to build a business and a life that reflects your highest potential.Connect with Aditi: Website: https://www.plentitudestrategy.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aditijnewey/ Substack: https://substack.com/@aditijnewey
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    1 hr and 15 mins
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