People are quick to talk about their successes – after all, it feels good to share our wins publicly – but we can often learn much more from our failures, as well as others’ failures. I also think sharing our failures is important in order to remain transparent. In the interest of taking my own medicine, I’m going to share the story of my first business: why I started it, and, ultimately, why I think it ended in epic failure. I’ll also share the lessons I think you can learn from my mistakes so you can avoid making those same mistakes yourself.

Listener shoutout: In a recent review, Raina wrote, “I first stumbled upon Sam through an Instagram ad. I was impressed by the down-to-earth ad copy and very quickly decided to buy her course. From there I found myself on the receiving end of her emails, which again were so refreshing. I loved how transparent she was in what they were and I found myself smiling when I read them. From there I ended up on her podcast, subscribing, and now listening regularly. The first episode I listened to was her planning one for 2022. Game changer! I’ve already seen an increase in sales which I attribute to the tips I received in that podcast. I tend to have a million ideas and love following them all, but with her free planner, I decided to focus on just one idea this quarter, and it’s already paid off in dividends. I just finished listening to her umbrella episode on content, and again it just set off so many light bulbs for me. I thoroughly enjoy how Sam continues to connect the dots for me and my business. I am definitely a fan and plan to listen for years to come. Highly recommend!”

If you’d like a shoutout (and a chance to win a $20 Starbucks gift card), just leave a review on Apple Podcasts and send a screenshot of it to me on Instagram via DMs!

Click here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.

Click here to sign up for Sam’s Free LIVE Legal Workshop

In this episode, you'll hear…

1. 10:38 - My story and why I started my first business
2. 19:44 - Why you should do things differently
3. 23:24 - Staying strong despite competition
4. 26:00 - How to make content that’s relevant to your audience
5. 29:06 - Making your offers specific
6. 31:56 - The impact of having conversations with your customers
7. 34:32 - Why your business name is so important
8. 36:51 - Creating the content that’s best for you and your business
9. 40:07 - Why you need to invest in yourself
10. 41:43 - Keeping realistic expectations
11. 45:32 - Knowing when your heart isn’t in it

RESOURCES:

1. Episode 18. 10 Easy Instagram Reels Tips (+ How to Use Music Legally)

CONNECT:

1. Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's Sidebar
2. Follow Sam on Instagram
3. Follow Sam on YouTube
4. Subscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond Business
5. Take Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"

DISCLAIMER

When I started my online business, over five years ago, I had no clue what I was doing or that it would end up being anything close to what it is today. While I’m thankful it is, I constantly think back to that time and all of the things I would (or wouldn’t) do if I had the chance to do it all over again. While I may not be planning on starting a new business any time soon, I can still put that thinking to good use by sharing with you the experiences I’ve had over the last few years, what I’ve learned, and what I wish I knew at the start of my business.

Listener shoutout: In a recent review, Britt Stocks said, “Not sure how I started following Sam but I’m so glad I did! I love how her podcasts are bite size/easily digestible lessons, not only helping with the legal aspects of the business but also the day-to-day planning as well as mindset advice! I just set my intentions for 2022 today and included her freebie business planning for 2022 worksheet and I now feel so clear on my intentions and actionable items to make this the best year yet for my business! Thanks, Sam!”

If you’d like a shoutout (and a chance to win a $25 Starbucks gift card), just leave a review on Apple Podcasts and send a screenshot of it to me on Instagram via DMs!

Click here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.

In this episode, you'll hear…

1. 04:03 - Why making some mistakes can be unnecessary (and how to avoid the ones that aren’t)
2. 10:21 - Consuming less, creating more
3. 14:36 - Focusing on fewer platforms, and going deep on the ones you love
4. 23:25 - Prioritizing educational content over trends
5. 25:41 - Moving fast over picking the perfect tool
6. 28:10 - Don’t compare yourself to others
7. 34:03 - There is no “magic bullet” for success

CONNECT:

1. Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's Sidebar
2. Follow Sam on Instagram
3. Follow Sam on YouTube
4. Subscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond Business
5. Take Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"

DISCLAIMER

There are so many options for tech tools out there – how do you find the ones that help your business sing, grow, and thrive? It can be such a hassle scouring reviews and trying different things just to find out it isn’t right for you. Sometimes the best way to find something you’ll love is to hear the good and the bad from someone you trust who actually uses it. That’s why I’m going to share my favorite tech tools and equipment, as well as all of the tools I have quit using and why. I don’t want you to get stuck in the muck of picking the perfect tool, so whether you use the tools I mention or not, I want you to just pick something and go with it.

Listener shoutout: In a recent review on Apple Podcasts, Jennifer Dragonette said, “Thank you Sam for this amazing podcast! So many of your episodes open my eyes about things I didn’t think about! I’m feeling so confident and ready to stop having a ‘hobby,’ and start treating my business like a business. I’m prepared on all levels, and feel READY to make it happen! Thank you again. PS still loving and using the templates! Thank you.” If you want a shout out next week, leave a review over on Apple Podcasts.

Click here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.

In this episode, you'll hear…

1. 03:30 - The importance of not getting stuck making decisions
2. 07:56 - ConvertKit
3. 14:19 - Asana
4. 26:14 - Kajabi
5. 29:47 - Samcart
6. 33:45 - Facebook Eradicator
7. 34:50 - The physical equipment I use
8. 37:46 - The tools I’ve stopped using

RESOURCES:

1. Episode 25. Should You Really Run Facebook Ads? (Yes, But Here's When)
2. ConvertKit
3. Uplevel with Asana
4. Kajabi
5. Samcart
6. ATR-2100 and pop guard
7. Sony Alpha a6400 Mirrorless Camera + Lens
8. Mini Ring Light
9. Tripod
10. Click here to watch the free workshop so you can get legally protected right now!

CONNECT:

1. Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's Sidebar
2. Follow Sam on Instagram
3. Follow Sam on YouTube
4. Subscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond Business
5. Take Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"

DISCLAIMER

If you were to believe everyone you hear online talking about Facebook ads, you’d either believe they are the one true answer to all of your business woes… or the worst thing to have ever happened in marketing. But which is it, really?

In this episode, I break it down to find the answer nestled in the middle. I learned the hard way so that you don’t have to. So, I cover all of your questions, why you might run Facebook ads, their pros and cons, busting myths, and share nine things you need to have in place if and when you decide to take the plunge.

In this episode, you'll hear…

1. 03:04 - Ways people talk about Facebook ads online
2. 10:50 - Typical reasons Facebook ads don’t work
3. 20:27 - The purpose of Facebook ads
4. 27:48 - When Facebook ads are helpful in your business
5. 30:27 - What to have in place to run Facebook ads, now and in the future

RESOURCES:

1. Episode 12. How to Find Clients for Your Online Business
2. Episode 13. How to Create a Program That Sells Itself
3. Episode 14. How to market your evergreen product + which platforms you should be on
4. Pre-Qualify Before They Buy freebie - https://www.samvanderwielen.com/prequalify-oyt/
5. Click here to watch the free workshop so you can get legally protected right now!

CONNECT:

1. Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's Sidebar
2. Follow Sam on Instagram
3. Follow Sam on YouTube
4. Subscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond Business
5. Take Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"

DISCLAIMER

If you’re anything like me, you need more than one thing to talk about in your business – otherwise, you – and your followers! – might just lose your minds. But the answer isn’t to go crazy with all kinds of out-of-scope subject matter. The last thing you want to do is confuse potential customers about what it is your business offers and drive them into the waiting arms of your more content-savvy competitors.

We all agree; social media can be an echo chamber sometimes. But, there’s a way to create and share other related information while still emphasizing your true priority or key offering. Today, we’re talking about the "Umbrella Method" of creating content, how it leads to ideal clients, and how to go about incorporating it into your own business.

Today’s listener shout-out goes to Liz, who wrote this amazing review: “I love this podcast. Sam knows her stuff and it’s obvious that she genuinely cares about her listeners’ success. She keeps it real and shares incredible insights that are so helpful for business owners like me. Thank you, Sam.”

In this episode, you'll hear…

1. 04:26 - Keeping things fresh with diverse but related topics
2. 09:34 - The "Umbrella Method"
3. 17:01 - Looking to other companies for inspiration
4. 23:52 - Creating content that doesn’t dilute your messaging

RESOURCES:

1. Episode 24. Why You Should Treat Your Clients the Way Olive Garden Does
2. Mattress article - https://jilt.com/blog/casper-content
3. Click here to watch the free workshop so you can get legally protected right now!

CONNECT:

1. Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's Sidebar
2. Follow Sam on Instagram
3. Follow Sam on YouTube
4. Subscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond Business
5. Take Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"

DISCLAIMER

Whether you believe Olive Garden is fine dining or low brow, one thing you have to admit is that they are doing something right – and no, it’s not the breadsticks. Olive Garden has a successful approach to customer service: Treating their customers like family. In this episode, I share two ways you can emulate that approach and why you’d want to in the first place.

With this strategy, you can create your own army of word-of-mouth loyalists to market your business for you and increase their lifetime customer value, without having to make everyone in the world happy.

This week, I’d like to shout out Alex, who kindly wrote: “I was so excited when Sam started this podcast. She has such great information on her Instagram and I’m so happy she started this podcast to have all this great info in one place. It’s so hard to choose one great episode because all of her episodes are amazing.”

In this episode, you'll hear…

1. 06:10 - Why you should treat your customers like family
2. 09:01 - Creating a balance between customer service and sustainability
3. 17:49 - How to build customer support into your offer
4. 21:32 - Providing scalable support and expert access
5. 28:38 - How to give exclusive access
6. 29:47 - Getting customers to interact with one another
7. 30:34 - Why supporting your existing customers is more important than acquiring new ones

CONNECT:

1. Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's Sidebar
2. Follow Sam on Instagram
3. Follow Sam on YouTube
4. Subscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond Business
5. Take Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"

DISCLAIMER

It’s the end of the year, which often brings a time of planning and reflection. While we previously discussed how to plan out your business year, I wanted to spend this episode doing some personal reflecting on what 2021 has looked like for me.

Tune in to hear me discuss, openly and honestly, what’s been going on behind the scenes for me – both personally and professionally – and get a breakdown of the lessons I learned along the way.

We go from multi-six figure launches to firing a Facebook ads team and touch on everything in between in this in-depth look into how I apply my planning systems to my own work and life. I’m really transparent with you in this episode!

I also want to shout out Chelsea (@gut.hormone.nutritionist), who left an amazing review, saying: “Sam’s podcast has helped me connect more dots about becoming legally legit as well as giving me tips on how to create a profitable business. I’m glad I stumbled upon her.”

If you’d like to get a shout out on future episodes, just leave a review and make sure to drop your Instagram handle!

In this episode, you'll hear…

1. 02:43 - How I approached 2021 differently and the change I experienced once I did
2. 05:26 - Focusing on personal healing and approaching my father’s health
3. 13:50 - Running my first live six-figure promotion while treating my dad from home
4. 17:49 - Being intentional about how much you work
5. 23:24 - Launching On Your Terms® podcast
6. 30:13 - Operating my business while being sick and moving
7. 36:43 - Firing my Facebook ads team and learning to rely on ads less
8. 46:58 - Hosting a Masterclass series
9. 49:34 - What I’m doing now
10. 52:24 - My lessons for the year

RESOURCES:

1. Louise Henry's "Uplevel with Asana" course - https://samvanderwielen.krtra.com/t/QwGmfvsPA2Xc (get $100 off!)
2. Episode 22. How to Plan Your Business Year (free guide!)

CONNECT:

1. Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's Sidebar
2. Follow Sam on Instagram
3. Follow Sam on YouTube
4. Subscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond Business
5. Take Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"

DISCLAIMER

We’re approaching the new year, which means for many of us that it’s time to start planning out how we’ll run our businesses after the calendar flips to 2022. In this episode and the accompanying free guide, I share my exact annual business planning document and walk you through the steps you need to take to map out a plan you can execute easily.

For healthy reference and a dose of reality, I also share what happened when I didn’t plan in the past, when I saw the light, what made me change my ways – and the difference in results I’ve seen since then.

Shout out to an amazing listener, Lindsay (@littlefoundations on Instagram), for leaving a fantastic review on Apple Podcasts. If you’d like to get a shout out on future episodes, just leave a review and make sure to drop your Instagram handle!

In this episode, you'll hear…

1. 02:02 - Why I never used to plan (and why I changed my mind)
2. 11:08 - How detailed you should make your plan
3. 12:43 - Reflecting on what you’re grateful for and what you let go of
4. 16:32 - How to plan out events and projects across the year
5. 20:54 - Working backwards from your goal to the beginning of the year
6. 25:33 - Breaking down each quarter by its monthly focus
7. 31:29 - Addressing business and personal goals
8. 35:22 - Creating daily non-negotiables

RESOURCES:

1. Free annual business planner guide - https://www.samvanderwielen.com/2022-planning-guide/
2. Louise Henry's "Uplevel with Asana" course - https://samvanderwielen.krtra.com/t/QwGmfvsPA2Xc (get $100 off!)
3. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts to get a shoutout! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-your-terms/id1576423248

CONNECT:

1. Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's Sidebar
2. Follow Sam on Instagram
3. Follow Sam on YouTube
4. Subscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond Business
5. Take Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"

DISCLAIMER

Your time is valuable. As a business owner, you spend a lot of that time pursuing leads and, more specifically, making sales calls. Love it or hate it, it’s a part of business. The best thing you can do is to get good at it.

I get tons of questions regarding what you legally can or can’t do on a sales call, whether or not you’re allowed to give advice, what counts as advice vs. education, taking payment over the phone, and so much more. So, in this episode, I break down three things you should never do on a sales call, before diving into what you can do instead, so you can make the most out of your time and effort.

In this episode, you'll hear…

1. 04:21 - Why sales calls can land you in hot water
2. 08:17 - Why you should never give advice on a sales call
3. 13:16 - Whether or not you should take payment over the phone
4. 19:04 - How to guide the conversation when running a sales call

RESOURCES:

1. Visit samvanderwielen.com/prequalify-oyt to get my free “Pre-Qualify Before They Buy” email templates & video guide
2. Episode 2. Scope of Practice for Coaches (What You're Legally Allowed to Do)
3. Episode 20. 5 Ways to Avoid Difficult Clients (Stop Legal Problems Before They Start!)

CONNECT:

1. Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's Sidebar
2. Follow Sam on Instagram
3. Follow Sam on YouTube
4. Subscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond Business
5. Take Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"

DISCLAIMER

We’ve all had problem clients – I know I have. Whether we find out after the fact or learn how to recognize warning signs, not everyone we work with is going to offer a smooth experience. I’ve learned a lot from dealing with them in the past and in this episode, I’m passing on those lessons to you.

Problem clients often become legal problems. We’ve already talked about how to break things off when a client you’re dealing with becomes a pain, but let’s see how we can prevent dealing with them in the first place.

In this episode, you'll hear…

1. 05:40 - Why it pays to be picky
2. 14:57 - How to set boundaries with clients
3. 23:38 - Trusting your intuition
4. 24:57 - Paying attention to special requests
5. 32:00 - How to tell a client you’re not a good fit
6. 33:41 - Interviewing your clients
7. 36:33 - Warming up and weeding out

RESOURCES:

1. Visit samvanderwielen.com/prequalify-oyt to get my Pre-Qualify Before They Buy templates
2. Episode 2. Scope of Practice for Coaches (What You're Legally Allowed to Do)
3. Episode 5. What to Do When a Client is a Pain

CONNECT:

1. Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's Sidebar
2. Follow Sam on Instagram
3. Follow Sam on YouTube
4. Subscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond Business
5. Take Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"

DISCLAIMER

Mentioned in this episode:

Legal Workshop

Do you feel lost thinking about how to legally protect your online business? Head to mylegalworkshop.com to sign-up for immediate access to my free 1-hour legal workshop, 5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow your Online Business.

Legal Workshop