Up In My Business

Summary

In this episode, I'm keeping things light and talking about something I get asked about all the time- legal documents for your website. Before diving in, I share a quick life update: it's August and I'm already planning ahead for fall, which always brings a wave of inquiries. Most of my business is retainer clients at this point (some since 2021!), so spots are limited, and I'm booking into October and November. The main topic is the four legal documents most website owners need, what they do, and why they matter.

This comes with a big disclaimer that I'm not a lawyer and everything I share is from experience building websites and learning from legal professionals over the years. Consult with your own lawyer accordingly.

What I Talked About

• Fall business planning and booking timelines
• The nature of my retainer client relationships and why clients stay long-term
• The Bear and Ted Lasso as my current TV watches
• The four legal documents every website owner should consider: 
  • Privacy Policy — legally required; tells visitors what data you collect and how you use it
  • Terms & Conditions — not legally required but highly recommended; protects you and sets rules for how people interact with your site
  • Medical Disclaimer — important if you publish health/PT content and don't want readers to mistake it for medical advice
  • Accessibility Statement — an emerging area of legal risk; shows good faith effort toward an accessible website
• Accessibility plugins (ElfSite and UserWay) as practical tools
• Why I don't recommend using AI to write legal documents
• How to add legal pages to your website (blank page + footer link)
• Course terms and conditions as an additional document if you sell digital products

Legal Template Links 

Please note: these are affiliate links.

Sam Vander Wielen 

• General templates link
• Website Bundle (privacy policy, terms and conditions, disclaimer)
• Accessibility template

The Creative Law Shop

• They offer website legal documents as well as a portal where contracts can be built for you. Use the code LEX10 to save 10%. Check out their templates here.

Accessibility Tool Links

• Elfsight (use the code LEX30 to save 30%!) - I also use this for the Google Review plugin
• Userway

Work with me + learn more!

• Looking for help with tech & software and want to get started on the right foot?  I offer FREE discovery calls. Click here to book.
• Check out my website: Lex Lancaster Creative Co.
• Connect with me on Instagram

Summary

In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on my personal history with autoimmune and chronic inflammation symptoms, and how that journey has shaped the way I run my business. I share how years of grinding through survival mode, taking calls at 5:30 AM, working multiple jobs, and building businesses while navigating huge life transitions, kept my body in a suppressed state for over a decade. Once my nervous system finally settled and I felt emotionally safe and calm, my body started speaking up. I've spent the last couple of years learning to actually listen. I walk through what managing a flare looks like for me, the specific habits and supplements I rely on, and why I've built my schedule and client relationships around protecting my capacity. The business lesson: design your work to support your body, not the other way around, and never throw your past self under the bus, because that version of you got you here.

What I Talked About

• My history with chronic autoimmune symptoms (gut, skin, joints, rosacea) and family history of Crohn's
• How survival mode suppressed my symptoms for over a decade and what happened when my nervous system finally settled
• The grind era of my business (2018–2023) and how a major life transition changed everything
• The "threat bucket" concept and how compounding triggers add up
• How I manage a flare: liver rolling, lifting, supplements, diet modifications, and nervous system regulation
• How I've redesigned my schedule, client work, and communication habits to protect my capacity
• Why honoring your past self matters because the grind version of you made the current version possible

Links I Mentioned

• Lextromind Waitlist
• Betsy Foster / Foster Strong on Instagram
• Shanté (The Movement Maestro) on the complete comparison concept 
• The Facility Denver (functional medicine) on Instagram
• Missy Bunch (threat bucket concept)
• Emma Jack (business conversation)
• Anna Hartman / Movement Rev (liver rolling with Yoga Tune Up ball)
• The Brick device

Work with me + learn more!

• Looking for help with tech & software and want to get started on the right foot?  I offer FREE discovery calls. Click here to book.
• Check out my website: Lex Lancaster Creative Co.
• Connect with me on Instagram

Summary

I'm fresh off a beach weekend cheering on Shante's mentor's (owner of Fringe Red Light) daughter while she played volleyball. The main topic today: one thing your website is probably missing if you're publishing content: a search bar on your blog page. I also talk about why sending people to your full website matters, and why writing your own content (not AI-generated) is more important than ever right now.

What I Talked About

• Beach weekend watching volleyball with Shante's mentor, owner of Fringe Red Light
• Stumbling into old grad school files and a podcast series idea brewing in my Notes app
• Evaluating my client load and how grateful I am for the people I work with
  Why you should send people to your full website, not just a landing page
• Adding a search bar to your blog page and why it matters
• Writing your own content around the topics you treat — and why AI-generated blogs are a hard no for me

Work with me + learn more!

• Looking for help with tech & software and want to get started on the right foot?  I offer FREE discovery calls. Click here to book.
• Check out my website: Lex Lancaster Creative Co.
• Connect with me on Instagram

Summary

I'm back from eight days in Switzerland watching volleyball, eating great food, and playing tour guide since we went last year too. Before getting into the main topic, I share a nine-month-old negative Apple Podcast review I stumbled across and why it reminded me that not everyone is your person and that's a good thing. I also ask you to leave a written review on Apple if you enjoy the show. Then I get into patient drop-offs: why I think they're not as negative as we treat them, why automated texts and emails are the wrong move, and why a personalized check-in will always beat a triggered sequence.

What I Talked About

• Recapping eight days in Switzerland watching volleyball
• Finding a nine-month-old negative Apple Podcast review
• Why your art is not a transactional resource
• Asking you to leave a written review on Apple Podcasts
• Two PT stories about patients who stopped coming
• Why patient drop-offs deserve a reframe
• Personalized check-ins vs. automated drop-off sequences

Work with me + learn more!

• Looking for help with tech & software and want to get started on the right foot?  I offer FREE discovery calls. Click here to book.
• Check out my website: Lex Lancaster Creative Co.
• Connect with me on Instagram

Summary

In this episode, I'm getting real about the AI website problem. I break down why AI-built websites are a bad long-term investment for business owners, not because I'm biased as a website designer, but because they trap you into retainers, can't grow with you, and leave you unable to manage your own site. I also share a personal story about using AI as a brainstorming tool for a friend's website outside my niche and how I took that inspiration into Squarespace to actually build it out. At the end, I leave you with the key questions to ask before hiring anyone to design your website.

What I Talked About

• Why AI websites all look the same (and okay, I have a style too)
• AI-built sites aren't designed to grow with your business
• Why a stagnant website hurts your SEO
• Why all-in-one software is never the best option
• How clients get locked into retainers they never needed
• How I used AI as a brainstorming tool, then built the actual site in Squarespace
• The questions you should ask before hiring a website designer

Work with me + learn more!

• Looking for help with tech & software and want to get started on the right foot?  I offer FREE discovery calls. Click here to book.
• Check out my website: Lex Lancaster Creative Co.
• Connect with me on Instagram

Summary

In this episode, I'm breaking down whether Google Ads make sense for small, niche practices. Spoiler: it depends. I walk through why SEO always has to come first, what Google Ads can and can't do for you, and four specific situations where running ads might actually be worth it. I also talk through when you simply don't need ads at all and why building organic search now sets you up for the future.

What I Talked About

• Why SEO has to be your first priority, always
• What Google Ads actually are (and are not)
• Four situations where running Google Ads makes sense for a small practice
• Using ads to fill a new clinician's schedule faster
• Running ads for a new service while your SEO catches up
• When you don't need Google Ads at all
• My Google Ads beta course and how to get on the waitlist

Links I Mentioned in This Episode

• Google Ads course waitlist

Work with me + learn more!

• Looking for help with tech & software and want to get started on the right foot?  I offer FREE discovery calls. Click here to book.
• Check out my website: Lex Lancaster Creative Co.
• Connect with me on Instagram

Summary

I'm answering a listener question about whether you can repurpose your email newsletters as blog posts, even if they're not SEO optimized. The short answer is yes, but with some important caveats. I break down what "SEO optimized" actually means, how to reformat newsletters so they work on your site, and why you need to be honest with yourself about whether this counts as an SEO strategy or just good trust-building content.

What I Talked About

• The listener question: can newsletters double as blog posts?
• What "SEO optimized" actually means (hint: it's about golden keywords)
• Why reusing newsletters is totally fine, with conditions
• How to reformat newsletter content for your blog (headings, scannable structure, URL hygiene)
• The "two blogs" concept: informational vs. letters-style blog
• Why Google probably won't index these posts, and why that's okay
• The difference between trust-building content and an actual SEO blogging strategy

Links I Mentioned in This Episode

• Blogging Bootcamp 

Work with me + learn more!

• Looking for help with tech & software and want to get started on the right foot?  I offer FREE discovery calls. Click here to book.
• Check out my website: Lex Lancaster Creative Co.
• Connect with me on Instagram

Summary

This week I'm answering a question from the question box about managing overwhelm when you have a million things on your plate. I walk through the exact system I use to stay on top of multiple clients' to-do lists without losing my mind, including why I still swear by a written brain dump, how I prioritize tasks by size, and the timer trick I use to push through the stuff I keep avoiding. I also share a recent change I made to how I handle email and Voxer, and why protecting your energy is really at the root of beating overwhelm.

What I Talked About

• A personal update on vacation prep and current booking capacity
• Answering a listener question: how do I manage overwhelm?
• Why I keep a written brain dump list instead of going digital
• Prioritizing tasks by size to build momentum fast
• The timer trick I use for tasks I keep putting off
• How I time block client work to protect my mental bandwidth
• Checking email and Voxer only once a day
• Honoring how your brain actually works instead of forcing someone else's system

Links I Mentioned in This Episode

• Caliber Notebook
• Shands S637 Pen

Work with me + learn more!

• Looking for help with tech & software and want to get started on the right foot?  I offer FREE discovery calls. Click here to book.
• Check out my website: Lex Lancaster Creative Co.
• Connect with me on Instagram

Summary

In this episode I tackle a listener question from my Q&A box: does building a website from scratch take a lot of hours for a newbie? Short answer, yes, and probably more than you think. I get into why website design is really art versus science, why some of us just don't have the "eye" for it, and why I'd never start from a blank page when a template will save you. I also share a few personal and business updates before our Switzerland trip, including whether I'm brave enough to brick my phone the whole time.

What I Talked About

• Prepping before vacation
• Bricking my phone in Switzerland and taking my downtime seriously
• Business updates: my waitlist, fewer hours, and building out the not-done-for-you side
• Collaborating with Shante on messaging plus design
• How my anonymous Q&A box works
• The listener question on building a website from scratch
• Why you shouldn't start from scratch

Work with me + learn more!

• Looking for help with tech & software and want to get started on the right foot?  I offer FREE discovery calls. Click here to book.
• Check out my website: Lex Lancaster Creative Co.
• Connect with me on Instagram

Summary

In this episode, I share the two main ways I use AI in my business: for my podcast and my blog. I walk through my full podcast workflow, from recording to a custom Claude project that pulls my show notes and talking points, and my blog process using a custom GPT/project that builds SEO outlines and social posts. Before that, I answer a question box question about whether I was a D1 athlete (spoiler: I wasn't) and share the story of why I stepped away from college sports. My takeaway on AI: it streamlines the tedious parts and gives me back time, but your output is only as good as your input.

What I Talked About

• Answering a question box question about whether I was a D1 athlete
• Why I walked away from college volleyball and basketball
• My podcast workflow: recording, editing, and using a custom Claude project for show notes
• My blog workflow: a custom GPT/project for SEO outlines and social posts
• Why AI is especially helpful for show notes and saving time

Work with me + learn more!

• Looking for help with tech & software and want to get started on the right foot?  I offer FREE discovery calls. Click here to book.
• Check out my website: Lex Lancaster Creative Co.
• Connect with me on Instagram