#111 Sam Vander Wielen: The Million Dollar Pivot
Sam Vander Wielen is the founder of a multimillion-dollar legal templates business and author of "When I Start My Business I'll Be Happy: A Practical, No-BS Guide to Successful Online Entrepreneurship." As a former corporate attorney turned entrepreneur, Sam provides legal templates and education to online business owners, helping them protect themselves and their businesses without the anxiety or expense of hiring a lawyer.
After pivoting from a brief stint as a health coach, Sam discovered her niche when fellow entrepreneurs kept asking her legal questions at a wellness conference. Today, her signature product, the Ultimate Bundle, has generated over $8 million in revenue, while her weekly newsletter "Sam's Sidebar" reaches more than 47,000 subscribers.
In this episode, you'll learn how Sam discovered her multimillion-dollar business idea by listening to her audience at a wellness festival, where people lined up for legal advice instead of health coaching
You'll discover why Sam believes starting with a viable business concept is more important than just "following your passion" and how differentiation beats trying to be better than competitors
You'll hear about Sam's ingenious "broccoli and mac and cheese strategy" that helped her grow an email list of 47,000 subscribers by balancing necessary legal content with topics people actually want to consume
This conversation reveals why Sam intentionally keeps her business streamlined around one core offering (her "Ultimate Bundle") rather than constantly expanding - and how this approach supports both profitability and work-life balance
You'll understand the central message behind Sam's book title "When I Start My Business I'll Be Happy" as she challenges the "when-then" mindset and explains why external success doesn't automatically bring happiness
Show Notes:
01:00 - Introduction and book launch experience: Sam discusses her first week after book launch and seeing her book in Barnes & Noble stores
06:00 - Background on Hudson, Sam's Bernedoodle: Sam talks about how her dog Hudson has helped her through difficult times
11:00 - Sam's parents and their influence: Sam shares about her mom's journey from figure skater to physician and her dad's work with racetracks
16:00 - The journey from lawyer to entrepreneur: Sam explains why she pursued law and how corporate law recreated childhood dynamics
19:30 - The 'When Then' virus: Discussion of the book's title and attaching happiness to external outcomes
23:00 - The pivot to legal templates business: How Sam discovered her business idea at a wellness festival
28:00 - The 'broccoli and mac and cheese' strategy: Sam's approach to growing her email list and making legal content engaging
33:00 - Building a successful marketing funnel: Sam explains her simple but effective marketing funnel that generates over $1.5 million annually
36:30 - Money and happiness: Insights on whether financial success brings happiness
41:30 - Maintaining focus in business: Why Sam keeps her business streamlined rather than constantly expanding
45:00 - Working with a mindset coach: Sam discusses working with Jennifer Diaz and key lessons learned
48:30 - Book recommendations: Fiction books Sam recommends and why fiction helps with business thinking
52:00 - Finding gratitude in difficult times: Discussion about 'glimmers' and finding things to be grateful for during grief
55:30 - Career advice for young professionals: Sam's advice for those early in their career who want to make a difference
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