Online Business Transformation: Sam Vander Wielen's Guide for Digital Startup Owners (Valued at a Million Dollars)
Let's Chill and Talk Shop: An Honest Chat with Online Entrepreneur Sam Vander Wielen
A week ago, I had a sit-down with the brilliant mind behind the best-selling book, When I Start My Business I'll Be Happy, Sam Vander Wielen. The atmosphere was bustling with energy, evident in Sam's voice-excited yet reflective.
She had just come back from a brisk walk in New York City with Hudson, her lovable Bernadoodle.
Hearing Hudson's name made her eyes light up. "He's been my rock through everything," she said.
Sam's career journey from corporate attorney to online entrepreneur was anything but straightforward. The burning frustration that came with being a lawyer led her to double down on her health coaching side hustle. The turning point to her legal templates business, what she's now widely known for, happened unexpectedly when she was promoting her health coaching services at a wellness festival.
Suddenly, she found herself surrounded by entrepreneurs seeking legal advice for their businesses. The lightbulb moment was clear.
"Sometimes failures teach you more than successes," she mused. "I was passionate about health coaching, but it wasn't a good business idea. My legal templates business, on the other hand, was a great idea for a product. There was a lot of demand and not much supply. I also knew how to differentiate it."
Sam's business advice contradicts the marketing gurus who preach following your passion and promising overnight success. Centered on the book's title, the then-when approach to happiness isn't a reliable strategy. Instead, as she stresses, happiness doesn't come from business success; it comes from appreciating life no matter the circumstances.
What strikes a chord with her readers is her openness. She candidly discusses the tragic loss of both her parents in quick succession. Hudson became her emotional lifeline during those trying times.
Her parents inspired her entrepreneurial spirit. Her mother, a professional figure skater turned physician, made the career pivot at 41-proving the unconventional path can be mastered through sheer hard work. Her father's experiences managing racetracks and marketing background gave her a glimpse into the business world.
Instead of expanding her offerings to increase revenue, Sam has intentionally kept her business centered around her collection of legal templates, which she aptly named the Ultimate Bundle, resulting in over $8 million in revenue.
Her weekly newsletter, "Sam's Sidebar," boasts 47,000 subscribers-impressive for a topic that many might find dull. Her secret? What she calls the "broccoli and mac and cheese strategy."
"I consider myself the broccoli because a contract or an attorney is something you need. However, everybody just wants mac and cheese. So I approach my audience with mac and cheese once they have the legal templates."
"Can you explain your marketing strategy in simple terms?" I asked.
"I give my audience something for free to bring them into my world, which in this case was a webinar. Once they attend the webinar, they'll receive a series of emails offering them the Ultimate Bundle."
When asked about the relationship between money and happiness, Sam offered insights based on her own experiences. "Money doesn't bring happiness. It certainly makes life easier. I can hire someone to mow my lawn, which makes me happy because I don't have to do it. But has it solved all my life's problems? Absolutely not."
Instead, financial success has allowed her to spend in accordance with her values-purchasing an electric car, supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with fundraising webinars in her father's honor, and caring for her dad when he was ill.
When I asked about advice she'd share with ambitious individuals early in their career, she advised keeping an open mind. It's the philosophy that led her to discover her successful business.
"I didn't identify my main product when I started my business. I only started it because I listened to the customers. If I had been closed off to it, I would have missed a golden opportunity."
As our conversation came to an end, I couldn't help but feel the quiet confidence that comes from someone who built their success on their terms. Sam Vander Wielen reminds us that our most significant success stories begin with recognizing where people are already eagerly waiting for our help rather than following preconceived notions of our path.
Perhaps most importantly, she offers a powerful reminder that the business doesn't make you happy-it's about discovering joy in the journey, regardless of where it takes you.
Click here to listen to the full interview with Sam Vander Wielen
Sources:
- Schilling, R.L. (2021). Founder Story: How Sam Vander Wielen Built The Legal Templates Business of Her Dreams. Retrieved from https://pitchplace.co/blog/legal-templates-business-sam-vander-wielen
- Wiest, A. (2021). When I Start My Business I'll Be Happy: A Down-to-Earth Approach to Successful Online Entrepreneurship. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56723067-when-i-start-my-business-i-ll-be-happy
- Ries, E. (2015). The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14640434-the-lean-startup
- Blank, S.G. (2013). The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products that Win. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/85718.The_Four_Steps_to_the_Epiphany
- Kim, G. (2015). Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/397437.Blue_Ocean_Strategy
- Vander Wielen, S. (2021, May 14). A Sneak Peek at My Privileged Journey to Success [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.samvanderwielen.com/post/a-sneak-peek-at-my-privileged-journey-to-success
- Sam Vander Wielen, an entrepreneur who had a successful switch from being a corporate attorney to an online entrepreneur, believes that failures can teach more than successes.
- The turning point in her legal templates business, a significant part of her current venture, happened unexpectedly when she was promoting her health coaching services at a wellness festival.
- Instead of expanding her offerings, Sam intentionally kept her business centered around her collection of legal templates, aptly named the "Ultimate Bundle," which resulted in over $8 million in revenue.
- Sam shares her view on personal-finance, stating that while money doesn't bring happiness, it allows for spending in accordance with one's values, enabling experiences such as purchasing an electric car and supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
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