Sam Vander Wielen, a former lawyer turned entrepreneur, shares her inspiring journey of building an eight-figure digital product business while recovering from brain surgery. She reveals how she pivoted from law to create a $1.6M/year venture using just one product and a powerful email marketing strategy. Sam discusses the importance of customer feedback, simple product offerings, and the challenges of managing a business during personal loss. Her insights on resilience and creating a supportive community in business are both captivating and motivating.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Moment of Clarity Starts Business
Sam had a moment of clarity during acupuncture, envisioning a series of doors opening for her business idea.
She launched her legal templates business alone, making her first sale within three hours for $347.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
All Roads Lead to Email
Focus relentlessly on building and nurturing your email list as the core marketing asset.
Treat every marketing effort as a way to grow or engage your email community.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Quarterly Voice of Customer Research
Conduct regular quarterly customer interviews to gather honest feedback and track evolving customer language.
Use these insights to refine marketing copy, product positioning, and creative decisions.
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The book is mentioned as an upcoming work by Sam Vander Wielen, but specific details are not available. Sam Vander Wielen is known for her expertise in legal protection for online businesses.
Today I'm joined by Sam Vander Wielen, a former lawyer who built a thriving digital product business creator business while recovering from brain surgery.
In this episode, we explore how Sam went from burnt-out lawyer to building a $1.6M/year digital product business with just one full-time employee.
She shares the strategy behind her evergreen funnel, the mindset shifts that helped her grow, and the systems that kept the business running after losing both of her parents.
Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:16 Discovering Her True Calling in Business 03:00 Frustrations with the Legal Industry 06:15 Early Signs of Entrepreneurial Spirit 08:55 Food Blog to Legal Templates Pivot 10:24 Starting with SEO and Organic Content 13:01 First Month Revenue & Early Wins 15:47 Scaling to 1.6M with One Product 17:19 “All Roads Lead to the Email List” 18:42 Evergreen Webinar Funnel that Converts 21:04 Ad Strategy & Scaling Mistakes 23:29 Voice of Customer Research System 26:30 The Power of a Simple Product Suite 28:04 Navigating Brain Surgery & Caregiving 33:45 Building a Business While Grieving 38:50 Dropping Social Media & Saying No 41:27 Systems for Automation & Scrubbing 43:30 The Power of Writing a Weekly Newsletter 44:52 Book Launch: When I Start My Business I’ll Be Happy 47:10 Why “Community Over Competition” is BS 49:18 Preparing for Craft & Commerce 51:17 What’s Next for Sam
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