On Your Terms®

Today’s episode is a recording of my new free legal training “Five Steps to Legally Protect and Grow Your Online Business”. I share the step-by-step plan you need to do to set the legal foundation to protect yourself, your business and have the ability to grow and scale successfully.Step one is adjusting your mindset. Step two is how to register as the right kind of business entity. Step three is getting business insurance in place so you don’t owe anything if you get sued. Step four is how to protect your boundaries with contracts. And step five is knowing your scope of practice. Don’t worry, I will explain each step in-depth.At the end of the episode, I take time to answer frequently asked questions about The Ultimate Bundle® and how it’s built to help you with these steps.In this episode, you’ll hear…Why you need to register your businessWhat business insurance protects you and your business fromWhy a scope of practice is importantClick here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.RESOURCES:Join the waitlist for my book “When I Start My Business I’ll Be Happy: A Practical, No BS Guide to to Successful Online Entrepreneurship” Grab the Ultimate Bundle® on SaleGet notifiied when each episode of On Your Terms® comes outCONNECT:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's SidebarFollow Sam on InstagramFollow Sam on YouTubeSubscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond BusinessTake Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"DISCLAIMER

People are often surprised when I tell them they might not own the content they create on Canva. That’s why in today’s episode I give a quick overview of what you should be aware of in terms of content creation, including AI generated content, and copyrights.I walk through Canva, ChatGPT, and a few other tools, explaining what to look for in their licenses.As a business owner, the buck stops with you. You’re the one responsible for ensuring your business’s content is legal and protected. I hope this episode gives you a little better understanding of content creation, copyrights, and ownership.In this episode, you’ll hear…The three things you should know about AI and copyrightsUnderstanding what Canva retains ownership over How what to look for in creation tools’ licenses Click here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.RESOURCES:Join the waitlist for my book “When I Start My Business I’ll Be Happy: A Practical, No BS Guide to to Successful Online Entrepreneurship” Sign up for my free weekly email “Sam’s Sidebar” Get notifiied when each episode of On Your Terms® comes outCONNECT:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's SidebarFollow Sam on InstagramFollow Sam on YouTubeSubscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond BusinessTake Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"DISCLAIMER

Are you using the free contracts provided by platforms like Thinkific or Kajabi to protect your online business? If so, you might be wondering if they’re really enough to keep you legally covered. Today, I'm breaking down why these default terms of use might not be as protective as you think and what steps you can take to ensure your business is truly safeguarded. We'll explore the inadequacies of these free contracts and discuss how to create customized terms that reflect your unique business needs.In this episode, you’ll hear…Why free contracts from platforms like Thinkific and Kajabi might not be enough.The importance of having customized terms of use for your business.Common inadequacies in free contracts and how they can affect your business.How to protect your intellectual property with tailored contracts.The role of customized financial terms and payment policies in your legal protection.Click here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.RESOURCES:Grab The Ultimate Bundle® on SaleJoin the waitlist for my book “When I Start My Business I’ll Be Happy: A Practical, No BS Guide to to Successful Online Entrepreneurship”Sign up for my free weekly email “Sam’s Sidebar”Get notifiied when each episode of On Your Terms® comes outCONNECT:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's SidebarFollow Sam on InstagramFollow Sam on YouTubeSubscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond BusinessTake Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"DISCLAIMER

This episode comes to you from the M trail in San Luis Obispo, California. I realized I was falling back into a bad habit of mine so I pulled out my phone to make a voice recording to share with my future self and with all of you!While I was hiking, I was spending the whole time being worried about snakes, tarantulas, weird bugs, and being very, very high up. This is a bad habit of mine that I fall into with my business journey too. I focus so much on my fears. I fight and resist and struggle my way through it, and then I wonder why I’m feeling tired and unhappy.Sometimes you can re-hike a trail, but there are a lot of things you don’t get to redo in life. Here’s a reminder to myself and all of us to enjoy the journey, not fixate on fears, and be proud of the heights we’ve achieved.In this episode, you’ll hear…How hiking is like building a businessThe power of stopping yourself mid-habitBeing a peace with the processClick here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.RESOURCES:Grab The Ultimate Bundle® on SaleWhere I was hikingJoin the waitlist for my book “When I Start My Business I’ll Be Happy: A Practical, No BS Guide to Successful Online Entrepreneurship”Sign up for my free weekly email “Sam’s Sidebar”Get notifiied when each episode of On Your Terms® comes outCONNECT:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's SidebarFollow Sam on InstagramFollow Sam on YouTubeSubscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond BusinessTake Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"DISCLAIMER

One of the core startup costs for an online business is business insurance. In today’s episode, I teach you about business insurance and the general cost you can expect.Business insurance is critical for financially protecting your business. Even if you just receive a nasty lawyer letter threatening to sue you for liability, your business insurance will step in with their own lawyer to act on your behalf.I go over the key terms you need to know: Premiums, deductible, liability limits, exposure, policy limits, and exclusions. Then I explain how they all interact to create how much you pay and how much you are protected.If you’re an online coaching business, you can expect liability insurance to cost somewhere between $400-$1,000. Trust me, it’s worth it.In this episode, you’ll hear…Why business insurance is importantKey business insurance terms explainedHow much you can expect to pay for liability insurance as an online coachClick here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.RESOURCES:Grab The Ultimate Bundle® on SaleMy affiliate link for Alternative BalanceJoin the waitlist for my book “When I Start My Business I’ll Be Happy: A Practical, No BS Guide to to Successful Online Entrepreneurship”Sign up for my free weekly email “Sam’s Sidebar”Get notifiied when each episode of On Your Terms® comes outCONNECT:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's SidebarFollow Sam on InstagramFollow Sam on YouTubeSubscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond BusinessTake Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"DISCLAIMER

Starting an online business is much cheaper than starting a brick-and-mortar shop, but it still has costs. So how do you navigate those costs before your business starts bringing in any money? That’s what we cover in today’s episode.I walk through the three-step process of how to start a business on a budget: Save, Research, Budget. I breakdown each one in detail, giving examples from my own experience.Being realistic in your projections and plans leads to the empowered, quality decision-making necessary to build a sustainable business. I hope this episode helps you do that.In this episode, you’ll hear…The three components of the saving phase: Save, Cut, MakeWhat costs you need to research when starting a businessHow to factor a long runway into your starting budgetClick here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.RESOURCES:Grab The Ultimate Bundle® on SaleJoin the waitlist for my book “When I Start My Business I’ll Be Happy: A Practical, No BS Guide to to Successful Online Entrepreneurship” Try Siteground for hosting - free domain & professional site transfer with every plan (affiliate link) https://samvanderwielen.com/sitegroundBetterment - Join Betterment and get up to 5.50% variable APY for 3 months with a qualifying deposit (affiliate link) https://samvanderwielen.com/bettermentSign up for my free weekly email “Sam’s Sidebar”Get notifiied when each episode of On Your Terms® comes outCONNECT:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's SidebarFollow Sam on InstagramFollow Sam on YouTubeSubscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond BusinessTake Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"DISCLAIMER

Writing a book isn’t just about writing a book. It brings up all kinds of business and personal dynamics, challenges, and opportunities for growth. Today fellow debut author, Jannese Torres, joins me to talk about why she chose to write a book as part of her personal finance business, and how she has made it work.Jannese is an award-winning Latina Money Expert. She helps her clients and listeners build successful online businesses that allow them to pursue financial independence and freedom. Her podcast, Yo Quiero Dinero® is a platform to de-stigmatize money as a taboo topic in the Latinx & BIPOC communities and make personal finance fun, relevant and relatable. She decided to write a book in order to reach more people, and to cement herself as a thought leader in the field. Jannese talks about making time for writing (and everything else that goes along with creating a book), she had to implement some automated processes in her business and rely on her circle of support.In today’s episode Jannese gives us great advice about investing in your business when it has hit a plateau, where to find free resources, and how to deal with online trolls.In this episode, you’ll hear…What goes into the business decision to write a bookTips on investing in your businessHow to manage being the face of your brandClick here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.RESOURCES:Grab The Ultimate Bundle® on SaleRead Jannese’s book “Financially Lit!: The Modern Latina’s Guide to Level Up Your Dinero & Become Financially Poderosa”Listen to Jannese’s personal finance podcast “Yo Quiero Dinero”Join the waitlist for my book “When I Start My Business I’ll Be Happy: A Practical, No BS Guide to to Successful Online Entrepreneurship”Sign up for my free weekly email “Sam’s Sidebar”Get notifiied when each episode of On Your Terms® comes outCONNECT:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's SidebarFollow Sam on InstagramFollow Sam on YouTubeSubscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond BusinessTake Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"DISCLAIMER

This podcast episode is about podcasts. Our team’s podcast aficionado, Michelle Rubinstein, interviews me about how I utilize On Your Terms® to nurture my audience and aid in growing my business.We have a great conversation about how this podcast has been my most productive nurturing channel– helping people get to a place where they’re ready to purchase my product. We talk about voice of customer research, meeting listeners where they’re at, and providing in-depth, nuanced information. We also talk about why it’s important to pick a medium that you actually enjoy using.Then we get to the hard hitting questions: What kind of pasta would I be and why? What’s the secret sauce behind Michelle’s One Tree Hill rewatch podcast production? And, which of us listened to Serial when it first came out?In this episode, you’ll hear…What “nurturing” is and where it fits in your businessKeeping your content based on what your audience needsHow to pick the right marketing channel for youClick here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.RESOURCES:Check out Michelle's podcasts: Total Betty Podcast Network and Movie Friends PodcastGrab The Ultimate Bundle® on SaleJoin the waitlist for my book “When I Start My Business I’ll Be Happy: A Practical, No BS Guide to to Successful Online Entrepreneurship”Sign up for my free weekly email “Sam’s Sidebar”Get notifiied when each episode of On Your Terms® comes outCONNECT:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's SidebarFollow Sam on InstagramFollow Sam on YouTubeSubscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond BusinessTake Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"DISCLAIMER

Right after launches, it’s normal to feel big feelings: Relief it’s over, excitement about success, sadness about failure. Feel your feelings, whichever ones they are, but don’t create unhelpful stories about them. Instead, channel your energy into getting the true story. Send out surveys to gather data.In this episode, I dive into everything you need to know about post-sale surveys and how to execute them. I teach you how to measure sale success and figure out which marketing channels produced a good ROI for your business. Plus, I touch on how to encourage post purchase behavior like referrals.Finally, since this is the last episode of our Launch Series, I review the top takeaways of running a launch, from beginning to end. I’ve really enjoyed making this series and I hope it has helped you and your business!In this episode, you’ll hear…What questions to ask in post-launch surveysHow to weigh different pieces of survey dataWhy surveys are important in continuing to list buildClick here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.RESOURCES:Grab The Ultimate Bundle® on SaleJoin the waitlist for my book “When I Start My Business I’ll Be Happy: A Practical, No BS Guide to to Successful Online Entrepreneurship” Sign up for my free weekly email “Sam’s Sidebar”Get notifiied when each episode of On Your Terms® comes outCONNECT:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's SidebarFollow Sam on InstagramFollow Sam on YouTubeSubscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond BusinessTake Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"DISCLAIMER

What happens when the hype period is over, the webinar ends, the free thing is done– how do you actually sell more of your product or service? That’s what we cover today in Part 3 of 4 of our Launch series.I break it down into three segments.First, gather the ingredients that are required for a successful sales sequence. I explain each one in detail: No-brainer deal, incentive, scarcity, nudging, compassion, connection, and energy.Next, set up a clear timeline and structure. This typically includes four components: Fast Action, Mid Cart, Close Cart, Down Sell. I go into each one in depth, showing how discounts affect consumer behavior.Then, develop your social media strategy core elements: Transformation A to B, behind the scenes looks, celebrate new customers, testimonials, list of features, and what makes you unique. I share tips I’ve learned over the years about how to strengthen this part of your digital marketing sales funnel.Be ready to take some notes! We cover a lot in this episode, including how to measure sales performance.In this episode, you’ll hear…What ingredients you need for a successful saleThe four components of a sale timelineSocial media elements to keep your metrics up during a launchClick here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.RESOURCES:Grab The Ultimate Bundle® on SaleWatch Louise Henry’s “11 Instagram Story Ideas for More Sales” YouTube video.Get notifiied when each episode of On Your Terms® comes outCONNECT:Get Sam's weekly newsletter, Sam's SidebarFollow Sam on InstagramFollow Sam on YouTubeSubscribe to Sam's Substack, Beyond BusinessTake Sam's free legal workshop "5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business"DISCLAIMER