On Your Terms®

We've lost the plot when it comes to creating content. In this week's summer read-aloud, I share a personal essay on how my own productivity systems, batching, optimizing, and keeping up with an AI fueled content arms race, ended up killing my creativity.

So kick back, pop in your headphones, maybe go for a walk, and let's talk about why being productive and being creative aren't always the same thing.

In this episode, you'll hear…

What happens when you give yourself an entire year off and can't actually take it? That's the question I'm sitting with in this week's essay. I declared 2026 my entrepreneurial gap year. I did not stay off.

Instead of a regular episode this week, I'm reading you this essay straight from my Substack, the place where I write about grief, overconsumption, overworking, and learning to actually be present in my life.

My full slate of regular On Your Terms® episodes will be back on September 14th, but until then, here's the honest, slightly humbling truth about w...

I recently stood in a long line for pancakes I wasn't even sure I wanted. And it made me realize how much of what I consume, eat, buy, watch, isn't actually chosen by me anymore. It's chosen by whoever posted about it first.

This summer, I'm taking a little break from our regular episodes so I can rest, recharge, and come back to you on September 14th with a full slate of new content. In the meantime, I'm sharing a few of my favorite essays from my Substack, Sam Vander Wielen, right here on the podcast. Today's...

One of the strange gifts of your life completely burning to the ground is the fertile soil it leaves behind for you to begin again. That's where I found myself after losing both of my parents in the same year, recovering from brain surgery, and realizing that being "extremely online" wasn't actually serving me or my business.

This week I'm continuing my summer series, where I'm reading you essays straight from my Substack while I take a little break before we're back with full-force episodes on September 14th. This one's about the health, digital wellness, and business...

Everyone's obsessed with the getting off social media part — deleting the apps, doing the digital detox, bragging about their screen time going down. But almost no one talks about what's supposed to happen once you actually log off. Because here's the thing: stepping away from Instagram only to fall into a Substack doom scroll isn't really progress. It's just a softer-feeling version of the same problem.

In this episode, I'm doing something a little different to celebrate summer — I'm reading you one of my recent essays straight from my free Substack, where I get real about what it's...

I'm taking a little summer break, not just from the podcast, but from working in general. And yes, my friends are already cackling about that one, because as my friend Steve put it, he can't wait to watch me be the most productive person he knows this summer. Fair.

So in this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on what a summer break actually looks like for a business owner. What I'm doing, what I'm not doing, and the honest truth about whether you're ever really "off" when your name, face, and voice are all over your...

If you've ever wondered what it's actually like to attend one of the best conferences in the online business space, I'm bringing you along this week. Every June, I pack my bags for Boise, Idaho to attend Kit's Craft + Commerce Conference, and this year I recorded real-time clips along the way so it would feel like we were just hanging out in the hallway together.

This is officially my fifth Craft + Commerce, and in this episode I'm sharing my full recap: why I keep going back, what my week actually looked like behind the scenes, the tactical...

“Must be nice.” It sounds harmless. Like a throwaway comment, a passing thought, something you mutter when you see someone doing something you wish you could do. But I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and I think that little phrase is one of the most dangerous things you can say to yourself as a business owner.

Because here’s what it’s actually doing: it’s letting you off the hook. It’s a quiet way of deciding something doesn’t apply to you before you’ve even given yourself the chance to find out if it could. A...

Everyone keeps coming up to me like they're attending my business's funeral. "How are things?" And I'm standing there like... everything's actually great? My business keeps growing. But I get it. There's no shortage of people online saying digital products are dead, courses are dead, the whole thing is over.

Here's the thing: the market has changed. A lot. And if you have a digital product or course, you've probably felt it. Buyers are taking longer to make decisions, coming in with their guard up, asking more questions. But "harder" is not the same as "dead." After 10...

You know reels are one of the best ways to grow your business on Instagram. You've seen other people crushing it. You've probably even sat down to film one yourself, maybe more than once, and then... you just didn't post it. Or you did, and it flopped, and somewhere along the way, the whole thing started to feel way more complicated than it's worth.

Here's what I actually think is happening: you're drowning in advice that was designed for influencers, not for people who run a real business. Hook formulas, trending audio, CapCut tutorials, edit transitions... it...

Every entrepreneurship influencer on the internet has an opinion about what you should be doing. Six AM wake-ups. A content calendar mapped out six months in advance. Tracking every metric. Showing up on every platform all at once. But here's the thing — what successful founders say they do and what they actually do behind the scenes? Often very, very different.

I know because I'm one of those founders. And when people meet me in real life, the thing they always say is, "Wait, your business is so chill and simple. You don't do any of the stuff pe...

I recently apologized to my shower handle.

No, really. I turned off the water before rinsing out my conditioner, reached back to flip it on again, and instinctively said sorry to a cold, metal, completely inanimate faucet. And that moment stopped me dead in my tracks, because if I'm apologizing to shower handles, what else am I unnecessarily apologizing for in my life and business?

This episode is a little different. I'm reading you an essay I originally published on my Substack, Beyond Business, because I genuinely believe so many of you need to hear...

You're busy. You're building. You're making a thousand decisions a day — what to post, what to buy, what to eat, what to cut. And somewhere along the way, all of that choosing started to feel like its own full-time job.

Here's the thing: we've been sold this idea that more optimization equals more freedom. That if you just find the perfect system, the perfect routine, the perfect answer, you'll finally be able to relax. So you keep researching and refining and second-guessing. And the relaxing never actually comes.

This episode is about what happens when yo...

What if stepping back from social media was actually the thing that made it work better for your business?

I'll be honest with you: my relationship with social media has been a lot. It helped me build a multi seven-figure business. Then it became my number one addiction. Then it turned into a coping mechanism I reached for every time life got hard. And then, after losing both of my parents, I basically wanted to throw my phone into the ocean and never look back.

In this episode, I'm sharing the full, messy truth of...

Have you ever wondered why people in your audience don't think of you when they're ready to buy — even though you've been showing up, creating content, and putting offers out?

Here's the hard truth: it's probably not your audience size. It's not your content. It's not even your offer. The real problem is that nobody knows what to associate your name with. And the good news? That is a very fixable problem.

In this episode, I'm diving into why so many online business owners stay invisible — and what it actually takes to become the "McFlurry" of y...

I just got back from three days in Atlanta with some of the most impressive people in the online business space, and I am still processing all of it.

We're talking New York Times bestselling authors, YouTubers with millions of subscribers, book agents and editors, SaaS founders, and high-level consultants serving Fortune 100 companies. All 40 of us crammed into rooms, hot seats, and late-night fire pit hangs for what turned into one of the most valuable professional (and personal) experiences I've had in years.

I walked away with pages of notes on pricing psychology, LinkedIn strategy...

You've watched other people's launches from the sidelines. The big revenue numbers, the sold-out offers, the "We Hit Our Goal in 24 Hours" Instagram stories. You want that too. And so you try. You do all the launch things. But something's off. The sales trickle in slower than you hoped, or it's just... crickets. And you start wondering if it's your emails, your offer, your timing, or honestly, if it's just you.

Here's the truth: it's probably none of those things.

The real issue is happening way before launch week ever starts. In this episode, I'm...

Automation is great — until it makes people forget there's a real human behind your business. In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on the tool I've been quietly using to generate content ideas, boost webinar show-up rates, and collect testimonials, all while making my audience feel personally connected to me. It contributed to a $500K launch, and I'm walking you through exactly how I use it for content, sales, and social proof.

In this episode, you'll hear…

If you've ever opened a blank document to write your newsletter and immediately closed it again, this one's for you.

I've been sending my weekly newsletter, Sam's Sidebar, consistently for years, and in this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on exactly how I decide what to write every single week. Including the time I scrapped a completely finished email the morning it was supposed to go out, wrote something raw and real in about five minutes, and watched my inbox light up with replies all day long.

This is the behind-the-scenes process I use...

Q1 is officially in the books — so before you barrel headfirst into Q2, let's actually stop and take stock of how it went.

In this episode, I'm walking you through the end-of-quarter check-in I use in my own business — one that covers both your stats and your vibes — so you can go into the next quarter with one clear focus, a simple plan, and a lot less "why does running this business feel so chaotic?" energy.

We'll talk about how to look at your numbers without spiraling into a shame spiral, how to figure out whethe...

Sam pulls back the curtain on her biggest launch ever — $500K in revenue in just four days. She's sharing the real numbers: 11,000 webinar registrants, a 5% conversion rate, and exactly what she spent on ads to get there. But this isn't just a brag fest — Sam gets honest about what's actually behind a launch like this, why you can't just copy someone else's formula, and what entrepreneurs at every stage can take away and apply to their own business.

Whether you're planning your first launch or looking to scale, this episode is packed with practical strategy on webinars, emai...

Everyone's talking about Substack — and maybe you're curious, a little skeptical, and 100% wondering if you actually need to add another platform to your already-full plate. (Spoiler: you don't need to. But you might want to after this.)

In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on exactly how I grew my Substack, Beyond Business, to 1,000 subscribers using only organic strategies — no importing my 60,000+ person email list, no fancy custom design, no team of people building it out for me. Just consistent writing, a growth mindset, and a few simple (but powerful) tactics I wish I'd known earlier.

If you’re trying to grow your audience for your online business, you’ve probably heard advice like “build the audience first” or “you need followers before you can launch.” But what if that’s backwards?

In this episode of On Your Terms®, Sam shares the real foundation of sustainable audience growth—and why focusing on followers, email list size, or social media metrics too early can actually slow you down. Instead, she breaks down how mastering your craft (whether that’s writing, podcasting, video, or your core service) is what truly builds an audience that sticks.

You’ll hear…<...

Have you ever heard a quote at exactly the moment you needed it? Like it practically reached out and grabbed you by the shoulders?

That happened to me recently when I heard this line from The Artist’s Way: "perfectionism isn’t a quest for the best… it’s a pursuit of the worst in ourselves.

Oof. Holy cannoli. That one knocked me flat.

In this episode, I’m sharing the simple exercise that helped me see my burnout in black and white—and how you can use it to finally exhale.

You’ll hea...

If you’re building a business, doing “all the right things,” and still feel exhausted even after a full night of sleep… this episode is for you.

So many entrepreneurs think rest is something you earn later — after the launch, after the revenue goal, after things finally feel “stable.” And that belief keeps you stuck in a cycle of pushing, white-knuckling, and wondering why you’re burned out even though you technically love your work.

I’m breaking down the 6 different types of rest, why sleep alone won’t fix burnout, and how I’ve been intentionally wea...

It’s mid-February (or honestly… March… or April… or whenever you’re listening), and if your New Year’s goals already feel like they’ve floated off into the abyss — you’re not broken. You’re just human.

In this episode, I’m breaking down why January 1st is kind of a terrible time to set goals, especially if you’ve been navigating grief, uncertainty, burnout, or just… life. I’m sharing how I actually set goals now using a monthly goals method that’s way more realistic, flexible, and supportive — and yes, you’re absolutely allowed to steal it.

In this episode...

There’s this moment in business where you keep thinking, okay… when does it get easier? When does the stress chill out, the money feel steadier, and you finally get to enjoy what you’re building?

Here’s the sneaky truth I wish someone had told me sooner: the “someday” version of your life isn’t where the joy starts. The rise is actually the fun part.

In this episode, I’m sitting down with the version of myself from five years ago (hello, 2021 Sam) and sharing the six lessons I wish I could’ve handed her in a no...

In this episode, you get to hear my full live training, “How To Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business in 2026.” I’ll give you the five steps every entrepreneur needs to take. We’ll cover shifting your mindset, registering as the right business entity, protecting yourself in case of a lawsuit, getting your contracts and policies in place, and staying within your scope of practice.

Whether you’re a coach, course creator, service provider, or product-based entrepreneur, I’m walking you through the five simple legal steps you must take to set up your business, protect your content, and...

When it gets dark before you’ve even wrapped up work for the day, winter can feel like it shrinks your whole life. Suddenly everything feels harder, heavier, and honestly… a little bleak. And while part of you might want to hibernate until April, another part of you knows that doesn’t really work when you’re running a business and trying to live a full life.

In this episode, I’m sharing how I’ve learned to actually work with winter instead of fighting it. After moving from Philly to the north shore of Long Island (where winter...

Re-shooting all the videos for a product that’s generated over $8 million sounds like a straightforward business upgrade… until it isn’t.

In this episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes of what it was really like to re-record every single video inside the Ultimate Bundle®. Spoiler alert: this was about way more than lighting, scripts, or batch recording. It cracked open a lot for me — about grief, seasons of business, fear of slowing down, and the pressure we put on ourselves to constantly “improve” things that are already working.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed...

We all know that moment. It’s Sunday. Your phone buzzes. And suddenly you’re staring down your weekly screen time report wondering… how did THAT happen?

For me, those little reports started to feel like a mirror I didn’t really want to look into. The number on the screen didn’t line up with the life I said I wanted to be living—more present, less irritable, doing deeper work, and actually enjoying my days instead of scrolling through them.

So I decided to stop ignoring it and actually take my screen time seriously. I...

If you’ve been side-eyeing Substack trying to figure out whether you should start one, what you’d even put on it, or how it’s different from your “regular” newsletter… this episode is your permission slip to breathe. Because guess what? I’ve been figuring this out in real time too — and today, I’m breaking down exactly how I’m using both Substack and my newsletter, why I treat them differently, and how YOU can create a simple, sustainable content structure that actually supports your business.

I’ll also walk you through the discovery → nurture → conversion framework I use...

Let’s talk about the thing I didn’t even realize was happening until it had already messed with my head: AI was quietly killing my creativity.

If you’ve ever opened your laptop, told yourself you’re “just getting a little AI help,” and then suddenly noticed your ideas feel watered down, your content feels off, and you’re second-guessing everything—you’re not alone. When I posted about this on Instagram, you confirmed that this little creep has been slipping into your business too… and not in the cute, helpful way we hoped.

So today, I’m gettin...

You know that feeling when you come back to your desk in January and everything is a disaster? Your desktop looks like a digital garage sale, your office chair is still wearing yesterday’s sweater, and your brain feels like it’s running 42 tabs at once?

Yeah… we’re not doing that this year.

In this episode, I’m sharing the super simple, totally doable tasks I’m doing in the next two weeks—while cozied up in my pjs —to close out 2025 in a way that feels calm, grounded, and actually restorative. No “new year, new hustle”...

It’s that time of year again — when everyone online suddenly becomes a color-coded-notion-board-wielding planning expert. But before you map out your entire 2026 vision board, we need to do something way more important: figure out what you actually want.

In today’s episode, I’m walking you through the exact reflection + annual planning exercise I do every single year — the one that helps me make decisions based on how I want to feel, not what the latest marketing trend says I “should” be doing. This episode pairs with last week’s 2025 reflection episode, so if you haven’t listened to that...

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably hit the end of the year and thought:

Wait… what actually happened?!

How did we blink and suddenly find ourselves staring down a new calendar, new goals, and the same coffee mug we’ve dragged through the highs and lows of the last 12 months?

Before you sprint into planning mode for 2026 (don’t worry, we’re doing that next week!), today’s episode is all about slowing down long enough to look back—at what worked, what didn’t, what you let go of, what you gained, a...

If you’ve ever stared at a blinking cursor while trying to write your weekly newsletter and thought, “What in the whole enchilada am I supposed to say?” — today’s episode is your permission slip to stop overthinking and start structuring your emails in a way that works for you and your audience.

I’m breaking down the two classic newsletter formats (and why I don’t follow either), the hybrid structure I swear by, and the eight must-have elements your weekly emails need if you want them to be opened, read, clicked, and shared.

Whether you're...

Let’s be honest — most freebies out there? They’re not working.

If you’ve ever spent hours creating a lead magnet only for it to attract people who download and disappear, this episode is your new best friend.

In Part 3 of my 4-part email series, I’m breaking down why your freebie isn’t growing your list (hint: it’s not because freebies don’t work) and how to finally create one that brings in actual future customers — not just freebie hoarders.

From finding the perfect topic your people actually want to grabbing the right...

You’ve been told that the only way to grow your email list is with freebies, PDFs, and opt-ins galore—but what if there was an easier (and honestly, more effective) way?

In Part 2 of my How to Grow Your Email List series, I’m spilling the details on my Easy Email Strategy—a super simple way to get the right people (aka future customers, not freebie collectors) on your list without creating a single freebie.If you’ve ever felt frustrated with the traditional “freebie → nurture sequence → maybe they’ll stick around” method, this episode will feel like a breath o...

You’re doing everything to grow your email list — promoting your freebies, sharing your links, posting on social — and yet, that number just won’t budge. You want new subscribers rolling in every day, the kind who actually want to buy from you, and a reliable way to make sales that doesn’t depend on Instagram’s mood swings.

Sound familiar?

In this first episode of my 4-part Email List Growth Series, I’m breaking down what it really takes to build a thriving email list that fuels your business (and your freedom). It’s not about hacks...