1 00:00:07,630 --> 00:00:09,970 Hey, there. And welcome to the On Your Terms podcast. 2 00:00:09,970 --> 00:00:11,020 I'm your host, Sam Vander Wielen. 3 00:00:11,380 --> 00:00:21,040 I'm an attorney-turned entrepreneur, and I help online coaches and service providers legally protect and grow your online business using my DIY Legal Templates and the Ultimate Bundle. 4 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:28,390 So, every week I try to balance giving you legal tips with also tips about how to grow your actual business on your terms. 5 00:00:28,390 --> 00:00:32,980 So, what you will see here most often is me encouraging you to do things your own way. 6 00:00:33,010 --> 00:00:39,790 I'm a huge believer in that, and part of doing that is staying nimble as an entrepreneur, which is what we're talking about today. 7 00:00:39,820 --> 00:00:49,780 So, in today's episode, I go over staying nimble as an entrepreneur whether it's because you've been faced with a bunch of difficult life hurdles like some of the 8 00:00:49,870 --> 00:00:54,870 things that I've shared with you that I've gone through over the last several years since I started my own business. 9 00:00:54,870 --> 00:01:04,420 From my own brain surgery to my dad getting sick and being his caregiver to just a lot of different bumps in the road to, you know, the last year and a half has thrown everybody a huge 10 00:01:04,420 --> 00:01:07,740 curveball in figuring out how do I offer my products. 11 00:01:07,740 --> 00:01:10,600 What are some of the challenges and new struggles that are coming up with my clients? 12 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:20,710 And more than anything today, I hope that you walk away from this episode feeling inspired, that being nimble is a good thing, and 13 00:01:20,710 --> 00:01:26,650 change and things popping up in your life and your business can be a good thing, especially for your business. 14 00:01:26,650 --> 00:01:32,700 And, I share a lot of my personal examples of how I turn certain things into benefits in my own business. 15 00:01:32,700 --> 00:01:35,050 So, I hope that you love today's episode. 16 00:01:35,050 --> 00:01:44,830 I will round out today's episode with a bunch of tips about how to stay nimble, how to act more of a scientist in your business, which is a huge, huge thing for me, and I think have been a 17 00:01:44,830 --> 00:01:47,810 part of my success or whatever we call it. 18 00:01:47,810 --> 00:01:49,480 So, I hope that they're helpful to you. 19 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:58,930 And, before we get into today's episode, if you haven't already, it would mean the world to me if you follow the show wherever you listen to podcasts, if you rate it and leave a review on 20 00:01:59,170 --> 00:02:01,410 Apple Podcasts if you listen there. 21 00:02:01,410 --> 00:02:08,750 I would love to hear your thoughts and as always, send me a DM with anything that came up for you in today's episode. 22 00:02:08,770 --> 00:02:10,600 I'd love to see you over on Instagram. 23 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:12,280 I'm @samvanderwielen there. 24 00:02:12,670 --> 00:02:15,940 And with that, let's get into how to stay nimble as an entrepreneur. 25 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:25,650 So, I'm just getting settled in my new house in New York. 26 00:02:25,670 --> 00:02:30,010 We moved to the North Shore of Long Island, outside of New York City. 27 00:02:30,020 --> 00:02:32,630 It is absolutely stunning, beautiful here. 28 00:02:32,660 --> 00:02:34,040 We're surrounded by water. 29 00:02:34,070 --> 00:02:41,940 It's super quiet. In fact, it's so quiet that Ryan and I have been pretty freaked out when we fall asleep because we're like, "What's happening outside? 30 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:45,650 Why is it so quiet?" Where we moved from outside of Philly, it was just so loud. 31 00:02:46,100 --> 00:02:53,780 There was like - my dad used to call our street the superspeedway because it was supposed to be a side street but everybody used it as a cut-through and it was really annoying. 32 00:02:53,780 --> 00:03:01,670 And so, it was very loud and there just seemed to always be like someone emptying their dumpster on the main street in the middle of the night. 33 00:03:01,670 --> 00:03:02,690 And it was very loud. 34 00:03:02,690 --> 00:03:05,000 So, I am getting settled in. 35 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:09,740 I'm trying to get used to the fact that it's so quiet here, but it'll all be good in the end. 36 00:03:10,010 --> 00:03:11,720 We have a beach at the end of our street. 37 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:13,490 It's so beautiful. 38 00:03:13,490 --> 00:03:18,830 But if you've ever moved in your entire life, you know that it is not all fun and games. 39 00:03:18,830 --> 00:03:20,270 It is quite the process. 40 00:03:20,270 --> 00:03:22,910 I actually lost my podcast mic in the move. 41 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:30,480 There was a big sticker on it that said "Do not take." And then the movers took it and they put it in the foyer box and I couldn't find it forever. 42 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:32,030 So, I finally found it. 43 00:03:32,060 --> 00:03:35,720 We're back to normal with our audio equipment here on On Your Terms. 44 00:03:36,260 --> 00:03:40,550 But moving definitely throws you for a loop personally and for your business too. 45 00:03:40,910 --> 00:03:50,900 If you have your own business, it's not just your stuff, but obviously, it takes your time and attention away from your business, from maybe even social media if you're used to being on social media like I am every 46 00:03:50,900 --> 00:04:00,170 day. I not only didn't really have the time, but I just found myself over the last several weeks not even wanting to be on social very much so because I would rather get 47 00:04:00,410 --> 00:04:03,800 situated and get organized and try to learn my new area and all of that kind of stuff. 48 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:11,030 So, it's been really interesting, but it's been yet another, I guess, adventure in staying nimble. 49 00:04:11,030 --> 00:04:15,080 And that's what we're talking today about is really staying nimble as an entrepreneur. 50 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:24,600 Because if I've learned anything over the last five years of having my own business, it's that staying nimble is absolutely crucial to staying in business. 51 00:04:24,630 --> 00:04:33,290 Not just staying in business, my goal is not for you just to have a business and call it a day, it's for you to continue to grow and to love your business and to have fun. 52 00:04:33,380 --> 00:04:43,220 So, I find that staying nimble and being open to pivoting and experimenting and being the scientist in your business is so crucial 53 00:04:43,220 --> 00:04:45,860 when it comes to this success of your business. 54 00:04:46,130 --> 00:04:56,120 Because if you approach business with a fixed mindset or a mindset of like this is it has to be or this is the way that I'm going to do it because this is the way that I see 55 00:04:56,150 --> 00:05:01,340 other people doing it, you won't be able to pivot when and if you need to. 56 00:05:01,340 --> 00:05:08,540 I really should just say when you need to because I find that this is inevitable whether you have something now or later, but you're going to have to pivot at some point. 57 00:05:08,570 --> 00:05:18,560 We're going to talk today about - I'm going to give you some of my best tips about staying nimble, how staying nimble in your business actually can help grow your business, some of the things that I wish I saw people 58 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:21,290 do more often with being a bit more nimble. 59 00:05:21,620 --> 00:05:24,620 But I'm also going to talk about this from two kinds of approaches. 60 00:05:24,620 --> 00:05:27,330 One is if life stuff comes up. 61 00:05:27,330 --> 00:05:37,310 And, I've spoken about this a lot publicly and on the podcast about the things that I've gone through in the last several years that have, you know, kind of forced me to be nimble but in a good way 62 00:05:37,310 --> 00:05:39,710 . They've had good side effects and we'll talk about that. 63 00:05:39,890 --> 00:05:48,770 But also there's the idea of staying nimble just because maybe something in your business isn't working or maybe you don't like something about your business. 64 00:05:48,770 --> 00:05:57,890 Like, maybe you find yourself at a place where you're like, "I'm just not loving what I'm doing," or "I'm not loving my clients right now," or "I'm not feeling like I'm attracting the people that I want to work with," you know, or 65 00:05:57,890 --> 00:05:59,140 you don't like the way you're working. 66 00:05:59,140 --> 00:06:01,460 Like, you're on the phone all the time and you don't want to be. 67 00:06:01,850 --> 00:06:11,690 So, we're going to talk about staying nimble for both of those reasons, whether you're forced into it and in certain life circumstances or whether you're just at a place where you're like, "Maybe being 68 00:06:11,690 --> 00:06:15,980 not nimble enough is what's hurting me and how do I stay nimble? 69 00:06:15,980 --> 00:06:19,310 Where do I go? How do I experiment?" So, we're going to talk about that all today. 70 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:29,990 So, if you experience something like, you know, some of the things that I've experienced over the last several years, some of the things I know you have to, like family emergencies or family 71 00:06:29,990 --> 00:06:39,740 situations like mine with like health, you know, taking care of a parent or a loved one, a child, obviously the pandemic over the last year and a half has thrown everything into a 72 00:06:39,740 --> 00:06:44,140 tizzy. It definitely threw it into a major tizzy when the pandemic first started. 73 00:06:44,140 --> 00:06:48,950 You know, there can be financial changes in your life whether you lose your job. 74 00:06:48,950 --> 00:06:58,670 I've heard from so many people, especially over the last year and a half, where maybe their partner or spouse has lost their job and that has thrown your family's financial situation into a different 75 00:06:59,030 --> 00:07:05,690 situation. And so, you've realized you either have to grow your business more or you have to start your business or whatever. 76 00:07:06,260 --> 00:07:16,130 I know from so many of you and so many of my friends the child care changes this year have been, I don't even know, like, significant doesn't even begin to cover it, 77 00:07:16,780 --> 00:07:26,140 whether you've lost the person that took care of your children or you're not comfortable sending children back to school or to daycare or something like this. 78 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:31,810 There've just been so many changes that have affected your schedule and your well-being and your financial well-being. 79 00:07:31,810 --> 00:07:39,940 So, there are just so many curveballs that come at us in life in general but these are things that heavily impact us as entrepreneurs. 80 00:07:40,730 --> 00:07:50,120 And, you know, like I said earlier, maybe you haven't experienced as many of those things, and if so, you should be very grateful, but, and I hope that you are. 81 00:07:50,820 --> 00:08:00,440 Or, maybe just things aren't working out the way that you thought they would in your business, whether that's because you're not happy with your sales or you're not happy with your clients or you're not happy with the product or you're just 82 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:01,820 like feeling uninspired. 83 00:08:01,820 --> 00:08:05,420 I go through time periods where I'm just like, "I feel like I'm doing the same thing. 84 00:08:05,660 --> 00:08:15,560 I'm not super inspired right now." That is all where, to me, pivoting comes up and I find it really helpful if we go into this process and we start off today's conversation 85 00:08:16,190 --> 00:08:25,690 with a little bit of a mindset check of reminding ourselves that change and pivot in life and business are just part of the process. 86 00:08:25,700 --> 00:08:29,300 My coach, Jamie Mendell, tells me this all the time about so many different things. 87 00:08:29,990 --> 00:08:33,320 And I think she's so right and she's so brilliant in general. 88 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:43,030 This is just something that she's taught me that's been so helpful if, like, what if we just think about these things as part of the process instead of like, "I have to change again. 89 00:08:43,030 --> 00:08:44,340 I have to switch again. 90 00:08:44,340 --> 00:08:46,310 I have to pivot again. I have to change my messaging. 91 00:08:46,310 --> 00:08:50,180 I have to change my offer." What if that is just part of the process? 92 00:08:50,180 --> 00:08:57,580 And so, there's not so much like resistance or anger right there, but it's in fact it's like, "Oh, this is actually part of it. 93 00:08:57,590 --> 00:09:03,200 This is all part of the plan." And if we embrace some of that, it can make it a little bit softer. 94 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,990 It's not to say that we can't feel those other feelings and feel frustrated. 95 00:09:07,010 --> 00:09:11,330 For example, this comes up for me a lot in the business where I call them Lynn's. 96 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:13,100 They're called in the business. 97 00:09:13,100 --> 00:09:15,680 No offense. Absolutely, no offense to anyone named Lynn. 98 00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:20,840 But this is just an insider terminology, real behind-the-scenes look at my business. 99 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:26,230 People who write us nasty messages, emails, whatever Facebook comments, we call them Lynn. 100 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:32,370 Long story. And, I'm actually working on writing a book right now and we have a whole chapter dedicated to it. 101 00:09:32,390 --> 00:09:42,260 But for me, when I started getting Lynn comments and I started getting Lynn emails and all that kind of stuff, which wasn't until my business became more successful, it really, really hurt. 102 00:09:42,530 --> 00:09:44,330 I was like, I was devastated. 103 00:09:44,330 --> 00:09:45,530 I'm very sensitive. 104 00:09:45,560 --> 00:09:47,060 I feel everything. 105 00:09:47,060 --> 00:09:54,650 Definitely, an empath. And so, I was so upset every time I would get one of these and it would like throw off my whole day, maybe days on end. 106 00:09:54,740 --> 00:10:04,730 And so, Jamie and I spoke about this in this context of like what if that's just like part of growing the business instead of feeling like everything's supposed to go perfectly and you're only supposed 107 00:10:04,730 --> 00:10:07,850 to get nice, you know, glowing comments and reviews? 108 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:10,790 What if getting a Lynn comment every once in a great while? 109 00:10:10,790 --> 00:10:12,830 Because that's the truth of it. It's not often. 110 00:10:12,830 --> 00:10:14,330 But it hurts when it happens. 111 00:10:14,510 --> 00:10:16,070 It's just like part of the process. 112 00:10:16,070 --> 00:10:25,880 And so, I feel like this can be a very similar mindset shift here that if you can go into this thinking that change is all part of the 113 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:32,610 process, then you can maybe take a little bit of the shame or judgment out of the fact that like, "Oh, I have to change again," or like, "This isn't working. 114 00:10:32,610 --> 00:10:34,470 I keep having to move around." 115 00:10:34,490 --> 00:10:39,770 I used to beat myself up for being somebody who changed a lot because I thought that that meant I couldn't stick to anything. 116 00:10:39,770 --> 00:10:41,990 I had this childhood story. 117 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:51,830 My dad says this about me all the time that I can't stick to anything because when I was a kid, I would get like a new toy or gadget of some sort and I would play with it for like five minutes, which kids 118 00:10:51,830 --> 00:10:54,680 do, and then I wouldn't want to play with it anymore. 119 00:10:54,680 --> 00:11:00,020 And so, this story about me has been told over and over and over again that I can't stick to anything. 120 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:06,570 And so, when I started my first business and then I transitioned into selling legal templates, I thought, "Oh. 121 00:11:06,570 --> 00:11:10,640 See, there you go again. You can't stick to anything," when really this is staying nimble. 122 00:11:10,970 --> 00:11:12,210 I'm going to talk about this today. 123 00:11:12,210 --> 00:11:21,530 But it was really a survival mechanism of staying nimble and learning what was going to be successful, what was going to carry me across the line because what I was doing wasn't going to do it for me. 124 00:11:21,530 --> 00:11:22,610 It wasn't doing it for me. 125 00:11:22,700 --> 00:11:26,060 So, pivots can actually be helpful for your business. 126 00:11:26,060 --> 00:11:31,080 I hope more than anything you take away, you know, that's what you take away from today's episode. 127 00:11:31,100 --> 00:11:36,980 You know, if we use my own journey as an example and I have countless friends I could talk to you about as well. 128 00:11:37,340 --> 00:11:44,450 I started - my first business was a health coaching business when I left the law, and it wasn't the right fit for me. 129 00:11:44,450 --> 00:11:48,380 I'm not saying that health coaching as a business isn't a good one, but it just wasn't a good one for me. 130 00:11:48,700 --> 00:11:50,480 First of all, I don't think I was a very good coach. 131 00:11:50,870 --> 00:11:54,350 It just didn't speak to me naturally for some reason. 132 00:11:54,380 --> 00:12:04,100 I love teaching, so I like being in more of a teaching role, and also for the way that I not only wanted my life to look like but then ultimately what ended up happening in my life with having brain 133 00:12:04,100 --> 00:12:10,390 surgery and my dad getting sick and all the stuff, I needed more of a business that I could automate and scale. 134 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:20,210 So when in 2017, I switched to only selling digital legal products that it was the biggest pivot and the biggest staying nimble exercise for 135 00:12:20,210 --> 00:12:25,640 me that led to just an unbelievable experience and amount of success in this business. 136 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:31,280 So, my surgery, you know, pushed me to figure out my content in a better way. 137 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:38,030 When I had brain surgery, I was writing all these random blog posts about nothing that, like hardly anybody wrote, read at the time. 138 00:12:38,030 --> 00:12:47,530 And I don't even - I was probably posting pictures of my lunch on social media, I don't even now, and that I remember that experience pushed me to think, "Okay, 139 00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:54,320 I need to be like super targeted with my content," because I don't have a lot of time and literally brainpower because my brain hurt. 140 00:12:54,340 --> 00:12:57,820 And so, I need to figure out what am I here to say? 141 00:12:57,850 --> 00:12:59,950 How is this actually helpful to other people? 142 00:12:59,950 --> 00:13:04,690 And how can I get this information out in a more effective way, especially more evergreen way? 143 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:06,610 So, the surgery helped me with that. 144 00:13:06,610 --> 00:13:13,990 When my dad got leukemia, I remember that I was making sales, you know, I was making consistent sales, but everything was because of me. 145 00:13:13,990 --> 00:13:17,920 I used to say to my husband, Ryan, I felt like my business was such a little engine. 146 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:22,300 As long as I had my foot on the gas, the engine was running perfect. 147 00:13:22,300 --> 00:13:25,930 But as soon as I took my foot off the gas, the engine completely stopped. 148 00:13:25,930 --> 00:13:35,830 And so, if I took time off as a brake, you know, when my dad got sick, I got super depressed and I would just stand in the shower all day long and cry when I had a break in between chemo 149 00:13:35,830 --> 00:13:39,820 appointments and doctor's appointments and getting him health care and everything else. 150 00:13:39,820 --> 00:13:46,060 But the going dark period on social media wasn't good for my business, and it wasn't until - my dad got sick in September. 151 00:13:46,060 --> 00:13:54,160 It wasn't until around the holidays that I was coming out of it and I realized, okay, I can't just be on social media all the time. 152 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:55,960 I don't want to be on social media all the time. 153 00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:56,980 I want to live my life. 154 00:13:56,980 --> 00:13:58,550 But also, I'm just being realistic. 155 00:13:58,550 --> 00:14:00,520 It's like, I'm depressed about my dad being sick. 156 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:02,230 What do I do? 157 00:14:02,230 --> 00:14:11,770 And that pushed me to create my free workshop, which leads to a funnel, a sales funnel that leads people to The Ultimate Bundle, my signature product. 158 00:14:11,770 --> 00:14:21,610 Moving just recently, you know, I knew that this was coming for a little bit, and so moving pushed me to think more about how do I make sure things are running in the background without 159 00:14:21,610 --> 00:14:22,820 me being so involved. 160 00:14:22,820 --> 00:14:26,440 Because even though sales were super automated, I was not super automated. 161 00:14:26,530 --> 00:14:29,200 The business still very much required a lot of me. 162 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:39,490 So, now having a big team of all of these people, helping all these incredible people, helping from a VA to a tech VA to a copywriter or a design or a marketing manager, everything in 163 00:14:39,490 --> 00:14:47,830 between, we have a lot of stuff running in the background to the point where I actually ended up taking over a month off. 164 00:14:47,830 --> 00:14:56,350 I mean, primarily, I would check in and answer their emails and their Slack messages and stuff like this but really overall, because I got really sick before we moved and then we moved. 165 00:14:56,350 --> 00:14:58,090 The business ran totally like normal. 166 00:14:58,090 --> 00:14:59,410 There was nothing - no hiccups. 167 00:14:59,410 --> 00:15:00,700 Sales were normal, everything. 168 00:15:00,700 --> 00:15:09,290 So, you know, all of these life situations pushed me personally to stay nimble and to pivot and to make the business better. 169 00:15:09,310 --> 00:15:11,790 But that does require that mindset of like, "Oh. 170 00:15:11,790 --> 00:15:17,440 This is an opportunity for change, and change isn't always bad." Or, it was also an opportunity to be like, "Oh, yeah. 171 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:21,460 That's like not working." Like, it's not working for me to have to be on Instagram every day. 172 00:15:21,460 --> 00:15:25,450 It's taking me away from being present in my life and my family. 173 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:29,970 It's making me maybe feel bad about myself sometimes when I'm on social media. 174 00:15:29,980 --> 00:15:32,650 So, what are some ways where I can do this better, right? 175 00:15:32,650 --> 00:15:37,180 So, this stuff can always be seen as an opportunity for better change. 176 00:15:42,610 --> 00:15:47,240 Have you ever felt lost about where to begin with the legal side of protecting your online business? 177 00:15:47,260 --> 00:15:50,770 Some people say you can just wing it at the beginning and get officially set up later. 178 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:53,400 Not a good idea, by the way. 179 00:15:53,400 --> 00:16:03,100 Whether you're afraid to even start working with clients because you don't want to do something wrong legally and then get in trouble or your business is growing and you sort of forgot to take care of the legal 180 00:16:03,100 --> 00:16:04,900 pieces, I've got you. 181 00:16:04,930 --> 00:16:14,710 I don't want you to live in fear of the internet police coming after you and your business, but you do have to do certain things and get certain things in place in order to legally and safely run your business 182 00:16:14,710 --> 00:16:21,850 online. As much as it just feels like an unregulated wild wild west online, that is very much not the case. 183 00:16:21,850 --> 00:16:27,100 As an attorney-turned entrepreneur and former corporate litigator, I can assure you that there are rules. 184 00:16:27,100 --> 00:16:32,110 There are real steps that everybody who runs or starts an online business needs to take. 185 00:16:32,380 --> 00:16:34,240 And you're not behind at all. 186 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:36,630 We can get you set up in following the rules right away. 187 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:38,500 In fact, we can even do it today. 188 00:16:38,530 --> 00:16:43,750 I want to teach you the five very simple steps to take to legally protect and grow your online business. 189 00:16:43,780 --> 00:16:52,990 You don't need an MBA to be a successful entrepreneur and stay out of legal hot water, but you do need to dot your legal i's and cross your t's in a few key areas that can't be skipped. 190 00:16:53,020 --> 00:16:59,440 That's exactly what I'll teach you in my free one-hour legal workshop called Five Steps to Legally Protect and Grow Your Online Business. 191 00:16:59,470 --> 00:17:07,750 Just head to mylegalworkshop.com, drop in your email address, pick the time, and I'll send you a link to watch the workshop video whenever you have time. 192 00:17:08,050 --> 00:17:12,310 This is the best place to begin if you're just getting started legally legitimizing your business. 193 00:17:12,310 --> 00:17:19,000 So, head on over to mylegalworkshop.com and sign up to watch, Five Steps to Legally Protect and Grow Your Online Business now. 194 00:17:25,980 --> 00:17:32,910 And, you know, I think the last year and a half, the pandemic obviously has also pushed us to think about things differently. 195 00:17:32,910 --> 00:17:36,470 The world is changing. The way that people consume information is changing. 196 00:17:36,470 --> 00:17:39,740 The way, you know, people are going to be working from home more often. 197 00:17:39,740 --> 00:17:42,720 People are experiencing new mental health challenges. 198 00:17:42,990 --> 00:17:46,230 People are experiencing new just day-to-day difficulties. 199 00:17:46,230 --> 00:17:48,090 You might be seeing this with your clients as well. 200 00:17:48,090 --> 00:17:54,880 Like, maybe the kids are home from school, or maybe both partners are working from home and they're driving each other crazy or something. 201 00:17:54,900 --> 00:18:02,730 So, there's a lot of stuff going on now that can push you to have to think about your offerings differently, your payments differently. 202 00:18:02,730 --> 00:18:12,540 Like, for example, during the pandemic, I was very resistant - prior to the pandemic, I was very resistant to longer-term payment plans because I had a lot of fear and 203 00:18:12,540 --> 00:18:16,830 anxiety over what would happen if I created this longer-term payment plan. 204 00:18:16,830 --> 00:18:20,230 I thought everybody would buy it, pay the first one and bounce, you know. 205 00:18:20,230 --> 00:18:21,420 So, I wouldn't do it. 206 00:18:21,420 --> 00:18:23,430 And, it was definitely holding me back in my business. 207 00:18:23,430 --> 00:18:33,360 So many people were asking for it, and the pandemic pushed me to think about making The Ultimate Bundle, in particular, more accessible and allowing people to get in who needed a 208 00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:34,620 little bit more time to pay. 209 00:18:34,650 --> 00:18:36,330 I did that. It was huge. 210 00:18:36,350 --> 00:18:37,710 It was huge. It's been very successful. 211 00:18:37,710 --> 00:18:39,530 People have been very respectful as well. 212 00:18:39,540 --> 00:18:48,840 And so, that was an example where like that was something I was freaking out like, "Oh, I can't believe that the pandemic pushed me to have to do this," and it ended up being great. 213 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:56,280 And I actually feel really good about the fact that, you know, people can have access to this over a longer period of time. 214 00:18:56,280 --> 00:19:06,270 So, you know, another thing I just wanted to mention quickly, too, before I get into some of the tips I have for you today is that the changing landscape - I mean, over the last five years that 215 00:19:06,270 --> 00:19:14,250 I've been in online business, the marketing game has shifted so much, I mean because it changes what's the hot platform of the moment. 216 00:19:14,250 --> 00:19:20,130 And then, you know, even if, like Instagram's been the hot platform the whole time, the way that we use Instagram has changed. 217 00:19:20,130 --> 00:19:21,240 There were no Reels. 218 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:22,710 There weren't even Stories when I started. 219 00:19:22,710 --> 00:19:24,090 Then, there were like no Reels. 220 00:19:24,090 --> 00:19:26,400 Then, IGTV was like hot for a hot minute. 221 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:29,820 And then, you know, things just keep flip-flopping all around. 222 00:19:29,820 --> 00:19:39,810 So, you just want to stay nimble because these things, the way that we do our business, the way that we use certain tools, they are not constant. 223 00:19:39,810 --> 00:19:41,070 So, you can't be constant. 224 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:45,950 So it doesn't make sense, and it's just not ever going to be like, "Okay. 225 00:19:45,950 --> 00:19:55,560 If I just like do this every day for the rest of my life, this business will be successful." That's never going to happen because the things that you're using to market your business and to attract 226 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,410 clients, they're not staying the same. 227 00:19:58,740 --> 00:20:00,210 And, your audience is going to change. 228 00:20:00,210 --> 00:20:03,180 If you're in business long enough, your audience is going to evolve and change. 229 00:20:03,180 --> 00:20:10,530 So, it's really important for you to stay nimble whether it's from your marketing to your offerings to your website, whatever it is. 230 00:20:10,980 --> 00:20:12,120 So, okay. 231 00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:16,590 I want to get into a couple of tips I have for you about staying nimble as an entrepreneur. 232 00:20:17,730 --> 00:20:22,150 The first one is a little two-part mindset shift that we're going to make. 233 00:20:22,170 --> 00:20:31,980 So, the mindset shift that I want you to make, maybe we even write this down, maybe we reflect on it, whatever you want to do, whatever is helpful for you, is that one, things will not always 234 00:20:32,010 --> 00:20:35,590 be the same and it's not even good for them to be the same. 235 00:20:35,610 --> 00:20:40,290 So, I want us to start thinking about things and, like, it's not normal. 236 00:20:40,290 --> 00:20:49,680 So, getting back to that part that I was saying that my coach, Jamie Mendell, has taught me, is that it's not really normal for things to just be the same or only be positive or 237 00:20:49,860 --> 00:20:54,000 whatever, but it's not going to be good for that to be the same either. 238 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:55,430 So, it's going to be fun. 239 00:20:55,440 --> 00:21:00,680 We want to start thinking about this from a positive perspective like it can be fun that things are changing and evolving. 240 00:21:00,690 --> 00:21:06,750 It's kind of fun, and I find it challenging in a good way that these platforms keep changing the way that we use these platforms. 241 00:21:06,780 --> 00:21:08,230 I find that all super interesting. 242 00:21:08,230 --> 00:21:10,500 So, we're going to approach it from that perspective. 243 00:21:10,740 --> 00:21:17,280 The second part of this mindset shift that I want you to think about is that change is an opportunity to be better and different. 244 00:21:17,490 --> 00:21:27,450 So going back to what I was saying about how, you know, not wanting to be on social media anymore or not wanting to be on social media every single day, documenting every single thing, 245 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:35,610 got me to think about like how can I create a sales funnel or how can I generate leads without me having to be on social? 246 00:21:35,610 --> 00:21:41,190 Or, where am I spending my time that's actually working instead of me just like being on my phone and hoping it's working? 247 00:21:41,220 --> 00:21:51,150 So, change is an opportunity to be better and different, and I want you to think about the ways that some of these changes whether they're in your life or in the world or 248 00:21:51,150 --> 00:22:01,080 in the way that your clients are consuming information, how that could actually be an opportunity for you to make things more in alignment with the way that you want to do them, the way you 249 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:03,030 want to run your business. 250 00:22:03,030 --> 00:22:10,650 The second tip I have for you is that I want you to stay nimble as an entrepreneur by studying the market and studying your clients. 251 00:22:10,650 --> 00:22:15,890 So, I can tell you over the last five years, our industry has changed a lot. 252 00:22:15,900 --> 00:22:22,740 The way that we market our products, the way that we sell them, the way that people want to be spoken to. 253 00:22:23,020 --> 00:22:32,830 I mean, definitely the way in Facebook ads, the way that even the Facebook ads are structured with more video and now the videos looking more like Reels are looking more 254 00:22:32,980 --> 00:22:37,390 organic than highly stylized videos and stuff like that. 255 00:22:37,510 --> 00:22:39,280 All of that has changed. 256 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:47,210 And so, I have to stay very nimble as the CEO of this business of constantly looking at things and saying like, "Okay. 257 00:22:47,210 --> 00:22:50,730 This is how people are responding to information now. 258 00:22:50,740 --> 00:22:55,030 This is how people are consuming information now." Even this podcast like, "Okay. 259 00:22:55,420 --> 00:23:05,320 People might go on." Like, I was thinking about this as I was creating the podcast over the last several months was like, "Well, people probably don't have as long commutes anymore, so I don't want 260 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:09,310 this to be super long." I also know that you're busy, so I don't want it to be super long. 261 00:23:09,430 --> 00:23:18,690 I think to myself, like, maybe you pop the same while you're out in a walk or something, or you're like cooking or something, I don't know, doing something that is not super long. 262 00:23:18,700 --> 00:23:28,660 So even that, I tried to think about how are people listening to this, how are people going to be consuming this information, and then, what is most relevant about what I want them 263 00:23:28,660 --> 00:23:35,620 to go and do from this episode or from my content now, which is very different than when I started this business? 264 00:23:35,650 --> 00:23:38,260 So, I think people's needs have changed. 265 00:23:38,260 --> 00:23:39,770 People's desires have changed. 266 00:23:39,770 --> 00:23:49,660 Like, when, you know, if you started around when I did in 2016, 2017, it was really popular back then to have like free PDFs, downloadable PDFs and guides, and that's still 267 00:23:49,660 --> 00:23:53,540 popular. But now people are consuming that information in a much different way. 268 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:54,700 Videos are big. 269 00:23:54,700 --> 00:23:57,190 Audio things are big, like secret podcast episodes. 270 00:23:57,250 --> 00:23:59,400 There are all different kinds of ways. 271 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:02,020 Whereas when I started, it was like one-way. 272 00:24:02,050 --> 00:24:07,330 What you do is you start a business, you create a free PDF, people download that PDF if you add them to your email list. 273 00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:10,080 Boom. Done. Like, that was the way you start in a business. 274 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:13,060 That's obviously very, very diverse now. 275 00:24:13,060 --> 00:24:15,040 Like, there's just a lot of different ways to do this. 276 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:19,150 So, it's really important that you're constantly studying the market. 277 00:24:19,150 --> 00:24:28,840 And by that, I just mean observing, seeing what other people are doing, not copying, obviously, but just kind of getting a good feel for like, "Oh, people's needs seem to be shifting. 278 00:24:28,870 --> 00:24:33,760 Video seems to be more popular, short videos, or whatever it is at the moment." 279 00:24:34,120 --> 00:24:37,670 I find it really helpful to work with experts on these things too. 280 00:24:37,670 --> 00:24:47,170 Like, when I hire my copywriter and we're working on a project together, I am asking her because she has such a good - first of all, she's talking to my clients, 281 00:24:47,650 --> 00:24:49,300 right, and she's getting a good idea. 282 00:24:49,330 --> 00:24:54,820 She's also writing the stuff for other people and she's talking to their clients and they're all other industry people. 283 00:24:54,820 --> 00:25:04,780 And so, she has a really good pulse on like, oh, people are really liking gifts at the moment or people aren't liking this or people are really liking when you - like, she just told me the other day it was something about the 284 00:25:04,780 --> 00:25:07,960 way that she phrases language in a link has changed. 285 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:10,840 That there's a certain way that's more popular right now. 286 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:13,540 So, it's not always just stuff that I'm pulling away, obviously. 287 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:16,280 I don't know anything about a lot of things. 288 00:25:16,300 --> 00:25:21,010 And so, I'm looking to industry, other industry experts to say, "What are you seeing? 289 00:25:21,850 --> 00:25:31,480 What's changing? What do you think people are wanting right now?" And those are the kinds of questions that as a CEO, you have to be asking because you have to be thinking about staying nimble 290 00:25:31,900 --> 00:25:39,250 . You want to think about continuing to get ahead and to continue to evolve and thinking of things changing. 291 00:25:39,610 --> 00:25:44,780 I also, though, want you to pay attention to your clients and how your clients have changed. 292 00:25:44,780 --> 00:25:53,320 So whether your actual clients have changed, like if you've been in business for a while, your clients are probably like, quote-unquote, growing up with you. 293 00:25:53,320 --> 00:26:01,650 So, I have one friend in particular that I can think of who's a fitness coach and over the years she's been in the game for a long time. 294 00:26:01,650 --> 00:26:11,560 And over the years, her clients have kind of grown up with her and what started as women in their 20s, probably post-college figuring out how to like work out on their 295 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:18,460 own as they were getting into corporate jobs, has now turned into women who had their first or maybe even second child. 296 00:26:18,460 --> 00:26:23,990 And they're trying to navigate new mom life and maybe even also working in a million other things. 297 00:26:24,010 --> 00:26:28,570 So, it's been interesting to watch as she has evolved because she also had a child. 298 00:26:29,260 --> 00:26:31,840 But as she's evolved, her clients have evolved. 299 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:35,030 And so, you can't just be like doing the content the same way. 300 00:26:35,030 --> 00:26:43,620 Because the content that you were doing four years ago when your clients, for example, didn't have children or didn't have a job or whatever isn't going to speak to them now. 301 00:26:43,630 --> 00:26:47,290 And so, what you're going to do is you're going to end up losing your clientele. 302 00:26:48,130 --> 00:26:51,280 And, I think when your business evolves in that way, you kind of have two choices. 303 00:26:51,280 --> 00:27:00,640 You can either continue to speak to, like if you've decided that your ideal client is a mid-20s, unattached, childless or child-free person who, like, that's 304 00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:02,890 all they're focused on, then that's fine. 305 00:27:02,890 --> 00:27:04,140 You can keep going to that. 306 00:27:04,150 --> 00:27:13,300 But if you have this super dedicated core group of clients and they want to continue working with you and taking your programs and all that, then you've got to update your 307 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:14,880 content to match. 308 00:27:14,890 --> 00:27:21,250 So, that's what I would suggest in terms of studying the market, studying your clients, seeing how they've changed. 309 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:26,560 Also, paying attention to how they have consumed information or how they want to consume information now. 310 00:27:26,580 --> 00:27:27,880 Maybe, that's different. 311 00:27:27,900 --> 00:27:29,490 Maybe, their platforms are different. 312 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:31,340 Surveys are great for that. 313 00:27:31,350 --> 00:27:33,310 You can send out a survey to your email list. 314 00:27:33,330 --> 00:27:36,480 You can do surveys through polls on Instagram. 315 00:27:36,810 --> 00:27:38,250 You can do surveys all over the place. 316 00:27:38,250 --> 00:27:47,560 And just remember, though, that when you do surveys, like if you do a survey on Instagram - I always find this funny, and people will be like, "Do you want to watch stuff on Instagram or YouTube?" It's like, but they're on Instagram. 317 00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:49,020 So, they're going to answer Instagram. 318 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:54,610 So, you always see in these polls, like people will ask that stuff and it's like, well, yeah, they're on that platform. 319 00:27:54,630 --> 00:28:01,300 So you just have to - I still recommend doing it, doing the surveys, but you want to take some of this information with a grain of salt. 320 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:03,840 Obviously, people are going and they're watching you on the platform that they prefer. 321 00:28:04,500 --> 00:28:10,150 So, I think it's more about where your ideal clients hang out and then where you can consistently show up. 322 00:28:10,170 --> 00:28:16,590 So, if you're not at a place in your life where you're going to do a YouTube video every day, don't offer to do YouTube videos every day. 323 00:28:16,890 --> 00:28:21,090 So, that's my suggestion on studying the market and studying your clients. 324 00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:24,360 I also want you to take questions as hints. 325 00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:34,230 So if you keep getting the same question, maybe it's a sign that you should test it out, whether it's like, "Hey, do you offer this product?" Or, "Hey, do you offer this service in this way?" And 326 00:28:34,230 --> 00:28:41,940 you just keep saying no, maybe that should be a sign that that's something that you should get curious about and you could test out. 327 00:28:41,940 --> 00:28:45,630 That's definitely how I felt about the payment plan issue with The Ultimate Bundle. 328 00:28:46,230 --> 00:28:48,520 People kept asking and I was so stubborn. 329 00:28:48,540 --> 00:28:50,580 I'm a Scorpio, so I'm super stubborn. 330 00:28:50,790 --> 00:28:54,270 And so, I kept getting this question and I was just like, "No, no, no. 331 00:28:54,270 --> 00:28:55,650 I don't." Like, on principle, "No. 332 00:28:55,650 --> 00:29:00,630 I don't do it." And eventually, my little stubborn walls broke down and I was like, "Okay. 333 00:29:00,630 --> 00:29:02,550 Everyone keeps asking about this for a reason." Right? 334 00:29:02,550 --> 00:29:07,110 People need it. This is people asking for what they need and what they want. 335 00:29:07,110 --> 00:29:08,670 It's something that I'm not offering. 336 00:29:08,700 --> 00:29:17,550 And that takes me to my final tip here for you, which I put my scientist attitude hat on, which is my last tip for you today about staying nimble as an entrepreneur. 337 00:29:18,010 --> 00:29:24,630 It's like you have got to wear the scientist hat often because it is all about testing in business. 338 00:29:24,660 --> 00:29:31,560 Nothing is so tragic that if you try it out - like people reaching out to me to ask about the payment plan. 339 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:33,900 I was so resistant to it, so resistant to it. 340 00:29:33,900 --> 00:29:38,400 And finally, when I thought about it from a rational perspective, I was like, "Okay. 341 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:41,910 Let's test this out." Maybe you give yourself a time period. 342 00:29:41,910 --> 00:29:46,190 Maybe you give yourself a certain number of clients or a certain number of sales of your product. 343 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:48,600 And I said, "Let's test this out. 344 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:50,970 Let's sell it for a few months. 345 00:29:50,970 --> 00:29:52,250 Let's do like 90 days. 346 00:29:52,260 --> 00:29:56,880 And if people stop paying me all over the place, then I'll cancel it." And that's that. 347 00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:59,440 It was an experiment. And what do you know? 348 00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:00,530 It was like the complete opposite. 349 00:30:00,530 --> 00:30:03,990 We had tons of, a huge influx of people who purchased the bundle. 350 00:30:04,020 --> 00:30:13,610 No issues, or very, very little issues, definitely below industry standard, which by the way, again, another part like this is to be expected if you offer payment plans or things like this. 351 00:30:13,610 --> 00:30:17,300 It is not normal to have 100% success rate. 352 00:30:17,300 --> 00:30:20,470 But overall, like very positive experience. 353 00:30:20,490 --> 00:30:29,520 And so, it's something I even have to remind myself of because I'm just such a big believer in this scientist's attitude that in business it is all about testing. 354 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:31,620 Nothing has to be permanent. 355 00:30:31,620 --> 00:30:35,490 If you don't like it or if it doesn't work, you can change it. 356 00:30:35,610 --> 00:30:37,490 Maybe, it's not so black and white either. 357 00:30:37,500 --> 00:30:41,160 Maybe, it's not like - in my case, maybe it didn't have to be like payment plan or no-payment plan. 358 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:49,080 Maybe, it could have been a shorter one, or maybe I offer it in a different way using a different platform that's a bit better with capturing cards or something like this. 359 00:30:49,110 --> 00:30:53,370 So, it's all about approaching this stuff with a testing attitude. 360 00:30:53,370 --> 00:30:56,420 I really, really, so heavily believe in that. 361 00:30:56,420 --> 00:31:03,550 I'd be happy to do a whole episode on scientist attitude in your business and going in leading with curiosity. 362 00:31:03,550 --> 00:31:05,070 Curiosity and being curious. 363 00:31:05,130 --> 00:31:07,800 It's one of my favorite words and terms in general. 364 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:10,990 I just so believe in seeing how does this go? 365 00:31:11,010 --> 00:31:12,210 Like, I wonder how this will go. 366 00:31:12,210 --> 00:31:14,340 I'm not sure, but I'm open to it. 367 00:31:14,910 --> 00:31:20,670 And of course, I will teach you all day long about doing the things that you can do and should do to legally protect yourselves. 368 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:26,100 It's not like I just threw caution to the wind and was like, "Let's see how this payment plan thing goes." You know, I had a very strong contract. 369 00:31:26,100 --> 00:31:29,820 I had things in place. I was using a great payment processor, all the stuff. 370 00:31:29,940 --> 00:31:33,870 But it's more about the mindset attitude of like, "Let's just see how this goes. 371 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:38,670 And if it doesn't go well, I can always change it." That's the cool thing about being the CEO. 372 00:31:39,210 --> 00:31:43,030 So with that, I hope that this episode was helpful. 373 00:31:43,050 --> 00:31:46,650 I encourage you to stay nimble as an entrepreneur, too. 374 00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:56,640 I hope that maybe a little piece of today will spark some idea about something that you can do a little differently, or maybe it's even just an idea of going into this with a little bit more 375 00:31:56,820 --> 00:31:59,340 positive attitude about change because change is scary. 376 00:31:59,340 --> 00:32:00,840 I get that. I feel that to you. 377 00:32:00,990 --> 00:32:10,300 But also these things can be beautiful blessings in your business, and you might not understand why now or why you had to go through certain things now, but I think you will in the end. 378 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:17,850 So with that, if you liked this episode, please screenshot, share it on Instagram, tag me @samvanderwielen, and send me a DM. 379 00:32:17,850 --> 00:32:19,980 Let me know what you thought about this episode. 380 00:32:19,980 --> 00:32:26,260 And if you haven't already, please go and leave a review and follow the podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. 381 00:32:26,260 --> 00:32:29,260 If you listen on Apple, please rate and review. 382 00:32:29,260 --> 00:32:31,510 If you listen on Spotify, follow the show. 383 00:32:31,540 --> 00:32:34,990 It's so helpful into getting this into the hands of other online business owners. 384 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:38,350 And with that, I can't wait to chat with you next week. 385 00:32:43,980 --> 00:32:51,070 So just remember that although I am a attorney, I am not your attorney, and I am not offering you legal advice in today's episode. 386 00:32:51,090 --> 00:32:55,890 This episode and all of my episodes are informational and educational only. 387 00:32:55,890 --> 00:33:00,170 It is not a substitute for seeking out your own advice from your own lawyer. 388 00:33:00,180 --> 00:33:02,970 And please keep in mind that I can't offer you legal advice. 389 00:33:02,970 --> 00:33:07,110 I don't ever offer any legal services, but I think I offer some pretty good information. 390 00:33:08,190 --> 00:33:12,270 Also, remember that I am based in the United States, so that's what I'll focus on today. 391 00:33:16,690 --> 00:33:19,490 Thanks so much for listening to the On Your Terms podcast. 392 00:33:19,510 --> 00:33:24,070 Make sure to follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. 393 00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:31,120 You can also check out all of our podcast episodes, show notes, links, and more at samvanderwielen.com/podcast. 394 00:33:31,300 --> 00:33:38,200 You can learn more about legally protecting your business and take my free legal workshop, Five Steps to Legally Protect and Grow Your Online Business at samvanderwielen.com. 395 00:33:40,150 --> 00:33:45,350 And to stay connected and follow along, follow me on Instagram @samvanderwielen, and send me a DM to say hi. © 396 00:33:45,350 --> 00:33:45,570 2022 Sam Vander Wielen LLC | All Rights Reserved | Any use of this intellectual property owned by Sam Vander Wielen LLC may not be used in connection with the sale or distribution of any content (free or paid, written or verbal), product, 397 00:33:45,570 --> 00:33:45,700 and/or service by you without prior written consent from Sam Vander Wielen LLC.