Sam Vander Wielen
I'm Sam, a former lawyer who built a 7-figure business. Every Tuesday, Sam's Sidebar turns what's working for me into simple next steps for business owners who'd be happy with a steady income and weekends off. You get one honest story from my business and life, plus one thing you can use that week, often the legal stuff nobody explains. Free. 72K+ readers. “Possibly the best emails I’ve ever read from someone I’ve not met IRL.” - Phil, Sidebar reader. EVERY TUESDAY ⤵️
Do I actually want to grow this business anymore?
“With a lot of eyeballs comes a lot of mouths.” – me That’s what I told my friend the other day, after I hosted a live webinar for 8,000 people and walked away... frustrated. I’d just made hundreds of thousands of dollars in minutes. Thousands of kind people were grateful and positive. What did I have to be upset about? (Some) people being people-y. Rude comments. Impatience. Entitlement. They weren’t the majority, by any means. But that’s not what it feels like in your brain when you’re the...
I got bangs
Hey Reader! I've been in promo mode (thanks for surviving all those emails!) since mid-September. I couldn't wait to make my coffee this morning and chat with you. Last week was my second and last live launch of 2026. I generated over $1,000,000+ this year from my 2 live launches alone 🤯 📚 If you want to learn how to build an audience full of buyers, grow an email list, and create a product that flies off the digital shelves, get my book for $15→. While I was busy hosting a live webinar for...
I knew this would happen
Maybe It Will Be Just as Bad as You Thought I took my AirPod out of my ear for what must have been the ninth time to answer the same question, "Sam, where have you been?" This is exactly why I didn't want to come back here. 🙄 I don't know about you, but I have this bad habit of building things up in my mind to be way bigger or worse than they usually turn out to be. When I hurt my foot really badly playing tennis this summer, it forced me to stop everything: tennis, personal training,...
I'm ashamed to share this
From Screen Time to Brick Time: An Online Journey A year ago, I tossed and turned in bed at night trying to fall asleep feeling like my head was a fuzzy, buzzing mess. I couldn't stop replaying moments from my day -- an annoying text I got from someone, a reel I saw on Instagram about an earthquake that destroyed an entire community -- and worrying about what would come tomorrow. The next day, I woke up to my weekly screen time report: "This week, you averaged 8 hours per day of screen time...
I rewrote this email 3 times
Honestly? This is How I'm Doing I just hit CTRL + ALT + DELETE on a 850+ word newsletter I wrote for you yesterday. I sat in my favorite coffee shop sipping on my 2% iced cappuccino with lots of cinnamon and wrote what I thought would be most helpful to you: tips on how to get back into the swing of things this month. But that's not what I really wanted to write to you. I texted my mindset coach, Jennifer Diaz, and told her how I'd just written something I knew would do fine, but that felt...
putting this off?
Hey Reader! This is the #1 most popular email of this year! You made it. Read the email all the way through, then scroll to the bottom for my strategy behind it and takeaways on why it was so popular. Then hit "reply" and let me know how you liked it! :) Sometimes You Just Need to Start A few days after I signed my Big 5 book deal, I sat staring at my MacBook, wondering, "do I just start a new Google doc?" As a naive first-time-author, I imagined a book stork dropping down from the sky to...
the decision that changed everything?
Hey Reader! I'm sending you my top 4 most popular emails of the year each week this month... and then breaking down what my strategy was and why I think it did well. This is the #2 most popular email of the year! Read the email all the way through, then scroll to the bottom for my strategy and takeaway. Hit "reply" and let me know what you think of this series! :) When Should You Go For It? "Why are you even here?" ^ What my law firm co-workers used to ask me when they saw how I lit up...
I almost pulled this episode (but published anyway)
Hey Reader! I'm sending you my top 4 most popular emails of the year each week this month... and then breaking down what my strategy was and why I think it hit. This is my #3 most popular email of this year! Read the email all the way through, then scroll to the bottom for my strategy and takeaway. See if you can tell what "role" I'm playing in this email. Hit "reply" and let me know what you think of this series! :) Perfect Would've Killed This I just cranked out a quick 12.5 miles on my...
My wake-up call about online safety
Hey Reader! I'm sending you my top 4 most popular emails of the year each week this month... and then breaking down what my strategy was and why I think it hit. This is the #4 most popular email of this year! Read the email all the way through, then scroll to the bottom for my strategy and takeaway. Pay attention to the details I wove into the story and I shared what everything felt like. Hit "reply" and let me know what you think of this series! :) The Dark Side of Sharing Online When I...
These emails made me 9 mil bucks
A Breaking Point I popped up out of the wave, skidding across the shell-filled sand on my tush. Gasping for air, I wiped the salty water away from my eyes and realized... My favorite sunglasses had become one with the ocean. I hope he loves them as much as I did I didn't end up in the ocean yesterday by accident (or because it's my favorite place on the earth and I just so happen to live on an island surrounded by it.) I went because if I didn't, I was going to snap. You know when life stress...
I'm Sam, a former lawyer who built a 7-figure business. Every Tuesday, Sam's Sidebar turns what's working for me into simple next steps for business owners who'd be happy with a steady income and weekends off. You get one honest story from my business and life, plus one thing you can use that week, often the legal stuff nobody explains. Free. 72K+ readers. “Possibly the best emails I’ve ever read from someone I’ve not met IRL.” - Phil, Sidebar reader. EVERY TUESDAY ⤵️