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Sam Vander Wielen

DIY Legal Templates for Women Entrepreneurs To Grow Legally Legit Businesses Online

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Meet Sam!

Hi! I'm Sam, an attorney-turned-entrepreneur who helps women legally protect their coaching + creative businesses with my fill-in-the-blank legal templates and Ultimate Bundle program. Grab something cozy and join me to learn how to protect and grow your biz! xo, Sam Read More About Sam...

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samvanderwielen

👩🏻‍💻I help coaches + creatives legally protect & grow businesses w/ DIY Legal Templates.
🎉 Get Legally Legit + free legal resources 👇

🌍 When I'm not helping you legally protect your

🌍 When I'm not helping you legally protect your online business, I spend a lot of time thinking about our impact on this incredible planet.
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My Mom always told me, "leave things better than you found them" and that applies to Mother Earth, too.
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The truth is, I've been scared to share anything about how we can reduce, reuse or recycle because I -- like most -- am an imperfect environmentalist.
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I don't always have my reusable cup, I forget my tote bag, and I fly, drive and use AC.
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But I think there's some beautifully imperfect (as my friend @simibotic has coined) place in between where we -- women entrepreneurs who are SO creative & bright and passionate -- can do more to make this a healthier place to live for years to come.
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With that, here are 7️⃣ ways you can be a more eco-friendly, imperfect-yet-trying entrepreneur:
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1️⃣Send clients earth friendly gifts instead of 1-time use stuff: think totes, coffee mugs, travel gear.
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2️⃣We spend a lot of time in coffee shops. Think of what you can do to lessen your impact: bring your cup, don't use a lid, grab that reusable straw.
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3️⃣Look for events to attend that you can take public transportation to instead of ✈️.
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4️⃣Uber is cool, but it was meant to ride SHARE. Use carpool and reduce the # of cars on the road.
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5️⃣Reduce your own company's impact by only printing what's necessary, unplugging your computer at night, & setting company policies on environmental impact.
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6️⃣Spend company time planting bee & bird friendly plants, native plants or ones that require little water.
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7️⃣Support businesses & purchase products from companies who are doing this work, too.
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Overall, saving our planet isn't going to come down to that Starbucks cup you used that 1 time when PSLs hit the streets.
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It's going to take a lot more than that -- or even than the things listed here.
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But instead of waiting for other people to make the change for us, I'm starting at home and with my company.
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Got a tip you'd love to share? Drop it in the comments 👇🏽

💰HOW TO MAKE SURE CLIENTS PAY YOU (ON TIME):
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One of your fears about getting bigger is that the more clients you take on, the more you might get stiffed in payments.
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You want to grow this baby to be BIG ✨ but big feels super scary and vulnerable. Big means having to deal with this kind of ish.
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It's easy to get mad at *them* (the clients who don't pay) -- but since you're the CEO of your own business, there's actually a lot you can do on YOUR end to make sure clients pay you. Here are 3:
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1️⃣Use a payment processor with auto-payments that captures their CC info. Don't rely on clients having to go in each month & pay. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Use something like Stripe to auto-charge their card -- but make sure you have the legal language you MUST have built into your contracts to allow you to do this (if you have my templates, you're good!).
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2️⃣Use clear language in your client contracts or Terms at checkout re: payments, late payments and what happens if they don't pay on time.
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Make it easy for a client to update her card info or to know what the consequences of a late/no payment are.
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3️⃣Check your copy + pre-qualification process. If you're getting clients who skip payments or cancel their cards, take a hard look inwards.
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Are you using copy that attracts people with money issues? (I.e., "how to go from broke to woke!" --> attracts broke peeps).
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Are you making it clear who your services/products are for and not for? Although it's important to make the buying process smooth -- you don't want to encourage people to think they can "try it before they buy it". Those are the people who buy and then just complain to their CC company.
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If you're here to get legally legit and make your biz legally lock solid, watch my free workshop "The First 5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Biz" now or book a time that works for you in my bio link: @samvanderwielen.
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I'll teach you exactly what you need to do, step-by-step to legally protect + grow your biz. You're not in this alone <3

Are your testimonials going to get you in legal tr

Are your testimonials going to get you in legal trouble!?
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Your client writes a glowing ✨ review about you — “she’s amazing!” “Her advice was so helpful!” “She wrote me a nutrition/meal plan!” and you’re so excited that you quickly copy & paste and pop into onto your site.
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With all this gushy client love, new business is bound to pour in.
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But you’ve worked hard to be safe legally — you registered your biz, you only offer services you’re legally allowed to do, and you have your clients sign contracts that make that all clear.
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But your clients aren’t in our biz. They don’t know buzz words like “advice” or “meal plan” can get you in trouble. They write their review with 1 goal in mind: making sure people know how much they love you.
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Your testimonials are just 1 part of the legal puzzle — but it’s important that they’re consistent with what you actually can do.
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If clients write something that’s not OK with your scope, either ask them politely if you can edit it, or include a clause in your testimonial release that gives you flexibility to edit for legal purposes.
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A testimonial release is the language you send a client to agree to when she submits her testimonial so you can use her words, picture, etc. to promote your biz as needed.
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My testimonial release template is included in my Ultimate Bundle program as 1 of the 10 legal templates you get as soon as you join.
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You’ll even learn what you can legally do online, how to talk about what you do in away that won’t alert the feds, and you how to still grow your biz 📈 while being able to sleep tight at night knowing you’re #legallylegit (ps I’ve been using this phrase for over 3 years, so create your own 🤣).
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Take your first step to getting legally legit by watching my free on-demand workshop “The First 5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Biz” at samvanderwielen.com/free-workshop or tap my bio link @samvanderwielen.
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Any Qs? Drop them below!👇

Deep down inside, you’re worried someone’s goi

Deep down inside, you’re worried someone’s going to find out that your business isn’t legit.
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You haven’t registered yet or become an LLC, you don’t have lawyer-drafted legally legit contracts, your website policies are totally DIY’d (wait, you’re supposed to have website policies?!), and you have no idea what you’d do if a client didn’t pay her bill or someone copied your content.
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You have this nagging sense that someone — whether it’s a client, another biz owner, or someone on Instagram — is going to find out and call you out for it.
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And yet at the same time — you know you’ve built a business worth protecting and legitimizing. You just haven’t yet.
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I hear this 👆so many times per week, I’ve lost count. And I’m not here to judge or shame you for waiting “too long” to get legally legit.
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I just want you to get legally legit ASAP not only so you’re legally protected— but so you can:
1️⃣ focus on revenue generating activity.
2️⃣ get that subsconcious stressful money off your mind, so you have the mental bandwidth to actually work w/ clients and grow your biz.
3️⃣ put out that program, service or product you’ve always wanted to create but that you’re too afraid will make you vulnerable and legally exposed.
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I help coaches, service-providers, and creatives legally protect and grow their online businesses with my DIY legal templates and Ultimate Bundle program.
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I make sure you not only have the lawyer drafted contracts & policies you need — but the trainings and empowered knowledge to make sure you know what to do if you don’t get paid, if someone asks you a Q about your contract, or if your content gets stolen.
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Ain’t no shame in the fact that you haven’t gotten legally legit yet. Life’s too short to waste a moment beating yourself up for it. Just take action 👇
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Watch my free on-demand workshop ‘The First 5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business’ now or at a time that works for you by tapping my bio link @samvanderwielen.
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I’ll ask you through my easy 5-step strategy to legally protect yourself so you can create the business you set out to grow.
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Want me to DM you the link to watch? Comment “workshop” below 👇👇
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xo,
Sam

IS A SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP A WASTE OF YOUR TIME? //

You DID it! Your new client said "yes!" on that sa

You DID it! Your new client said "yes!" on that sales call and you're thrilled.
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As in, happy-dancing-around-your-office-to-Lizzo-texting-your-friends-to-humblebrag thrilled.
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The cat’s in the bag and you’re about to get paid, my friend!
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But wait… ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Are you forgetting something? A legit contract, perhaps?
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You see, the way that you send, format, write, and sign your contracts for your online business is JUST as important as closing that sales call.
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And while a lot of online coaches want to just focus on sales and tell you that’s all you need, I’ve got your back with the super critical legal foundation you need to hold up this client relationship that you’re forming.
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Why do I care so much about the contracts?
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It’s not *just* because I’m an attorney and I’ve seen first-hand that everything that can go wrong, will go wrong in court.
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It’s because:
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✨Contracts are what ensure you get PAID.
✨Contracts are how your client knows how to TREAT YOU.
✨Contracts are how you lay out BOUNDARIES.
✨Contracts even determine where you’d arbitrate any disputes that arise during your relationship.
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So really the whole thing hinges on a properly written and signed contract.
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So how exactly do you create and sign clients on with legally legit contracts?
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I made a new YouTube episode for you showing you exactly that!
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Tap the link in my bio @samvanderwielen to watch my latest YouTube episode all about how to sign contracts online, then hit subscribe and leave a comment to let me know what you learned!
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Want me to DM you the direct link to watch the episode? Comment 'Contracts!' below! 👇🏽
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xo,
Sam

🚙 I had a dream last night where I was driving

🚙 I had a dream last night where I was driving and my headlights kept going out. I’d frantically reach for the knob to turn them back on, only for the lights to go out yet again.
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🚦I was driving so fast down the winding road through the dark that I’d barely make out images of people or things just as they’d leap to safety.
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But no matter how many times I threw the headlights back on, things went dark.
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I know exactly why I had that dream.
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I spent most of 2019 trying my hardest to turn on the lights on a super sad, stressful situation. And no matter how many times I tried, or how many ways I tried to gain control, I got nothing. No clarity, no light. Just darkness.
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At the end of 2018, my Dad was diagnosed with terminal leukemia (AML) and we were told it was a wild, vicious disease that didn’t give people very long. 13 months later, my Dad is here, getting chemo every 3 weeks and absolutely no change on his prognosis.
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I tried really hard to fight for control this year — what was going to happen? When? How would I react? What would I do?
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But no matter how hard I tried, I just made myself sadder and crazier. I’ll be honest - I went through some really sad times in 2019 trying so hard to turn the lights on so I could see what lies ahead.
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And although I’m more aware of it now, I honestly don’t feel much more comfortable with how scary and unknown and out of control things feel. I just feel more comfortable with feeling uncomfortable.
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So for any of you who are struggling with something scary and unknown right now — I see you. You don’t have to be comfortable with it. You can just be with it. It IS hard and it IS scary. But you’re not alone.
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Here’s to building our legally legit businesses, through dark and winding paths — and light, bright ones, too. ✨
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xo, Sam

🎄What’s on your holiday bucket list this year

🎄What’s on your holiday bucket list this year?
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Are there a few things you’re looking forward to doing - whether you have time off or not?
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Last year, I wasn’t really in the mood to celebrate. I’d just found out my Dad had terminal leukemia and I was just too sad to get in the spirit.
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It’s been a year, my Dad has already outlived his prognosis, and I’m still really, really sad and scared about what will happen. But I’ve been working really hard on being here, now. And accepting this season for what it is (both hard and special, in so many weird ways.)
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So even though I feel more in the spirit this year, I’m still 100% honest about the fact that I’m ALSO struggling, like so many of you are, too.
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I thought it’d be helpful to put together a little holiday bucket list — a few things I’m prioritizing over the next few weeks— and I’d love to see yours too.
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Swipe right 👉🏽👉👉🏿 to see what I’ll be up to and comment below 👇 to let me know yours!
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xo,
Sam

“I mean, I don’t *really* have to file for a b

“I mean, I don’t *really* have to file for a business license til I start making a profit, right?”
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^^ I see people asking this advice online from NON-attorneys all the time.
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The answers they get?
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A mish-mash of various (typically illegal) advice from well-meaning-but-clueless family and friends with no legal or accounting experience with online businesses.
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😉I know YOU'd never go poking in the wrong place for legal advice though, which is why you’re here...
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So do you need an LLC? What the heck is an LLC and how exactly does it legally protect you?
Why is it any different than:
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🙈Not registering your business at all
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OR
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🙋🏽‍♀️Being a sole proprietor
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OR
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🤳Racking up 30,000 Instagram followers and failing to sell a single thing to your audience.
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(👆 ok I’m not covering that last one, but I AM talking about the difference between the other two business types!)
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🎉This is a GREAT question and I’m answering it in my latest YouTube episode today!
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When you’re starting out -- or when you’re ready to legally legitimize your business -- you’re probably thinking:
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🤔 Do I really need an LLC?
❓ Can’t I just get by with a sole proprietorship? What about... the wait and see approach? *wink, wink*
🤷‍♀️And even if you get an LLC, what does it really DO for you? Like how does this thing work exactly?
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✨Watch my latest episode on what an LLC is and how it actually works FOR you to legally and personally protect you by tapping the link in my bio: @samvanderwielen.
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Have any Qs about LLCs? Tap my bio link @samvanderwielen and watch the latest episode and leave a comment if you have any questions!
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xo, Sam

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Sam Vander Wielen is an attorney-turned-entrepreneur who helps coaches and creatives legally protect their businesses with DIY legal templates. She loves coffee, traveling, reading fiction, and fearlessly chasing what sets her soul on fire. Read More…

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