Build Your Own Business - Blog Posts

Sam Vander Wielen sitting on the beach and smiling. Text overlay reading "15 Habits that Rebuilt Me After I Lost Everything"

15 Habits that Rebuilt Me After I Lost Everything [Summer Read-Aloud]

July 20, 2026

Listen on Apple | Spotify | YouTube Listen Now: 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...

The Week I Almost Quit My Business (And Why I Didn’t)

July 14, 2026

The Week I Almost Quit My Business A few weeks ago, I was ready to quit. Maybe I wouldn’t have actually gone through with it. I think a few people who love me would have talked me out of it....

Sam Vander Wielen sitting indoors and writing in a notebook. Text reads: More Memories of Other People's Lives Than Our Own

More Memories of Other People’s Lives Than Our Own [Summer Read-Aloud]

July 13, 2026

Listen on Apple | Spotify | YouTube Listen Now: Nobody talks about what actually happens after you put your phone down. Everyone’s obsessed with the getting off social media part — deleting the apps, doing the digital detox, bragging about...

Sam Vander Wielen smiling and wearing a blue denim shirt. Text overlay reading “How I Made K in a Summer Off (Before I Had a Team or a Budget)"

How I Made $10K in a Summer Off (Before I Had a Team or a Budget)

July 7, 2026

How I Made $10K in a Summer Off (Before I Had a Team or a Budget) I need to take you back to the summer of 2018. My legal templates business had been running for just over a year. I’d...

Sam Vander Wielen sitting on the beach. Text overlay reads "I Took a Whole Month Off and Didn't Tell a Soul — Here's What Happened."

296. I Took a Whole Month Off and Didn’t Tell a Soul — Here’s What Happened.

July 6, 2026

Listen on Apple | Spotify | YouTube Listen Now: 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...

Sam Vander Wielen sitting indoors, smiling and writing in a notebook. Text overlay reading “Behind the Scenes at Craft + Commerce 2026 What Changed Since My First Conference"

Behind the Scenes at Craft + Commerce 2026: What Changed Since My First Conference

June 30, 2026

Behind the Scenes at Craft + Commerce I stepped out onto my balcony overlooking Boise’s state capitol to take a deep inhale, exhale. It was something between “holy sh*t I can’t believe I get to do this stuff,” and “I...

Sam Vander Wielen sitting indoors and smiling and with text overlay reading "I Went to Craft + Commerce. Here's Everything I Learned."

295. I Went to Craft + Commerce. Here’s Everything I Learned.

June 29, 2026

Listen on Apple | Spotify | YouTube Listen Now: 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...

Sam Vander Wielen writing in a notebook. Text overlay reads "Why 'Must Be Nice' Is the Most Dangerous Thing You Can Say to Yourself"

294. Why ‘Must Be Nice’ Is the Most Dangerous Thing You Can Say to Yourself

June 22, 2026

Listen on Apple | Spotify | YouTube Listen Now: “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...

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