Today I'm joined by Sam Vander Wielen, a former lawyer who built an eight-figure creator business while recovering from brain surgery.

In this episode, we explore how Sam went from burnt-out lawyer to building a $1.6M/year digital product business with just one full-time employee.

She shares the strategy behind her evergreen funnel, the mindset shifts that helped her grow, and the systems that kept the business running after losing both of her parents.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:16 Discovering Her True Calling in Business
03:00 Frustrations with the Legal Industry
06:15 Early Signs of Entrepreneurial Spirit
08:55 Food Blog to Legal Templates Pivot
10:24 Starting with SEO and Organic Content
13:01 First Month Revenue & Early Wins
15:47 Scaling to 1.6M with One Product
17:19 “All Roads Lead to the Email List”
18:42 Evergreen Webinar Funnel that Converts
21:04 Ad Strategy & Scaling Mistakes
23:29 Voice of Customer Research System
26:30 The Power of a Simple Product Suite
28:04 Navigating Brain Surgery & Caregiving
33:45 Building a Business While Grieving
38:50 Dropping Social Media & Saying No
41:27 Systems for Automation & Scrubbing
43:30 The Power of Writing a Weekly Newsletter
44:52 Book Launch: When I Start My Business I’ll Be Happy
47:10 Why “Community Over Competition” is BS
49:18 Preparing for Craft & Commerce
51:17 What’s Next for Sam

If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave us a review. We read every single one.

Learn more about The Nathan Barry Show: https://nathanbarry.com/show

Follow Nathan:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarry
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarry
X: https://twitter.com/nathanbarry
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshow
Website: https://nathanbarry.com

Follow Sam:
Newsletter: https://www.samvanderwielen.com/samsidebar
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samvanderwielen
Website: https://www.samvanderwielen.com
Book: When I Start My Business I’ll Be Happy – available wherever books are sold

Featured in this episode:
Ultimate Bundle: https://www.samvanderwielen.com/ultimate-bundle
Kit: https://kit.com
Melissa Griffin: https://melissagriffin.com
Craft + Commerce: https://convertkit.com/craft-commerce

Today I'm joined by Jay Singh, AI expert and founder of Casper Studios, to explore how AI is transforming both product creation and internal workflows for creators and businesses alike.

We dive deep into the future of personalized software, unlocking AI use cases for creators, and building tools with platforms like Cursor, MindStudio, and Replit.

Jay shares how creators can implement fast, practical automations to save time, boost output, and stay ahead in a rapidly changing AI landscape.

You'll learn how to identify your best automation opportunities, spin up AI-driven products from transcripts and meeting notes, and use AI to turn raw data into insight, revenue, and leverage.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction
02:17 – Why AI Helps 95% of Tasks—but Gets Used for 50%
06:12 – Creators, Voice, and the Future of AI
08:33 – Jay’s Background at Microsoft & LinkedIn
10:09 – The 3-Step Framework for AI Product Thinking
13:26 – Automating Finance, Accounting & Accuracy
18:02 – How Jay’s Agency Designs AI Workflows
20:19 – Zapier, MindStudio & Real AI Implementations
24:36 – Going From Transcript to Product Requirements in Minutes
27:11 – V0, Cursor & AI Product Design Workflows
33:07 – Kit's App Store Vision & The Future of Personalized Software
38:15 – Building AI Tools Without Knowing the Future
42:24 – AI Tools Every Creator Should Be Using
45:42 – Meeting Transcripts → LinkedIn Content
48:19 – AI-Powered Weekly Metrics Reports for Creators
51:06 – How to Spot Your Own Automation Opportunities
55:09 – Why Everyone Thinks Their Job is “Safe” From AI

If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave us a review. We read every single one.

Learn more about The Nathan Barry Show: https://nathanbarry.com/show

Follow Nathan:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarry
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarry
X: https://twitter.com/nathanbarry
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshow
Website: https://nathanbarry.com

Follow Jay:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaysingh
X: https://x.com/JSingh_08
Website: https://casperstudios.xyz

Featured in this episode:
MindStudio: https://mindstudio.com
Cursor: https://cursor.sh
V0: https://v0.dev
Fireflies: https://fireflies.ai
Replit: https://replit.com
Kit: https://kit.com

Today I’m joined by Lars Tiger, a Norwegian music producer who makes $500,000 a year—almost entirely profit—working just two hours a week from his home in the south of France.

We dive deep into the experiment that made it possible: releasing thousands of piano tracks with no marketing, using pure volume to generate income and data. Lars shares how he redefined quality, stopped chasing perfectionism, and built a flywheel that creators in any industry can apply.

You’ll learn how volume creates financial stability, how to think like a fisherman (not a perfectionist), and why quantity—not quality—is the fastest path to mastery.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:26 Lars’ $500K/yr, 2-hour workweek model
04:12 Creating 1,000 tracks with zero marketing
08:10 Why 80% quality is enough (and often better)
14:05 The Pottery Class Experiment
17:52 From hits to stability: the math behind his model
20:21 Why Spotify only brings in 15–20% of revenue
22:30 What actually drives plays (hint: not TikTok)
25:42 Helping traditional artists embrace volume
30:38 Can this model scale to $1M+?
34:50 YouTube, repurposing, and platform expansion
39:00 Balancing freedom vs scale
46:04 Faceless creators, pen names, and creative freedom
52:02 What are you optimizing for?

If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave us a review. We read every single one.

Learn more about The Nathan Barry Show: https://nathanbarry.com/show

Follow Nathan:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarry
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarry
X: https://twitter.com/nathanbarry
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshow
Website: https://nathanbarry.com

Follow Lars:
Website: https://www.larstiger.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larstiger/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larstiger

Featured in this episode:
Lars’ Free Music Catalog Course: https://www.larstiger.com
ConvertKit: https://convertkit.com
Flywheels Course: https://nathanbarry.com/flywheels
The Personal MBA: https://personalmba.com

#musicproducer #entrepreneur #songwriter