Welcome to Episode #64 of The Planner Podcast.
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This packed and fun episode about selling OneNote planners with Michelle Watson will inspire you so much!
Michelle is a 5-figure Etsy seller and specializes in designing and selling Microsoft OneNote and Notion Planners. She also teaches others to do the same!
Michelle balances her creative side hustle with a full-time career and time with friends and family. I know this episode will truly inspire you.
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Transcript
[00:00:00] Hi, this is Mim Jenkinson and you’re listening to The Planner Podcast.Hi,
lovely. Welcome back. I’m so excited to share this chat with Michelle Watson with you today. She is so inspiring for so many reasons. So if you don’t know Michelle already, she is a 5-figure Etsy seller and she specializes in creating digital planners for Microsoft OneNote and Notion. She also teaches others to create and sell them too.
So Michelle balances her creative side hustle with a full-time career, and she also has plenty of time for friends and family too. Michelle impresses me so much, and I know you’re really going to enjoy this conversation. So let’s get started. Hey. Hi Michelle. I am so, so happy to be chatting to you today and I can’t wait to dive into this conversation.
Michelle and I have been friends, business friends, and, doing all sorts of fun things together over the past few months, and so I’m really looking forward to diving into our chat today. So, first of all, [00:01:00] welcome. Let us know a little bit more about you, Michelle, and what you do, and how you got.
Thank you, Mim.
I’m so excited to be here. So I guess my name’s Michelle Watson. I live down under in Sydney, Australia. So , personal life. I’m like a dog mom. I love to travel and cook and spend time with friends and family. I have a career as an engineer and a project manager, which I love. And then also I have a small.
As a side hustle called the Better Grind. So I sell digital planners on Etsy specifically for a OneNote and notion. I also teach others how to make OneNote and notion planners, so I absolutely love running that business as a side hustle in a creative outlet as well.
Oh, so good. So good. And you know, the one thing that I love about you is that your, what you do is help people be more organized and do things with these planners and templates.
But you must be so organized yourself to be working full-time and have this amazing side hustle that as we’re going to dive into this, but it’s [00:02:00] taken off so quickly and so well in the past year or so. So have you al always been an organized person?.
I always find it so funny when people say that I have people say things like, oh, you’re like the most organized person I know, but it doesn’t feel like that to me.
Everything feels like a little bit of chaos sometimes. But no, I like, I love doing a lot of things and definitely like organization has been super important, like throughout my whole life to keeping organized, like while studying and keeping organized at work. And that’s really translated into running this side hustle as well.
So it’s definitely a theme. It’s like one of those things, right? That you sometimes you don’t always know these things about yourself, but
I think it’s true. Like you don’t know your own superpowers sometimes. It’s totally true. It’s working for you though, which is also, so we’re going to dive into a minute, more about what a OneNote or a Notion Planner actually is, I.
Pretty much oblivious to the world of them until I met you and you shared with me. So we’re going to dive into that. But first of all, what, [00:03:00] what actually got you started with this side hustle idea. So you are working full-time, you’ve got an amazing career that you’ve been building up, and I know you really enjoy what you do too.
So how did you actually get the idea for this side hustle in the first place?
Yeah, so I was working full-time and I was, at that time I would spend my lunchtimes like going for a walk listening to podcasts. And I was hearing about all of these like creative, things that people were doing, side hustles that people were doing to bring in some extra income.
. And eventually I decided that I would. Try and find my own creative side hustle that I could do that would allow me to bring in a little bit of extra money, supplement my nine to five income, and also give me that creative outlet. So I do something that’s very like, Technical at work and having that creative outlet outside of work is something that I was super excited about.
So it was a little while ago now, it was actually end of 2019. I first decided to [00:04:00] start out with blogging. . So I started a blog. It was called The Better Grind, and I ran that blog for a couple of years and it was really this process of discovery, that I was writing about different topics and kind.
Honing in on what I was interested in, what was resonating with people, what was working. And it was actually through that process of blogging that led me to Microsoft OneNote. So I was writing blog posts about how I organized my work life using OneNote. I was sharing the templates that I was creating for myself to use at work with people.
And those blog posts were resonating with people like. Over and above everything else that I was putting out there, which was really, really cool. So after a couple of years, I, and I’m not sure, like it took me way longer than it should have, but I opened up an Etsy store to start to sell those templates that I was previously sharing with people for free.
So late 2021, I opened up my Etsy [00:05:00] store, also called The Better Grind, and I’m still running. Door today is like the core part of my creative side hustle. And yeah, I haven’t looked back since then.
So Good. So I love that you’re like, oh, it could have been much faster than this. But I just think that’s a, a really awesome way to actually start and, and grow the business like you would’ve gotten in those blogging years, I did the same thing.
In those blogging years, you would’ve built up so much knowledge about not just the people that you were helping and the product that you were developing, but. Moving on to like how to build that audience, how to engage them with content, how to then have people ready to actually sell things too rather than, you know, those people who, and, and sometimes it can work extremely well for them too, but start with a product and then have to build an audience from scratch.
Like you came in for this with years of experience before you, with having some of those things. So would that have helped you, do you think, get a, a stronger. Yeah,
absolutely. And it definitely like helped to really kickstart my Etsy store that I had all [00:06:00] of that experience. And I already had built up like a bit of an email list.
I had a traffic source from my website. You absolutely don’t need all of that to get started selling these templates on Etsy, but I think it helped me get going, a little bit. Faster. But yeah, I think I really enjoyed the whole process. Like doing this type of thing as a side hustle is so much fun. So it’s like everyone’s journey is going to be different.
For some people. It’s quick. For other people like me, sometimes it takes a little while, but
yeah. So good and we all have different like time in the week or in the month, like some people have can work on this full-time. Some people like you have a full-time job already. Others are wrangling kids or maybe health concerns like it.
We all come at this with a different goal but also with different time and and effort and energy to put into it too. So I just love hearing about your journey and how there are similarities and differences to mine. For sure. I start cause I like you. I started with my blog back in 2013. But I was, while I was blogging about planning an [00:07:00] organization and mum life and things like that, it wasn’t about stickers.
So when I started my shop, it was like starting from scratch completely with that side of it. But at least I’ve had that experience of, okay, this is what it takes to grow an audience. So there are definitely things like, I know there were so many bloggers who listen to this podcast, like if you’re thinking of starting a new Etsy business or any side hustle, even if you do something different to what you’re doing now, it can still really help you get that first foot in the door.
I think. Well, let’s go backwards. So tell me and tell the audience a bit more, there’ll be some people listening who are like, okay, I get what a planner is, but what? What is OneNote? Maybe they’ve heard the term or what is notion? Maybe they’ve heard the term and they don’t really know what it is.
So can you break down a little bit what those two different planners are, if there’s any differences with them, and just give us that layman’s view of what they are.
Yeah, absolutely. So, and the type of planners that I specialize in, they’re all digital planners. So a digital planner is essentially any planner that you can use on a digital device.
So that could be [00:08:00] your computer, it could be a tablet, it could be a phone. And there’s this spectrum of digital planners. So on one side you have digital planners that. Really, really similar to a paper planner. And on the other side you have digital planners that are 100% designed to work on a computer.
And OneNote and Notion both fall, somewhere in the middle of that spectrum. So I feel like the digital planners that people are typically most familiar with, full on. Like a beginning side of that spectrum. So very similar to a paper planner, like the most common type of digital planners that people seem to know about.
It’s like the first thing that will pop up if you search on Etsy . Are p d F planners for like good notes, not notability, et cetera. So those have been around for quite a long time. And essentially what. Those are is a P D F file. And they often have hyperlinks that act like paper divider tabs down the side.
And you can, you typically use them on an iPad and you can draw on [00:09:00] them, right on them in very the same way. Use stickers on them. You can use stickers on them. Absolutely. And I guess we’ll get there. You can use stickers on, OneNote templates as well. Oh gosh. Ok.
We’re going to dive into that even more.
That’s the kinda planner that I’m, that I first thought of, like a digital planner. The ones I’ve seen was that they look like a really be, oh, that can be simple, but generally look like really beautiful digital version of a paper one where, You click on a tab and it flips open to that page, and like you say, you can doodle on them, you can write on them, you can use a sticker.
So yeah, that, that was my first thinking. I love this. I keep going. I’ve
interrupted you. Exactly. So, yes, when you say digital planner, I feel like that’s what most people think of. . And digital planner for Microsoft OneNote is so like you would use that PDF planner in a particular software. Like the typical software would be called like Good notes or Notability, or.
Microsoft OneNote is its own type of digital planner software. . And so you, open it up. Microsoft OneNote is great so many people have it. It is free, online so you can download it for free. [00:10:00] And it’s also like anyone who has the Microsoft Office Suite will have, or anyone who has a Windows computer as.
Like it works with Mac two, but if you have a Windows computer, it’s going to come pre-installed. . So OneNote is super, super accessible and it’s very similar, but it has some additional features, over and above that P d F type of planner. So essentially you open up Microsoft OneNote. You create a new notebook, and in a similar way it has like divider tabs down the side.
So you can create different sections and within those sections you can create pages. So it’s essentially a digital notebook and you can do things like drop images in, you can drop audio files in, all of these types of things. And you can also like share your notebook between all of your devices that are compatible with Microsoft OneNote.
You can share. Notebook with other people if you want to collaborate within a single notebook. So essentially that’s what it is. It’s like a digital notebook with all of these cool [00:11:00] capabilities that you use specifically within the Microsoft OneNote software. So I would say the key, like one of the key benefits is just that accessibility.
Like a P D F planner, you really need to, to get the most out of it, you need to have an iPad or a tablet so that you can draw on it the same way that you would write on paper. . Whereas OneNote planners are really well suited to people who are working on a computer. You can use it on a tablet as well, but I feel like that’s like professionals, business owners, people who are on their computer and wanna keep the.
Organized. They want to, collaborate and keep organized with their team. Those are the type of people that really love using Microsoft One.
. That makes so much sense. And I, I mean, as a business owner, we are always on our desktop computers or laptops aren’t we? Like we, yes, we might use an iPad occasionally, but the, when we’re in business mode, this is where we are.
And I love what you were saying, right? You can share it with your team too and with other people. Like that’s definitely something that you can’t really do with paper planning, [00:12:00] unfortunately. But I love, and, and so let me know this, so I know loads of people who sell di like design and sell digital planners.
So going back to those typical PDF ones that people might use good notes or a software like that to open and work with them on an iPad. So that’s quite a, it’s still a very in demand space from what I can tell, but a very. Busy space now. There are a lot of people who are now designing planners it’s so accessible to be able to learn how to do that and how to put them on Etsy and sell them.
So would I be right in thinking that the one Note space is newer and probably not quite as, co competitive? Like would that be the case? Like I, it, it’s something that I certainly hadn’t heard about until very recently. Obviously my world wasn’t, wasn’t really in digital planning before that anyway, but what are your thoughts on that?
Yeah, absolutely. So I would say like in terms of the, people using OneNote as a notebook, I feel like it actually probably predates good notes in those p d f planners. . But in terms of being popular for [00:13:00] people to buy them online, definitely like the pdf d f planners we’re . The first digital planners to really take off in that space.
And so as you say, there’s tons of demand, but they’re also very high competition. There are lots and lots of people selling them. Microsoft OneNote is something that, like when I started my blog, it was near impossible for people to find, templates. Like high quality templates to download for free or to buy.
And so there was a huge demand and essentially no competition. And even today, like if you look at the, stats on erank or any of those keyword comparison websites, the competition, like there’s demand, but the competition is still quite low for those type of planners. And then notion, which we haven’t talked about much yet again, that’s like another type of digital planning software.
. So it has some, additional features. I feel like Notion is really popular with entrepreneurs. It allows you to, I feel like we probably don’t wanna go too far, like, into all of the details now. We might [00:14:00] overwhelm people, but it allows you to add things like databases, into your templates that allows you to do calculations and all fun things.
So, That’s like another software that speaks to a particular type of person. And again, it’s a newer competitor. There’s definitely demand in people looking for those templates, but a bit less competition.
. So I hope anyone who is at home listening and thinking that they want to start a new side hustle or maybe add something to the one that they’ve got, I hope that there is a pricking up at that high, you know, higher demand.
Lower competition. Like this is what we want to hear a lot of the time when we’re developing a new product. So that’s awesome. And would I be right in thinking too that, not everyone, but many of the people who are looking for and buying these kinds of digital planners, they’re rather than being like the.
The, the hobbyist, the mum, the, the normal everyday person who wants to use a digital planner. If it’s more those professionals, business owners, those kinds of people, they’d be probably willing to pay more for the planner that would [00:15:00] help them with what they’re looking to do. Would that be right too?
Yeah.
And absolutely. So it’s like, and I love the way that you framed that in terms of, sorry, I will get to your question, but like the different personalities . That I feel like that’s so true for digital planners, like. Like there are people that love paper planning and that PDF planner is probably right for them.
. I feel like professionals and people who are like working at a computer, I feel like those are like the primary audience for OneNote Planners and then like entrepreneurs or online business owners are like the type of person that’s really interested and excited about notions.
So there are definitely these. Personalities that you can cater to when you’re designing digital planners. And it’s the thing that I really love about this niche, that it’s a higher value digital product. . So compared to selling like. A smaller value digital product that’s only like a few dollars, $5 for one item.
A digital planner you can easily sell for like 20, 30, 40, $50 [00:16:00] per item depending on what it is, which is just like really good in terms of the, amount of income that you’re getting per product. So you need far fewer sales to bring in the equivalent amount of income compared to other like lower priced digital items.
Oh, and the, the potential for profit would be so much higher. One with it be in a digital product rather than a printed one and two, with it being, as you say, a higher price tag. And if you are, you know, in terms of leveraging your time as a business owner and digital product creator, then it would definitely make a lot of sense to be catering to people who are happy to pay more.
For sure. So that’s very exciting. Absolutely.
And like there is a spectrum there. So if you design a really simple digital planner, like a calendar that would sell, Like a lesser amount, that would be like a $5 or so product. But if you design like a really detailed yearly planner or an ultimate life planner, like a bigger product that has quite a lot of content within it, then that’s the type of product that’s going [00:17:00] to get you, a higher price point.
Hmm. Yeah. Oh, so tell me more about the person who could create a planner like this. Like what experience or skills would they need? What software or.
Yeah, absolutely. So creating a digital planner, let’s just take one note. It. Super, like accessible to anyone who is interested to try this out as a side hustle.
So to create a digital planner in one, you don’t, you definitely don’t need any special graphic design skills or anything like that. As we talked about your, I feel like the primary target for those type of planners is , Professionals, people using them in a workplace setting quite often. And so people are looking for something that’s really functional and usable and helps ’em to be organized.
They’re not necessarily looking for something that’s beautifully, designed, if that makes sense. And so it’s a really great way to get started without needing a lot of graphic design skills. . In terms of what software you need. So you need Microsoft [00:18:00] OneNote. It’s, the software is free for your customers, but to create planners to sell, so to use OneNote for any business use, you do need to buy a business license.
. So you can like, reach out to their customer support. They’re super responsive if you have any questions about that. But I pay, it’s like $12 a month Australian for their 365. Suite, which comes with all like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and the business version of OneNote as well. So you like, if you have a side hustle, you probably need all of that for your business anyway.
It’s super affordable. And then I use Canva to create all of my listing images and things, which you can use the free version of Canva if you’re just getting started out. Or the pro version is quite affordable as well. So that’s really all that you need. You essentially like open up OneNote.
Create your template. So you create your sections, to give your notebooks and structure. You create your pages and then you, like, the value in the [00:19:00] notebook will really come with setting up like a logical structure and populating those pages with useful content, so like layouts that people can fill in.
And then away you go, you export out your notebook and then package it up and list it for sale on Etsy. So it’s very, It’s very easy for people to get started with that as a side
hustle. Oh, I love that. And what you were saying about not needing that graphic design or artistic experience, like there are, there are many of us in my community who, just didn’t come to this side hustle or creative space with those things, or at least with the belief that we were.
Artistic or that we could illustrate or draw or be creative with those things. But like you, when you started this side hustle, we were looking for a creative outlet for all kinds of different reasons. And then there are others in the space who absolutely do have that graphic design illustration. The creative layer.
So it sounds like this is an accessible digital product to design. Whether you are using it for yourself or to sell for, for anyone. Which I think is [00:20:00] awesome too , you know, it’s the same, very much the same with stickers. There are some upfront, time and expense costs, but they’re not extravagant, you know, like in terms of the software.
The same with the software that I use, so Cricut Design Space or Silhouette Studio. There are free versions and if you want to upgrade, you can get. Upgrade business edition. But again, that that isn’t going to break the bank. It just can sometimes be more beneficial if you wanna go into it more seriously and .
You know, use the tets and different techniques. But I love that this is accessible. I think that every business owner should be given a Canva. Pro like, subscription on the Thursday they start the business Oh my goodness. It’s so helpful. I
love it. Yeah. So good. Pro was
so good. Yeah. We’re all graphic designers now.
The graphic designers listening are going, no you’re not. But we are. It’s so good, good enough. Oh, I love this. And so in terms of the, the everything that you do with this business, whether it’s creating. Planners coming up with the ideas, finding customers, marketing Etsy, like what’s the thing that you enjoy the most about?[00:21:00]
Oh, that’s like so hard. I enjoy the whole thing. I feel like the creative side hustle is like, it’s like a choose your own adventure. Like you never really know where it’s going to take you. So throughout the whole journey, I’ve like loved the process of discovery and finding that alignment between what I’m interested in and what my customers are excited about.
So that has been so much fun. One of the other things that has been amazing is just like the people that I’ve met along the way. So I now have, met all of these people all over the world who are doing the same thing and starting creative side hustles. So it’s nice to feel like a part of that community.
And it’s really interesting. It’s like, Actually opened up tons of connections with existing F friends that I have who have like heard about what I’m doing and actually they’re interested to start their own creative side hustle and they have some project that they’re working on. And so I’ve been able to like open up, I guess a lot of new conversations and discussions with some existing people that I know, out of this side [00:22:00] hustle.
So I feel like that like process of discovery and meeting people has probably been. The most exciting part. Yeah, the side income that comes in is also like, I mean, at the end of the day, that’s what I started at four. Right. So that’s been quite nice as
well. What one amazing way for you to be able to just add more to your life without, you know, adding tons of hours from the sounds of things too.
You know, I, I guess there’ll be some weeks where you are working more in the business than others, but in terms of the creative outlet, the community, being able to do something different, I think it’s probably, so fun to be able to do this alongside. Full-time job too, they are so very different.
You know, that just sounds so, absolutely. Yeah. You’re, you’re not the only engineer in this creative space. You know, j is an engineer too. Oh,
really? Yeah. Ok. Cause I, I didn’t know that. That’s very cool. Yeah.
Jav Sid for anyone listening at cut and make crafts, I’m pretty sure she’s also an engineer.
And I just find it so fascinating and, and. Experience in corporate. I mean, I did all kinds of things like [00:23:00] events and marketing and recruitment in hr and it, you know, it’s funny how it can be so very different to what we do now, but then there are definitely elements of the, our, our other careers that would’ve helped us too, you know, as well as real life experience.
So far, we’re going to have to go back to the stickers part. So you mentioned before, yes, that you can, with OneNote planners, you ca people sometimes would use stickers too. So what might they use stickers for?
Yeah, so there’s like a whole, there is a spectrum of types of OneNote planners that you can make.
So I feel like the, the type of person that I focus on, I think it’s the biggest market is for, professionals who, to be honest, I don’t think people using. A OneNote planner to keep themselves organized at work or like for project management, are probably not going to use stickers. Oh, you never know, but you never know.
Maybe I’m wrong there. Maybe I’m making just assumptions.
No, I think you probably know your audience really
well, but there’s so much potential and I feel like [00:24:00] everyone’s going to, I guess find their own, Style of planner that they want to make. So you can also, embed images into the background of your OneNote planners and create more stylized planners, more similar to something for.
Good notes or OneNote. And so those, if you’re making like a stylized yearly planner that someone might use to keep themselves organized in their personal life, you can make stickers to go along with that. And so it’s essentially exactly the same. Format as any other digital sticker. There are typically P N G files with a transparent background.
. And so those, you can essentially just drag and drop into OneNote and there’ll be like a little image that you can drag around on top of the content of your planner. I’ve seen people do really well. This is not a product that I’ve made, but selling things like garden planners for Microsoft OneNote.
So there are definitely people at home using this software as well. Yeah. And then you might have stickers so you can drag in and create a little map of what you want your [00:25:00] garden to look like. So there are all kinds of options. He had like motivational stickers for a yearly planner. But essentially, Any like sticker that you’ve already created, even for another planner software, you would also be able to use that for one.
Oh, see, now you’ve got my ears breaking up. So like my, my, the sticker shop plan course, students who are listening to this, those principal stickers that you’re making, it’s just a matter of taking those p n g stickers, saving it as an individual sticker, p n g, with a transparent background. And then if you’re making a OneNote Planner, you can create.
A, a file of different stickers too that might be complimentary. And you know what I was thinking? So this is my, my favorite planner. It’s my Erin Con planner. Everyone knows I’m obsessed with the Erin Condron. And what I love every year when I get my new planner is that in the back you get complimentary stickers to use.
. And I get so excited about those stickers. I love looking at them. They’re so different every time. I never use them. Isn’t that the funniest thing? I just never, or [00:26:00] maybe like once in a blue moon, I’ll use them, but I hardly ever use them I’m already making my own stickers, buying others from different shops, getting err, condron, own stickers and kits.
So it’s just a funny thing that. People want things sometimes that they might not necessarily use all the time, but it’s a really nice compliment. So if you’re making a OneNote Planner, maybe you can make some complimentary stickers too, and that will help to show your customers that there’s even more things they can do with them.
So I’m always thinking if there’s things like that.
That’s very true. And I feel like now that we’re talking about this, I’m getting even more ideas like I feel. One, no. Planners for teachers are definitely a thing that people are interested in. . Or one, no planners for students. And both of those, I guess, and customers, I can see stickers potentially being a really good fit for, I love stickers.
Teachers. Teachers love
stickers. Don’t you teach us? Yes, you do. Yes. You know, everyone does. Everyone loves stickers. So fun. Oh, I’ve loved talking to you about this. Now I know that you have got your, OneNote course where you, and it’s [00:27:00] super affordable where. Teach people how to actually make these planners.
So can you tell us a little bit more about that, about what the course is, what it’s going to help them with, and, then we can talk about how they can find out more about it.
Yeah, absolutely. So the one a course is my signature course that teaches people everything that they need to know to start, selling OneNote notebooks on Etsy in the space of a weekend.
So it’s essentially your roadmap to go from. Zero knowledge of Microsoft OneNote to having created your first, couple of planners and having them listed for sale on Etsy. And so they’re super like short, concise to the point video. So if you’re the type of person that like, Gets overwhelmed or you have too many courses and you’re like, I’ve got, you just wanna actually get something done.
Yes. That is my aim for all of the students in the course, and it’s like my best, like the best feeling when I get feedback from a student that says like, ah, this is like the first course in ages that I. Just [00:28:00] finished, like I was able to power through super quickly from beginning to end and get my first OneNote, template listed up on Etsy.
So that’s what you learn everything from, like, what is Microsoft OneNote, how to create a notebook, how to export your notebook for sale. And so there are different file formats depending on whether someone is on a Mac or a Windows computer. So I teach you how to export those different formats.
I give you templates for the instructions, installation instructions that are tried and tested templates for listing images. So all of the stuff that you need to just make it super easy to get started. Yeah. So it’s like I really, really enjoy teaching that course. So hopefully if you’re interested, yeah, feel free to check it
out.
And I know that you are an exceptional teacher I have seen tutorials from you on OneNote and other things. Michelle is also going to be in my upcoming summit in June, and you were in the Planner Craft Pro Summit twice last year too. Your, [00:29:00] presentation in class in that summit was one of the most popular people were raving about it.
The way that you break everything down is so good. It’s, I, maybe this is from your engineering background. I don’t know. Project management, like the way that your brain works, it’s just there’s no fluff, there’s no waffle. You just straight to the point. And so, super helpful. So I’ve, I, I know that many of.
Community members have taken your course and raved about it, so, oh, thank you so
much, Ben, about it. So excited. I’m so excited for your upcoming summit this year. Oh, it’s going to be incredible. Yay. Yes.
Can’t wait. Oh, wait, I can’t wait. That’s like, like all of my attention is on that for now. I love this.
I , I want to make a OneNote Planner. You’re inspiring me. You’re like, you’re taking me away from one weekend planner. That’s all it takes. Yeah. And one, that’s the thing. One weekend, we’re recording this on Easter Monday. Like literally, if I’d have done this course on Friday, I could have a OneNote Planner.
Now that’s what I think of. Like, oh, you know, it’s so fun. I’m going to link to the course below so that people can check it out. Or you can just go to love for [00:30:00] mim.com/onenote. OneNote is. O N E N o t e or anyone who hasn’t heard of OneNote before. And I’m really, I’m really keen to see, like, to look into it myself too, I think that.
While we don’t wanna always be following trends, I know that you have been doing this long enough to know that this isn’t a passing phase in the planning world. This is something that is taken off over the last few years and is only growing from the sounds of it. I know you’ve had phenomenal success with your Etsy shop too.
And that’s so inspiring for me to see. So I’m just so happy for you that you get to do something that you love so much and that is really helping people too. So good. Congrats to you.
Thank you so much. Yeah, it’s. Right. Like, and I do often wonder how, like, how sustained the popularity is going to be of these type of templates.
But I’ve been doing this, so I opened my Etsy store quite some time ago now, right? Late 2021. And the demand. Honestly has only been [00:31:00] increasing and the competition is still quite low. So I’m sure it won’t stay that way forever. I’m certainly not resting on my laurels, but it’s still like a fantastic time, I think, to get started in this space at the moment.
It really is. And even some of the ideas that you’ve given us today of who might be able to use these planners too, it’s got my mind ticking over and I’m not even in this space, so like even, even more people. And that’s a really exciting place to be. Like. It’s always really exciting to start something when it’s still in the fairly new infancy stage where there’s still so much potential and people are ti so time poor, whether it’s for personal.
You know, our business life, like we need templates and planners like this. We need assistance. And there are so many people who, use stickers that I know who use different kinds of planners, and this planner could really help them, whether it’s for their Etsy shop, whether it’s for their family life or personal life, whether it’s for their whole online business, like my wheels are really turning, so
I’m excited.
Yeah, there are so many [00:32:00] possibilities. So many possibilities. And there’s like only, like I say, can only make so many planners, right? And I know that I can’t, like there’s so much potential beyond what I’m able to
produce. It’s the same with stickers when I, I walk around life, like they could use a sticker for that.
I could use a sticker for that. Like, it gets to the point of I need to shut my brain off all I will do is think about stickers. But it’s
fun though, day every day.
Just thinking about stickers. It’s the same with planners. Oh, this has been so fun, Michelle, and I’m so excited for everyone to go and check out your course.
So again, the link is love from mim.com/onenote. That’s my referral link to Michelle’s course, and I will also link where people can find you. But where is the best place online for people to check you out other than your website? Are you on social media too?
I’m actually not. So the best place would be.
Find me on my website, the Better grind.com. And on there, there’s like usually a few freebies available. So if you join my email [00:33:00] list, that’s the place that I really connect with people. Maybe one day I’ll get on social media. I know that I should, but I’m just really not
a social media. No, you don’t.
You don’t need to. There’s no should there whatsoever. I think it’s awesome that you’ve been able to build such an amazing business and blog and Etsy. Shop two and feel free to check out the Better Grind on Etsy. I’ll link that below too. When you see Michelle’s. Based on the fact that she isn’t even on social media.
I think that and alone is super inspiring too. We don’t need to be on social media, and I talk about this all the time, and you’re a great example of someone who has had continued success without having to do the social media grind if you don’t want to. Now, obviously some people really love it and it’s some people are free.
It’s a great way to be able to build a community and to make. But you don’t need to. So I think, super impressed that you’ve been able to build and sustain a really successful business without having to do the things that you don’t want to do.
Thank you, Mim. Yeah, this has been so much fun.
Yay. Well, I can’t wait to see you at the summit soon.
Michelle, thank you so much for coming to talk to us today. [00:34:00]
My pleasure. Thank you, Mim.
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I hope you enjoy this conversation about selling OneNote planners!
This year I got my first digital planner and love using it! I can add digital stickers to make it pretty. I haven’t used one note but have the suite so it sounds like something I need to try. I’m glad I don’t need to be artistic but can use Canva to design in. It would be fun to create my own planner that is designed especially for me. I’m not really interested in selling, but still enjoyed listening to this podcast.
I loved this encouraging message to start something new and the forthcoming of the information!
Another informative podcast . Mim is always so pleasant and asks the questions I was thinking .:)