Behind the Design Weekly Series: Brain Dump & Developing Signature Method | Episode 2
Welcome back, The Pink Ink® community! This is Behind the Design, a weekly series for aspiring entrepreneurs and creatives where we document the process of building a digital planner business from scratch. We’re following Claudia, a student of The Pink Ink’s Digital Planner Academy®, and we welcome you to implement her weekly strategies alongside her.
Last week, we began with the brainstorming process by identifying our strengths, experiences, and interests. By writing everything down, Claudia showed us how to connect these elements into a personal, unique planner. She accomplished her goals by narrowing down ideas, which resulted in creative design product ideas for multi-passionate people.
This week, we’re diving deeper into the brainstorming process and developing a signature method, which is crucial if you want to stand out in the market. We’re reviewing common obstacles that may hinder your progression, as well as major takeaways and advice from someone who’s experiencing it in real time. Let’s see what Claudia has for us this week!
This Week’s Goal
Claudia’s goal for this week was to uncover some of the deeper, more personal aspects of her business, including who she was creating the planner for, why she was creating the planner, and how she could put herself into this product. These questions are so important to ask because they challenge you to stop and figure out the deeper meanings behind your design. Without taking the time to think about these things, it’s easy to get caught up in jumping to each next step, resulting in rushing the product or losing the overall meaning and goal.
One aspect that’s covered throughout the video is the significance of putting yourself into the product by incorporating experiences and interests. Claudia mentions that it’s valuable when you create something that you have experience in so you can emit what you’ve gained. She used inspiration from both real-life experiences, but also from physical planners and Pinterest boards.
The inspiration phase looks different for everyone, but the ultimate goal is to create something that’s unique and personal. Claudia’s planner is fully her own, and she’s making it more valuable by adding her unique interests and personality to it.
This Week’s Accomplishment
Even though she faced some obstacles this week, Claudia accomplished her goals and learned a lot, which she shares in the video. As she mentioned, each week brings new challenges, which can make it difficult to find motivation to make progress and keep pushing. Sadly, Claudia didn’t pass the Italian driving test, but life happens and we learn to push ahead and move forward.
Claudia made a ton of progress on her business despite the unfortunate news, though. She spent time researching, using resources, and working with multi-passionate people to figure out how others facilitate this niche and what options and ideas are out there. Claudia has done a great job at staying diligent and resourceful while keeping an open mind, which is one reason she’s been able to come up with creative ideas.
She’s now reaching the end of milestone one in the Digital Planner Academy®, which is the last few steps before actually going in and sketching out the design of the products.
Claudia has honed in on her signature process, which she believes will help multi-passionate individuals overcome their overwhelm, overcome the lack of clarity, eliminate outside influences, and get clear on focusing on a project that they want to complete.
Takeaway
Last week, Claudia encouraged listeners to take the time to research and expand on previous knowledge instead of diving straight in. By following that advice throughout this week, Claudia honed in on her signature process that’s designed specifically for multi-passionate people.
Another takeaway from this week is the importance of having support and community during this business building process. Claudia has weekly meetings with Shay to break down ideas, gain clarity, receive suggestions and support, and to simply have a partner for motivation and accountability.
As a digital planner designer, you’ll want to consider finding a similar support system. Our Digital Planner Academy® offers mentors and peers to provide the same benefits that Claudia is receiving from her weekly meetings with Shay. We encourage you to sign up as a student to grow from coaches and other entrepreneurs, as well as gain valuable insights from our lessons.
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About The Pink Ink®
At The Pink Ink®, we’ve turned our own digital planner business into a successful enterprise that now teaches others to do the same. Shay established The Pink Ink® in 2018 as one of the first digital planner sellers on Etsy and grew it to help aspiring designers to create, launch, and market their planners to create passive income and diversify revenue streams. Within 2 weeks, her store made its first sale, and within 2 months, it covered Shay’s full-time income!
With our experience and knowledge, we want to watch others reach financial freedom in their own lives and experience the benefits of running an online shop for themselves and loved ones. To read our full story, check out The Pink Ink’s About Us page.
About The Digital Planner Academy® Hybrid Program
The Digital Planner Academy Hybrid Program is designed to teach other entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners how to create their own digital planners through design software and real-world advice from mentors. We walk students through the process of creating and selling their own digital product from beginning to end with a goal of helping you reach financial freedom.
Every year, we do updates on our customers’ needs and shifts in online business. In 2023, we turned this into a hybrid program where you not only get access to video lessons, but you also receive 1:1 feedback and support from The Pink Ink® team, whether for general support, design ideas, or initial launch.
If you’re ready to get started in building your digital planner business, check out our blog The Digital Planner Academy® Program - the Best Online Course for Aspiring Digital Planner Business Owners and follow along with our weekly Behind the Design series.
The Purpose of This Weekly Series
What exactly is Behind the Design and why did we create it?
Shay was once an aspiring business owner, so she understands the stressful process of building a company from the ground up. Especially as one of the first in her niche, Shay paved the way for other business owners and picked up valuable skills that she now shares with others. She hopes to ignite creativity and help others do the same.
The best way to accomplish this is by demonstrating how it’s done through a step-by-step process– and what better way than to watch an entrepreneur reach success in real-time? There’s potential challenges that lie in the path of any creative individual – it’s inevitable – but it’s important to overcome these obstacles. Following another designer provides motivation to overcome these challenges, practical guidance and advice, and realistic steps and expectations.
Getting started is often the hardest part, but it’s never too late. In fact, now’s the perfect time! Take this opportunity to take the first step and build your business alongside Claudia. You’ll learn so much through this process, and you’ll reap the rewards of hard work and dedication. Let’s take that first leap together!
Join Us on an Adventure
With a goal to empower individuals to unlock their true creative potential like Claudia is doing, The Pink Ink® team is excited to see where this series leads. We invite you to join us on this exciting adventure and take grasp of the unique opportunity provided. With Claudia and The Pink Ink® members at your side, you have the tools and support to achieve success.
To stay up to date with each piece of the series, you can sign up to receive weekly email updates. We’re looking forward to the insights and creativity that each week offers, and we’re excited to welcome you into our community!