Another year has come and gone, so now it's time to set new goals for 2024! Have you thought about starting your own small business selling digital products? A digital stationery business gives you the opportunity to run an online business where the possibilities to create the perfect planner are endless, you can set your own schedule, and make more money. These are just a few of the benefits of a digital planning business, but we could write a whole blog post all about the perks that come from working for yourself. Instead, we're going to focus today on how you can start that new business and plan for everything that you'll need to accomplish before sharing your new passion with the world.

Start With Goal-Setting

To create a plan, we need to know what we want the end result to be. This means that it's time to set some goals! The easiest way to identify your goals is to think about why you want to start a business. Do you want to help other people? Do you have a signature method you want to develop into a digital planner? Do you want the time and creative freedom of it? Whatever your reason is, you can create different goals based on your passions.

To set goals that will keep you working throughout the year yet not make you discouraged, aim for a balance between attainable and challenging! If your goals are too easy, you'll slack off and not work as hard as you could. If your goals are too challenging, you'll be less likely to accomplish them since it no longer feels enjoyable to work towards your goals.

Adjust Your Mindset

It's been said that mindset is everything, and it really is true when it comes to balancing your business with everything else that matters in your life. Your mindset takes work and time, and we talk all about it in one of our most recent blog posts, which you can read here. There's no such thing as a bad business idea, but the key is in how you help your business to stand out as different. It's about thinking outside of the box! And to do this, your mind needs to constantly be assuring you that you can do this, that you are capable, and that it's ok to be different.

It might take some work and time to adjust to an entrepreneurial mindset since your mindset really is your first instinct, beliefs, and perspective. You may have some limiting beliefs, or things holding you back from growing, that you never realized could apply to your business.

Create a Marketing Strategy

Next up, to ensure that your business is going to start (or continue) growing in 2024, you need to have a personalized marketing strategy that ensures your digital products will be seen by the right group of people and entices them to purchase your products. Compare your business objectives with current trends that you can incorporate into your marketing materials to stay at the front of your ideal client's minds.

Here are some trends that every business can utilize to their advantage:

Customer experience is everything - as people continue to research and value companies with the same values, brand loyalty will be stronger than ever, and we can enhance it with the help of a strong customer experience that helps potential customers feel involved in the brand. One of the best ways to do this is through dynamic video content!
Easy purchasing options - people are short on time, and the amount of time you have to grab someone's attention and convince them to purchase your products is precious! To make it easy and quick for your audience to make a decision and hit that "add to cart" button, set up an Instagram shop, have a website, and utilize Etsy to extend your reach.
Brand partnerships & influencer marketing - this one may be harder for every business to jump onto, but as authenticity continues to be prioritized by consumers on social media, partnering with others that have a large audience with a similar audience shows that authority figures value and trust your products, making more people likely to invest in your digital products.

Implement Your Online Business Plan!

Now that you know your goals for the year, it's time to create your 90-day plan so you know what you should focus on for the next quarter of the year. There are three things you should plan for and mark in your monthly calendar...

When you're planning on launching your new products - this may not be happening every quarter, but by clearly assigning launch dates, you'll know what to focus your content on in the upcoming weeks. You'll know what your launch timeline will look like and what tasks you need to complete and when you need to check them off your to-do list.
Upcoming holidays and well-known events you want to participate in - not only is this a good opportunity to run a sale and sell more products, but it's also a good opportunity to grow your audience and show that there's a human behind the business who wants to have a bit of fun with the work they do!
Cash injection ideas throughout the year - people love a good sale, and it's even better when it's unexpected! Cash injections can be flash sales, special offers, limited-time bundles and other deals, and more! They're unique ways you can express your creativity and keep your brand in front of your target audience even when it's not the holiday season.

Pro tip! Take a look at your data from the last year. Which month was slowest? If you can anticipate a slow season in advance, you’ll be able to plan events for that month to keep your audience engaged and purchasing from your shop.

Use a Creative Entrepreneur's Digital Planner

You want to start your own digital planner business so that you can share the benefits of digital planning with even more people, right? If that's the case, then you certainly understand how using a digital planner within your own business can help you!

A digital planner made with entrepreneurs in mind can help you balance your business goals and all your personal goals. The Pink Ink Creative's Planner will help you with this exactly! It's a yearly planner that includes a quarterly overview, weekly spread, and daily planner features so that you can break your yearly goals into manageable tasks to accomplish each week. We've even included habit trackers so that you can stay on top of your goals and monitor your progress.

This is what we have to say about our Creative's Planner, "We believe that the best businesses are personal. So we’ve created a planner that combines two of the biggest elements of our lives - our businesses and our personal lives. Whether you’re a full-time entrepreneur or are just starting a side-hustle, our Creative’s Planner has all the tools you need to balance your full schedule and not feel overwhelmed every time you look at your to-do list."

Click here to learn more and shop the planner, along with everything else in our 2024 planner collection right here!

Grow Your Digital Planner & Stationery Business

If you’re looking to start your own business selling digital stationery, our signature program may be just what you need. Digital Planner Academy is an online program with six milestones, 90+ video lessons, live calls, and more where you’ll learn how to build, automate, and scale your digital planner business. Learn more and enroll in Digital Planner Academy here!