Is Selling Planners Profitable?
Can you make a living selling planners? YES.
Can you lose a lot of money selling planners? YES.
Starting any product-based business can be difficult, and with planners there’s the added challenge of a short sales window, particularly if your planners are dated—and by short I mean around 3 months. Eye-opening, right? But don’t let that dash your dreams prematurely!
I’m sharing 4 steps you can take to set up your planner business on a solid foundation, avoid some pitfalls, and make a killing selling planners! You don’t have to do it alone, my friends!
Over the past twenty years, I’ve been helping some of the most successful planner brands—momAgenda, Laurel Denise, and MakseLife—create and sell planners that are beautiful, functional, and profitable. I never want to see a planner company fail, and my team and I at Copper Bottom Design Co. strive to support our clients at every turn, helping turn their dreams into reality and turn a profit as they do.
01 | Know your customer. Create a community.
Why create a planner to sell if you don’t know who it’s for and no one knows it exists?
Take the time to figure out WHO your ideal customer is. How would your planner benefit them?
Once you know who your customer is, how will you reach out to let them know that you’ve created something that will change their lives, and for the better?
Two of my clients, Laurel Denise and MakseLife are hugely successful in large part because they have built a strong–always growing–community of loyal followers. Laurel and Sierra (of MakseLife) show up for their customers, who in turn subscribe to their planner philosophies. They know Laurel and Sierra, and they like and trust them. These planner mavens provide their community with more than just planners and planner products—they offer tips and coaching and insight, and the chance to get to know them and their teams on a more personal, relatable level.
The bigger and stronger your community, the more successful your business will become, and the more profit you will make.
Get out there, find your audience, and build it up, my friends. Because if you build it (an audience of raving fans, that is), they will buy it.
For more on building your audience, check out this post.
02 | Treat your business like a business.
Treat your business like a business, and not a hobby.
As a business owner, you will need to work on your business every single day. You’ll need to understand every aspect of your business, how everything is done. You are the one with the dream, the vision, and your eye on the end goal. And while you may have the knowledge, experience, and skills to handle most, if not all facets of your business, your success will ultimately depend on you knowing your limitations.
Outsource.
There are wonderfully talented people out there that you can hire to help share the load so that you can focus your attention on creating a fantastic product, one that your customers can’t live without. Hiring experts is a smart investment that will help you move your business further, faster.
03 | Grow slow.
Not everyone can start out with fifteen different products and a shop full of items that people are dying to buy. Years ago when I started my first business, I wanted to do just that—fill my shop with stationery goods, because who wants to see a shop with just two products for sale? That’s sad and depressing, right?
No, no it’s not—not if you create one amazing item and knock it out of the park!
Not if your core product is thoughtfully and uniquely designed and will truly stand out, and you become known for that one item!
If you’re hoping to sell planners or building a planner business, your planner has to be that one item that will help people successfully organize their lives. And once you’ve invested in that core product and it becomes profitable, then you can think about expanding your product line to include notebooks and sticky notes and washi tape–whatever it is that tickles your fancy!
And keep in mind that it will take time for your core product to become perfect. In my experience, it can take at least two years to work out the kinks. You and your customers need time to actually use your planner and determine what works, what doesn’t work, what might be missing, or what needs to be added.
Growing slow will also help you retain any profit that you make in those first few years
04 | Know your numbers & be smart when it comes to your costs.
You’ll have to invest a lot of time and money into producing your product before you can sell it, so you need to be smart and strategic when it comes to the choices you make on how you grow your business.
It’s essential that you know your numbers. Fully understanding all the costs—office expenses, contractor fees, manufacturing costs, salaries (yours included!), to name just a handful—will help determine the cost of your planner.
Whether you’re just starting out in the planner business or a seasoned pro, here are some great resources to help you be smart with your finances:
How to Pay Yourself as a Business Owner
Because you want to be free, not work for free, right?
In this post I refer to Mike Michalowicz’s book, Profit First, and if you have not already read it, I highly urge you to do just that, and the sooner the better!
The Secret to Finding Your Perfect Pricing Strategy
Pricing products can be tricky. Price them too high and they won’t sell.
Too low, and you may be leaving money on the table.
In this post, I’ll help you find your pricing sweet spot!
3 Smart Ways to Save Money on Your Custom Planner Design
It's possible to keep your costs in check while building the planner of your dreams, and I'll tell you how, plus share some bonus tips!
The Truth Behind Production Costs and Working with Manufacturers: US vs China
Running a product-based business isn’t for the faint of heart. I think we all know that you have to spend money to make money. A huge factor in determining production costs is WHERE you decide to manufacture your product. It’s a lot to consider, and I’ll break things down for you in these two posts.
It’s no secret that manufacturing your planners in China will cost much less than in the US—and working with overseas manufacturers happens to be a specialty of mine. At Copper Bottom Design Co, I offer a full-service production management package. We’ll oversee everything from writing print specs and negotiating price quotes, to guiding you through the shipping & import process. And after assessing your needs, we’ll select the best manufacturing partner for your product, your needs, and your brand. And rest assured, our global partners are SA8000 certified, which means they’ve agreed to assessment of labor standards, human rights, and worker health and safety. Click here to learn more!
No matter what stage of business you’re in, I also highly recommend The Blueprint Model by Shanna Skidmore—a “proven, practical system for building a profitable, sustainable business that works”—and by a self-professed numbers nerd, no less!
Know your customer. Treat your business like a business. Grow slow. Know your numbers.
It’s all about starting off on the right foot, and if you start following these steps at the very start of your planner journey, I know that you will not only make a living, but profit from selling your amazing product. It’s time for your dream to become a reality!
Feeling ready to move production overseas?
I created a streamlined checklist so you know exactly what you need to do before making the leap to overseas manufacturing . . . and it’s available now at the link below.