How to Create Your First Digital Product

If you have been following along you know that the official Crush the Rush Quarterly Planner has launched, as in you can actually buy a physical product online. I have gotten a lot of questions about how this vision came to life so I thought it would be fun to walk you through how I created an actual product. And how you can too! (p.s. It isn’t that hard but with anything you need a plan!)

First things first, it all starts with an idea. The kind that reminds you, even if you are scared,

Do it anyway.

I have always had a passion for a good planner, notebook, beautiful pen, (insert all office supplies). About two years ago after getting through toddlerhood with twins, I had this idea that I could make more of an impact, specifically when it came to planning and productivity because I was really good at it. In fact, at my 9-5 job they nicknamed me “organizer extraordinaire” and in the corporate consulting world would send me to the messiest projects to clean them up!

The problem: I really just didn’t know how to make the idea come to life. I was listening to a podcast in the morning per usual and in a series of events found North and Third by accident. Not knowing anything about creating a planner, I called them! (Insert I must have been half asleep because this makes me nervous just writing this.) And because this is a real-life story, I called them over my lunch break hiding in a conference room at work.

Long story short it wasn’t the right time to create a planner, but I fell in love with this company and brand. We become business friends and stayed in touch and shared our love for a good planner and routine.

But, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head….

So I kept growing. And they kept growing. We even did some influencer sponsorships together earlier this year. And then, smack dab in the middle of a pandemic, I was like this is the right time. I reached out again. This time with a plan.

What came out of the conversation was a partnership I am so proud to be a part of. Where we are working together on beautiful design and strategy to help women take back control of their schedules with a planner that is affordable, but most importantly impactful. And both giving back to charities we are proud to be a part of. The goal is to release a new cover and artwork (and bonuses) every quarter. Kind of amazing right?

So at this point I had an idea and a plan, but let's dig into the resources I used. Because ANYONE can do this. 

1. I listened to feedback from all of you. And you kept asking for this. The #1 question I was getting was how do I fit in my business with my 9-5 and life. And this is the answer: it is a mix of productivity and strategy that over the last year I have taught in my Crush the Rush Method.  (In fact, I have plans for a 2nd version that includes social media planning!)
   
   
2. I looked back at ALL the resources I had created over the last year: PDF’s, trainings, courses, etc., and figuring out how to piece it together in a logical way. I wanted the planner obviously to be a planner with space to time block etc, but I also wanted it to be a teaching tool. This part was kind of like writing a book with chapters. Strategy. Quarterly planning. Monthly planning and daily planning. And, you know I love accountability so I had to figure out how to fit all that in! This step was probably the hardest part, but I wanted it to be thorough. To do this I mapped it all out in a big ole Google doc. But I tried to re-use content that I already had. Nothing fancy. And then I worked with North and Third to do several mock-ups so I could see what it looked like. We printed several so I could actually use it before finalizing the design. 
   
   
3. The other additional resources I used to create the planner were Canva and Trello. I used Canva to create the teaching images you see in the planner and in the video tutorials that are on the website. I used Trello to map out my launch plan. This is a step that a lot of people might skip, but allowing myself the time to create this the right way (without being rushed) was huge. I mapped out time to create the actual planner, research shipping, work on my marketing plan, etc. Each week I had 1-2 tasks to focus on that I would fit in my schedule. 
   
   
4. The last tool I used was Shopify. Shopify was new to me so it took up some extra time on the Trello plan, but you need a way to ship your product. I decided on Shopify because it integrates with Kajabi (my website platform) and needed a way to calculate shipping, inventory, etc. This is a REALLY important step. We can just call it logistics but you need to figure this out to make your product come to life. Once I dug into Shopify, I took the next step of figuring out the best shipping methods, materials, etc. 

 
I built this planner and the Crush the Rush method from my kitchen table in 2020 during the pandemic because I knew there needed to be a better way to get through life with a little more focus, more impact, and a lot less overwhelm. I was tired of spinning my wheels and feeling exhausted at the end of the day with what felt like I had nothing to show for.

I am guessing you may have had moments where you felt the same. I remember thinking you don’t get an extra 24 hours in a day to work on your goals and let’s face it, there is never enough time to get to that to-do list, so why not flip the script and come up with a process and plan where you actually have time to focus on what matters most to you. And instead of being overwhelmed all the time, feel good about your progress at the end of the day and feel excited about what is ahead.

And that is how we got to today. The fact that this planner is a partnership with two amazingly strong powerhouse women is just icing on the cake.

Can you feel the excitement? Better yet, the impact? This is going to be a movement to do things differently.

Make sure to grab your copy before they are gone!

Looking for more details on this topic?! Check out the Strategy Lab in the Crush the Rush Club!