Digital Planner Success Story with Aqura
It was such a pleasure to interview Aqura about her success with selling digital planners and the mindset shifts that helped her grow to a place where she’s now preparing to leave her job and pursue her creativity and zone of genius full-time.
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Transcript
Please note that this transcript is auto-generated, so there may be spelling and grammar errors.
Michelle Rohr [00:00:09]:
Hello. Michelle here with the Secret Owl Society. In this video, I'm doing something a little different, but it's something I've been wanting to do for years. I just only getting around to it now, which is interviewing students of the community. And today, I have a very special guest, Akira, who came into my world through my planner courses. And I think the first time you reached out to me, you had purchased Wandering Aimfully through my affiliate link, and that came at the time with a bonus call with me. And you wanted to talk about your Etsy store and your planners. And I remember checking out your store before, we got on the call, and I saw that you had all these planners and all these sales.
Michelle Rohr [00:00:59]:
I'm like, oh, she's been doing this a long time. She's not new to this. See? And then I find out that this was all just kind of new success, and part of your journey was the digital planner template kit course that you bought. So I just wanna dive into where were you before you purchased one of my programs, and how did that experience of making and selling your own planners ultimately lead you to where you are today?
Aqura [00:01:36]:
Yeah. So, hey, Michelle. Thank you for inviting me to your podcast. I'm super excited to talk to you because you were definitely an integral part in the full journey of me just first finding out about digital planning because I had no idea into where it had led me. So before digital planning, I've always been interested in stationary things and sort of DIY kind of stuff. And it started out with I was looking for a financial planner that had everything that I wanted in it, and I could not find 1 in the store. I mean, I was walking up and down Target aisles. Like, what the heck? I can't find anything that I want, like, specific to me.
Aqura [00:02:14]:
So I said, oh, what the heck? I'll just make my own. So I made my own, and my family and friends were like, I want one too. Can you help me with financial stuff? So I had always been helping family and friends with different things, but this, sort of, like, structured template really allowed for me to help them even more and myself as well. So then they started asking me for it, and I'm like, well, why don't I just offer it to the rest of the world? So at the time, it was, COVID. I think it was March of 2020. Like, a lot of us kinda had time on our hands that we hadn't had before, so I decided to open up an Etsy shop. And I was amazed because people started buying it because it was just something that I was using. And I was like, you know, I'll just put it on here and see what happens.
Aqura [00:03:03]:
You know? No big deal. And I'm like, wow. So I started making other templates for myself as well to put in that same planner. So I just started, you know, adding adding. So then I think I was on YouTube, and I found an affiliate, through your digital template course, and I said, you know, let me check this out. At the time, I did not have an iPad. I had no idea what digital planning was, but I knew that the templates were similar to what I had already. So, another big part of that was I believe that Amy does the Adobe InDesign, and that's already a program that I was using.
Aqura [00:03:43]:
So I was excited about that because I love InDesign. So I bought it, and I made my first planner, my first little planner literally without an iPad. I had no idea how it worked, but I was really intrigued by the different features and the fact that you didn't need paper to use it. Mhmm. So I made my first one. I offered it. And what I did, I started taking the templates that I already had, especially the financial one because that's the one that I love the most, and I knew the most about it. I was super into it, and I made that one into a digital planner.
Aqura [00:04:18]:
And then that's when things really started taking off for my Etsy shop. I started getting a lot more sales. I really started, you know, just putting a lot more into the planners that I loved and not necessarily trying to just put something out there because other people were doing it. Really like focusing on what I love and how I knew I could help people. So it was really amazing to see all the different reviews and stuff and people acquiring about the product, because I really loved it, and I really believe that it could change someone's life.
Michelle Rohr [00:04:49]:
Yeah. When I heard from you that you started your store in 2020 and that you had so many sales and so many planners and so much success, I was like, what? And then when you said that the digital planner template kit helped you supercharge things, I was just like, I need to interview you. People need to hear your story. And what because one of the things he told me was you were correct me if I'm wrong. You were able to quit your job?
Aqura [00:05:17]:
So I'm quitting my job at the end of this year. Oh, cool. I am an engineer by degree, but a planner at heart. I mean, I love everything planning. And so I'm super excited to go out on my own and really just focus on my passions, and I really love helping women with their finances. So, initially, obviously, I started my whole planner journey in the finance space just trying to help myself and then, transform offering 1 on 1 coaching for financial help for women. So I'm really excited about it.
Michelle Rohr [00:05:55]:
That is amazing because when we had our our call together, and we were chatting a little bit before this call and you your impression was, oh, I'm I want help learning how to do more and sell more with Etsy, Etsy, Etsy, Etsy. And my approach actually is not let's get rich off of Etsy. My approach is Etsy is just a launching pad, and the magic is you and what you wanna create instead of trying to fit yourself into an Etsy box. And what what evolved from you is you wanted to go into offering more around financial advice and that evolved into this course, which ultimate is really what I want people to see is the planner is just like this first minimal viable iteration of your zone of genius, and you don't wanna keep all your zone of genius in a planner. It's magical in a planner because you're able to give someone something that is going to help them right off the bat, but there are more steps to this. There's a deeper journey they can take, and that journey can look like a course, a membership, 1 on 1 calls. It can and you're so so so you get to this point where you're no longer trying to sell a $20 planner. Now you get to sell a a $200 course or a $2,000 program, and that is the beauty of continuing to evolve yourself beyond Etsy.
Michelle Rohr [00:07:29]:
So tell us about this course.
Aqura [00:07:33]:
Yeah. Exactly. And I think when we had our callback in January, I definitely didn't understand it. And it took me a couple questions to really get it, and it was literally just like a light bulb. I was like, okay. This is not the destination. Etsy is not the destination. Etsy Etsy is a great starting point, and it allows you to get a customer base.
Aqura [00:07:53]:
And you even told me about, you know, make sure you capture emails. I had this huge email list that I wasn't even emailing because I was just so focused on getting sales on Etsy, making products on Etsy, trying to make sure I, you know, spend time, talking to people through message if they're mess like, my focus was just Etsy. And once I understood that that is not the primary focus, that is just a tool to help you get to where you're going along that journey. It was like, okay. Now I get it. And so that was able And then I was able to, like, really focus on the things that I love and what I love to do instead of just, you know, checking boxes, checking boxes, checking boxes. So that was really important. So So I think the first thing I did was I created that customer hub because I really wanted people to know, you know, what really inspired me and how, you know, the things that I'm offering them, how they could put those things together in order to change their lives in different ways.
Aqura [00:08:51]:
So I did make that customer hub, and I, you know, did the intro videos. I think I also offered my digital planners as a bundle so that they can, get all of my planners instead of just one at a time. And I also, at the time, I hadn't made the course yet, but I put it out there that it was coming. Mhmm. And so the great thing about making that course, and I would have never imagined it if I didn't do it, was it gave me the language that I specifically used to talk about finances that is able to, be understood in a way that I don't think a lot of people are able to do. A lot of people use these big words and investing, and it scare it really does scare people away. And that's not what it's about. It's really about creating a life that you love without sacrificing things that you want to do.
Aqura [00:09:43]:
So, for example, you know, if you wanna go on a vacation with your family, but you may have this debt, you don't have put off that vacation for 10 years, you know, just because you have this debt. You can do both at the same time so that you're not, you know, going day by day thinking about, oh, I wish I could do this. Oh, I wish I could do that. But really, like, create the life that you love now instead of thinking, well, when I retire in 30 years, I can be able to do this. And so just Speaking with language. Yeah. Being able to talk to people in a way that they understood and really give a woman, the power and the courage and, you know, just the foundational tools that they need to be able to do it on their own and not think that, you know, I'm not rich, so I can't invest. I'm not rich, so I can't have a house that I love.
Aqura [00:10:30]:
And really just being able to communicate from a place of love and encouragement that I know that women can change the world with because it just takes one person to listen to you and to be inspired by you, and then the next woman is inspired and the next woman. And so that is what is important to me.
Michelle Rohr [00:10:50]:
I love that blueprint of stay home, brown bag every meal, don't go to restaurants, don't spend your money, work really hard, and then when you retire, you you're you're a good little girl, and you get to have your treat. Like, you
Aqura [00:11:13]:
may And no one wants to live like that.
Michelle Rohr [00:11:15]:
That's not a life. It's not a life.
Aqura [00:11:18]:
Not a life. That's not a life. No one wants to live like that. We don't have to watch, you know, men be at the top all the time. We can be at the top too. We can enjoy all the things. We don't have to, you know, rely on other people. We can really do it ourselves, but sometimes it's just the mindset and that's sometimes all someone needs in order to be inspired to then go take action and not be held back by, you know, what could scare us when we talk about finances and things like that.
Michelle Rohr [00:11:47]:
Yeah. Because it's almost like the world tells us that we're not good with money, and we have to follow all these rules and all of this self sacrifice in order to earn the right to do something for ourselves with money. And so I'm really excited about your course. Is it done? Are you about to launch it? Tell us more.
Aqura [00:12:09]:
Yeah. So it's done. I launched it back in April, I believe, for just a short amount of time. I wanted to launch it, gather data, and be able to go in and use that feedback to then, you know, make it better. So it's not available right now, but I plan in the fall having to launch it again, as a better product the next time. But, again, like, that just gave me a good solid foundation in order to have a language to where I now have a course that I can, refer my 1 on 1 clients to when they may need me when if I'm not available. So it's really sort of a package deal, and it didn't take me long at all, which is funny because it's like, oh my god. You're so scared.
Aqura [00:12:50]:
Like, how do I make this course? I have to get on camera. I have to talk. But, honestly, because I'm so passionate about it, it just came so naturally. And most of the work was, you know, back and stuff, making sure that everything flowed well, all the emails went out, and things like that.
Michelle Rohr [00:13:04]:
Mhmm. And people need to see you. They need to see you talking. They need to see your face. They need to see your black woman matter t shirt. Like, it's that's one of the reasons why I'm passionate about this step along your own self evolution where you do make courses. It's not because I'm like, you need to make courses. Passive income is not, yeah, like, I'm passionate about passive income.
Michelle Rohr [00:13:28]:
But I know that the money, the courses, the programs, the business is all just an automatic byproduct of you stepping into the fullness of you. And the full expression of you doesn't have a problem being on camera and talking about what she's passionate about. And when you start to honor that part of the journey, everything else just starts lining up, and you're no longer taking 5 years to make a course. Now it's just coming out like candy. You can't
Aqura [00:14:03]:
Exactly. Make
Michelle Rohr [00:14:04]:
the next one like that. Mhmm.
Aqura [00:14:07]:
And once you get that thing over with, like, being on camera, you know, I've done Instagram live talking about finances. I'm just it's just another thing. It's like you just gotta do it, get it over with, move on on to the next thing. You learn, you do it again, you do it better. It's all just an evolution just like you said.
Michelle Rohr [00:14:24]:
Yeah. And you can have fun with it. Like, right now, we're just sitting on camera, having fun. Like, sometimes I think about that, just in the middle of the day. I'm like, you know what? This is kinda crazy. I'm just waking up in the morning, tapping into intuition, feeling like, what do I wanna do today? What's what feels fun in my business? And then it's always the thing that feels most fun that makes me the most money, which is totally counter to what society has told us, which is you need to do things you don't enjoy, no pain, no gain, grit and grind, and then you'll earn success. And then with entrepreneurship, it's totally different, especially for women. Our power comes from being in this energy of who am I and what do I want, what is fun, what is my intuition telling me to do, and what what and, also, there is a side to it that's painful, but I I find that the painful side only comes because I'm healing something.
Michelle Rohr [00:15:30]:
Like, there's something inside of me that needs to be healed, and that's painful. That's the only thing that's painful. And when I focus on that, everything else, getting on camera, making courses, doing interviews, it's just it's just effortless. And so I I love focusing on the personal development part of things first and foremost, because I know if you don't focus on that, everything else is gonna feel like walking through quicksand. So how do you feel personal development has helped has been has played a role in this process of you going from, you know, let me just open up an Etsy store to now you're looking at quitting your engineering job.
Aqura [00:16:16]:
Yeah. So for me, it was just checking off the boxes. I've always been, you know, that student or, you know, child that did all the things that everyone expected me to do, got good grades, went to a good school, you know, got a good degree, yadayadayada. Just checking all boxes, and that is just what I did. And it's not saying that I wasn't good at things. I didn't have strengths, but I wasn't doing necessarily anything that absolutely just lit me up as an as, I guess, a job or something that brought in income. And I didn't think that it was possible. So a funny thing is, is that I'm also a dancer.
Aqura [00:16:57]:
So I have a dance minor as well. I dance all throughout life. And one of the choices was, okay, I can pursue dance or I can pursue this engineering degree. And because I grew up in a household that really struggled with finances and was really encouraged to find a job that was financially secure, I pursued an engineering job because I thought that, you know, I'd have money. I won't have to struggle like I saw, you know, everyone in my family doing, and I would be able to support my family and I. Well, 6 years later, here I am, you know, engineering degree. Sure. It pays well, but something in my gut was just like, you don't belong here.
Aqura [00:17:38]:
Like, this is not for you. You're doing a great job. You're, you know, on the corporate ladder. You know, I'm about to get an MBA degree because I thought, again, checking all boxes, I needed that to move up in the corporate ladder, which, sure, it helps you. But how does that meet, you know, what you want for yourself? And I swear, it's just like this voice in my head is like, you are more than this space. Not that I was better than the space that I'm in, but I wanna reach out more and this space is not giving me what I want to do. Mhmm. Now that's not to say that anyone that loves doing that, that's great if that's what you want to do.
Aqura [00:18:19]:
I don't wanna make it seem like I'm talking down on anyone that wants to, you know, necessarily move up in the corporate ladder. But for me, the profession the development was really listening to what I felt was right and doing it for myself, not for anybody else. This is about me and finally being able to say, hey. Do what it is that you want to do, not necessarily checking off the box because mom and dad said or because society said or because, you know, your sister and brother said. What do you wanna do? And just being that voice and something you're passionate about, like I said, will inspire it will absolutely inspire. Even if it's just one person, there is a domino effect. And I've seen so many women, you know, that I talk to on a daily basis because this is always things that I'm talking about because it just naturally comes out of me. I've had friends that recently quit their job, you know, that found, things that they were passionate about that's now pursuing me.
Aqura [00:19:21]:
And I'm like, oh my gosh. Like, if we would have never had these conversations, I wonder, you know, where they would be or where I would be because just helping them and seeing their success is like, I can really help someone. Like, I can really help someone change their life. And that's why I'm just so passionate about really thinking about what it is that you love and using that to guide you instead of what everybody else does for so for me, the development is just honing in on what I love to do and letting that take me along the journey.
Michelle Rohr [00:19:54]:
Yeah. It's so interesting and sad how, we can so so easily get into this spiral of pursuing success in response to pain from childhood. Like, I saw my parents go through this, or I had to deal with that. And yet, no matter how hard we pursue it and how many boxes we check off, it never solves the problem. And for us to have the the feeling we want, the results we want, the change we want, we have to let go of all that and say yes to ourselves, which is terrifying because it's completely opposite to what we're told. We're told, if you wanna help other people, you don't put yourself first. You put everyone else first, and you figure out what everyone else's needs are, and you fill everyone else's needs. And that's what makes you a good person, and that's what helps the world, and that's what changes the world for the better.
Michelle Rohr [00:21:11]:
But all that that does, it makes us more and more drained and less and less powerful. And we just become this little robot going check, check, check. And our our impact goes down, down, down. And what I've learned, and I'm so passionate about is you doing what you wanna do for you does change the world without you trying to change the world. I think part of the problem is this whole idea of go change the world. It's like no one is actually on put on this earth to change the world. It's no one's responsibility responsibility to even change the world because it's out of our responsibility. It's out of our control.
Michelle Rohr [00:22:01]:
The only thing we can control is ourselves. The only thing we have 100% responsibility over is our selves. And to go and try to change the world and help this person and help that person and, you know, a lot of it being a response to our our pain growing up is to not focus on what we have respond we have control over and try to control all these things we can't control, and it drives us crazy.
Aqura [00:22:32]:
It really does. And knowing that it's already in you, like, you don't have to go seeking out all these other things. It's already there. It's not gonna leave you. It's gonna be there tomorrow. It's gonna be there a year. If, you know, if you just get so distracted on all these other things, it's just gonna be pulling at you in one way or another. That could look like, you know, the pain somewhere, you being held back by your childhood.
Aqura [00:22:57]:
It can come out all kind of different ways, but it is already in you. And once you believe that and understand that it is going to naturally come out, You don't have to put so much energy into doing things, trying to pull it out because it's already there.
Michelle Rohr [00:23:13]:
Yeah. And that's the other thing too is that is power. And unless we realize that the power is already inside of us and it's just the clutter on top that's keeping us from accessing it, then then we can stop distracting ourselves looking, well, it's this thing out here and that thing out there, and I need to go get this degree and that certification, and then we keep making it the the solution being outside instead of looking at, well, what are the what are the beliefs and the lies and the stories that childhood, society, school, whatever, put on top of who I really am, and how can I re start to remove those things to get back to who I really am? Because who I really am already knows what to do, already knows what she loves, already knows how she wants to dance throughout this life, and let's start removing some of this baggage that's keeping her from doing so. And it seems like that's what you've been doing.
Aqura [00:24:20]:
Mhmm. And another big part for me was filling my time and my thoughts with women that were doing the same thing. Because, again, I'm I'm I'm an engineer and I work, you know, a 9 to 5. And a lot of the people that I work with, that is their final destination. And so for me, sometimes, it's really hard to be in that space because that's not my that is not my story. And so it's so much easier when you have people that have that same trajectory so that you're not then pulled back into a space that you have just realized is not for you. Mhmm. You know, it may be just a season in your life where you're in that space for whatever reason.
Aqura [00:25:07]:
But then filling my, you know, time with podcasts, you know, I travel. I have an hour commute, one way, so I listen to podcasts and, you know, I seek out the people that are on the same path as me so that I know that I'm not in this alone. Like, there are other women out there that are, you know, having the same things that they're going through on a day to day basis that we can learn from each other. We can support each other. We can pull each other up. We don't have to, you know, be competitors. We don't have to compete with each other. We don't have to see each other, you know, as holding each other back.
Aqura [00:25:43]:
We are our own power. And once we understand that this is the way to pull all of us up, that is where we all win.
Michelle Rohr [00:25:52]:
Mhmm. When are you gonna start your podcast? I can tell that's that.
Aqura [00:26:05]:
No. I've been thinking about it. I've been thinking about it. So yeah.
Michelle Rohr [00:26:09]:
Well, it's just one of the things that I believe is so healing for women is to use their voices and express what is inside of them, and podcasting is such a powerful way to do that. My sister, Mia, just started her podcast and same thing, her story. She's right now living in Portugal, moved there with her family, and it was a result of me deciding that that's what what I wanted to do. I'm still here. It's taking me a little longer. We're working on it. I'm in Miami, and we're we're still putting together our visa stuff. But, when I announced, hey, I'm moving to Portugal, I wasn't trying to get other people to move too.
Michelle Rohr [00:26:56]:
And yet, just by me deciding this is what I wanna do with my life, my sister's life is completely different without me being like, okay. Let's get you to Portugal. Let me help you. Let me help. Like, it we have to start to see how our power doesn't come from trying to get people to change their lives. Our power comes from us changing our own lives. And then just from other people witnessing that, they access their power to change their life. So we
Aqura [00:27:30]:
need we
Michelle Rohr [00:27:31]:
need to stop thinking, I'm gonna change your life. I'm gonna change no. It's not your job to change anyone's life. It's your job to change yours. And when people witness that, they've changed their life. There's a quote by Jim Rohn that says, I just love it. He says, I'll take care of me for you, and you take care of you for me. And I absolutely love that quote because part of my childhood trauma was, I'll take care of you for me.
Michelle Rohr [00:28:08]:
Gotcha. It was like, I need you guys to be okay in order for me to be okay. Okay. If you're not okay, I'm not okay. And my healing required that I I let go of that, and I step into, even if you're not okay, I'm gonna work on me being okay. And that was devastating when I first had to step into that because it was the it was the truth that I was avoiding. Like, oh, I have to let other people suffer and be in pain. But it's only by doing that that I could come home to myself, work on myself, and really step into my power to improve my own life.
Michelle Rohr [00:28:52]:
And only from that place can I be a resource and a help and a light to other people? So I think that what you're doing and how you've done it is sets a huge ex example of that. You didn't just wake up one day and decide, I hate my job, so I'm gonna start a business and change everyone else's life, and then maybe I can change mine. You just decided that you were going to start changing your life. And from that place, you're changing other people's lives and not the other way around. And there's so much integrity from that.
Aqura [00:29:31]:
Mhmm. I'd specifically think about 2 things. 1 is you literally cannot pour into someone else's cup if your cup is empty. You can't. You physically, you mentally cannot. And it's really hard for us to see the potential in someone and to see someone else suffering and not try to step in. But once you take a step back, you have to watch it unfold because they will come to you eventually. Mhmm.
Aqura [00:30:00]:
When you're putting out the things that you're naturally you know, the energy that you're putting out into the world, people are attracted to that. Mhmm. Now they might be in a season in their life where they're not ready for it, and that's okay because not everyone is ready at the same time. Everyone's on their own clock. But when they are ready for it, they will come to you without you having had to put that energy out that you didn't even have in the first place.
Michelle Rohr [00:30:27]:
Yeah.
Aqura [00:30:27]:
And so now you can use that energy for you and then put more of that natural energy out into the world, and now you have 2 and 3 people coming to you and saying, hey. I noticed you did this. I noticed you said this. It'll be things that you didn't even know that you said, and somebody just caught on to it. That's how amazing it is. Because when you are just in your natural element, people are picking up on the little pieces that you're putting out there, and it is changing lives. Whether they come to you or not, they have that little token that has now changed that one part of their life that will never be the same anymore. And that's the amazing part, but you have to believe it.
Aqura [00:31:04]:
And a part of you believing it is knowing that I have to fill my own cup first.
Michelle Rohr [00:31:09]:
Mhmm. Well, you look like a woman who fills her own cup first.
Aqura [00:31:14]:
I try to. But, again, you know, everybody has that, you know, childhood trauma to unpack. Mhmm. And it's so amazing because I actually started seeing a therapist this year. And, I mean, I was like, I didn't even know. Like, you're so used to living a certain life and, you know, accepting certain things and seeing certain things as you think is normal. And then when you talk to a therapist, like, oh, that was not normal at all. Like, that was a problem.
Aqura [00:31:47]:
And, you know, I'm glad I know that now because, you know, now I can change that for the family that I'm you know, the family that I may have one day.
Michelle Rohr [00:31:55]:
Mhmm. Yeah. Breaking the cycle.
Aqura [00:31:58]:
Mhmm.
Michelle Rohr [00:31:59]:
Well, this has been so amazing. We're definitely gonna put links to your store, your website in the description box below. But is there anything else that you want to let the people know?
Aqura [00:32:16]:
I think I really just want women to know that you are your own power, and you can do it. You may need help along the way, but believe that you have what you need in order to be successful. You don't have to go reaching and seeking out for that or for the permission. You are your own permission, and that's what I just want women to know. I don't care what area of life it's in. You are your own power.
Michelle Rohr [00:32:52]:
Girl, we need to get together for some coffee and just shout out some affirmations. Oh, we're gonna have to do this again. And when Yes.
Aqura [00:33:05]:
Thank you for having me. Yeah.
Michelle Rohr [00:33:06]:
And when you launch your podcast, let me know. I'm gonna tell some people. In fact, the next course I'm making is is, about podcasting. It's gonna be called piece of cake podcast. Amazing. Help more women just speak their power into a microphone and press publish and change lives, not because you're trying to go out there and change someone's life, but because you deserve to have an opinion, say it out loud, press publish, move on with your day, and then see what let let the magic happen by itself. That's how powerful you are. So thank you, everyone.
Michelle Rohr [00:33:47]:
We're gonna put Akira's links in the description box below. Check out her store. Check out her course. Get on her email list so that you can hear about it when it reopens up. Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast, and let's do this again soon.
