I started KDigitalStudio in November 2018. At the time, the digital planner space barely existed. GoodNotes was gaining traction, the iPad Pro was starting to feel like a real creative tool, and a small but growing community of people was starting to use their iPads for planning instead of paper.

I saw it early, leaned into it hard, and built something I'm genuinely proud of. But I also made mistakes, took detours, and learned things the hard way. So I want to share the real version of how this happened — not the highlight reel.

How It Started

I'd been using my iPad for planning and realized I wanted a planner that worked exactly the way I wanted it to. I couldn't find one, so I made one. That first planner — the Cyberry planner — launched in 2020, and it found an audience almost immediately.

The thing that worked in my favor early on was timing. The digital planning community was small enough that showing up consistently on YouTube and building a newsletter audience actually moved the needle. I wasn't competing with hundreds of established creators. I was one of the people helping define what the space looked like.

What Actually Built the Business

A few things compounded over time:

YouTube. I started making videos about GoodNotes, digital planning tips, and iPad productivity. Those videos kept getting found by new people discovering digital planning for the first time. Over time that turned into 35 million views and a community that trusted my recommendations.

The newsletter. Building an email list from early on was one of the best decisions I made. Social platforms change their algorithms, but your email list is yours. That list is now over 160,000 subscribers and it's still the single most reliable way I reach my audience.

Products that actually worked. This sounds obvious but it matters more than anything else. My planners had working hyperlinks, crisp graphics, and layouts that made sense in GoodNotes. Customers left good reviews. Good reviews brought more customers. (If you're curious how the money side works, I break it down in how digital planner designers make money on Etsy.)

What I'd Do Differently

I'd learn the technical side faster. In the beginning I was figuring out InDesign and hyperlinking through trial and error. It cost me a lot of time and some embarrassing early product quality. Having structured training from someone who'd already figured it out would have cut months off my learning curve — which is exactly why I built Digital Planner Design Lab.

I'd niche down sooner. Early on I tried to make planners for everyone. The products that really took off were the ones designed with a specific person and use case in mind. Specificity sells.

I'd build the email list from day one. I did start it early, but not early enough. If I were starting over I'd make list building the very first priority, before worrying about social media following or product catalog size.

Why I Created Digital Planner Design Lab

After years of getting DMs asking "how do I make a digital planner?", I realized there was a real gap. People wanted to learn this, but the information out there was scattered, incomplete, or just flat-out wrong. I built Digital Planner Design Lab to be the course I wish had existed when I was starting out — a complete, structured path from "I have no idea where to begin" to "I have a finished planner ready to sell." Here's everything it covers.

If you're at the beginning of that journey, I'd love to help you skip the part where I spent months figuring things out alone.

Check out Digital Planner Design Lab →