Interview – Erin Nichols – The Petite Planner

As part of my assignment for my Diploma in creativity, I set out to interview a number of people flourishing on Instagram. The assignment focused on the impact Instagram had had on society. If you want to see more interviews check here!

The Petite Planner brings together creativity and structure, with gorgeous spreads and divine ideas! Erin was so lovely when answering these interview questions! She answers so many of the comments on the page and her work feels special and well thought out!

You can find her on her website – facebook – pinterest and youtube!

Erin gets over 4 million views on Pinterest!

WHEN DID YOUR JOURNEY START?

I started my first bullet journal in Early 2015 after looking for a planner and stumbling upon the bullet journal system on Pinterest.

How did you get into this niche?

I remember being completely infatuated with the idea of a planner/sketchbook/diary. It became almost an obsession. I spent every spare minute in my journal. I doodle, practiced my lettering, attempted to recreate other peoples’ spreads. I would say that shortly after the first 2,000 followers or so my Instagram just kind of took off. I posted once a day, usually. And the follows just kept coming. It was crazy and I never expected it.

DO YOU HAVE A DAY JOB?

No, I don’t. Funny story. I was a bartender in 2017. At the same time, I was running my blog, The Petite Planner, but hadn’t really focused my attention on monetizing it. I just liked interacting with my readers and followers on social media. Doodling and organization are a few of the things I’m passionate about, so blogging about it was rather easy. Then, in October I got fired out of the blue, for a really lame reason. And after that, I knew I wanted to take my blog to the next level and turn it into my career. I started working on monetizing my blog and just recently launched my own course, and am about to release my second this coming May.

WHAT WAS YOUR DEFINING MOMENT? AND WHATS NEXT FOR YOU?

Oh, that’s tough. I would say when I launched my first course and doubled my monthly income, I felt like I had reached my goal. But, I’m incredibly ambitious. It’s a bit of a strength and weakness of mine. I am always setting my goals and expectations for myself higher, so I’m not sure I’ve ever had that moment where I feel completely content about my work. Next, I’m launching a new health and fitness website, which is going to be a lot of fun as I’m teaming up with my fiancé for this one. I’ve also got a few more courses and a book planned.

DO YOU HAVE A GOOD SUPPORT NETWORK

Well, my family is starting to realize just how much this has changed my life for the better. I get to stay home with my kids, work from home, and make more money than I would at any other job I’m qualified to do. As for friends, the few close friends I have know of my business, but I think they are still a little skeptical. And I don’t openly promote what I do outside of my business profiles. I never share new posts to my personal Facebook page or ask my social media friends to follow me business profiles. So, my support group is fairly small, but it’s wonderful and full of lots of love and encouragement.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PRODUCT OR TIP?

My best piece of advice, and the one that I drive home in my courses is “don’t compare your Chapter 1 to someone else’s Chapter 15.” This applies to all areas of life. And for a lot of people who are just starting their journaling journey, they are overwhelmed by beautiful spreads on Pinterest and Instagram, and immediately enter a doubtful mindset. I tell people to accept their starting point, no matter where that is, because you can’t change it, and the only way to progress is to try.

WHAT IS ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT YOU?

I run a creative planning website and most people who know me would agree that I am among the best at pre-planning and organization. But, I recently discovered that I may be among the worst wedding planners in history. I’m getting married in July and if I said my wedding plan was pretty solid right now, I would be lying.

You can see her great you tube videos here: