New year, new journal.
Many of us are kicking off 2023 with a new planner or agenda. You might even turn to YouTube for inspiration on how you might design your weeks and months by following the bullet journal method. Created and popularized in 2013 byRyan Caroll, who previously appeared on our podcast and shared with ushow he created the bullet journal methodfor productivity and organization. Bullet journaling has become popular among artists and creators alike.
One creator who has become synonymous with bullet journaling is Amanda Rach Lee.
With a community of more than two million on YouTube, Amanda makes videos where she draws monthly spreads for her bullet journal. Since 2019, Amanda has turned her passion for drawing into a stationery business,Shop Amanda Rach Lee, offering a range of notebooks and accessories.
Amanda’s community and success are built through a decade of consistent content creation. Amanda started making videos in her bedroom while still in high school.
“I was just an avid YouTube watcher,” Amanda says. “So I was like, ‘yYou know what? I can do this too.’ And I started making them just for fun, and I didn't think anyone would see it.”.
Through years of creating lifestyle videos, Amanda found her niche in 2017 when she decided to give bullet journaling a try and documented the process.
Bullet journaling “was something that really resonated with me, because I was always that girl with all the stationery, cute highlighters, and stickers,” she says. “So I loved the idea of having everything in a little notebook.”
Once Amanda found her community enjoyed her bullet journaling content, she invested more time in creating those videos, which ultimately led her to launch her own stationery line in 2019.
Shop Amanda Rach Lee sells directly to customers online by offering bullet journals and other stationery accessories like tote bags and washi tapes.
Amanda’s content creation career has blossomed in many other areas beyond her own business. She also had the opportunity to work with brands like Sephora, Adobe, and Google.
When asked about the one piece of advice she wants to share for content creation, she says getting started and publishing even when you feel like your content isn’t perfect is the most important thing.
Amanda says, “I’ve always tried to tell myself, especially after readingBig Magic[by Elizabeth Gilbert] is, ‘Done is better than perfect’ because nothing’s ever going to be perfect, and if you’re waiting for something to be perfectly packaged, then you’ll just hold yourself back and you'll never do it.”
Getting started with content creation is just one of the main topics Amanda covered during our interview. Tune in to our full episode to hear how Amanda incorporates feedback into her product design process and what new projects she’s excited to launch in the new year.
