Maximizing Your Creative Business with Notion

What is Notion?

Notion is a program that acts as a digital notebook. It’s a space where you can keep your notes and valuable information. It’s kind of like the Google apps but all in one place. You can create workspaces and embed photos, create spreadsheets, tables, and trackers.

I used to keep all of my business notes in my Google Drive. This worked for a while but made it hard to find things quickly even if I had them organized into folders. When I started using Notion I found that it was the perfect program to create a business hub that housed all of my information to make it easily accessible. I still use Google apps but I can easily link them so they are all in one place. The best part is that Notion is both web-based and you can download the app. This allows me to access my business information from my phone or on my laptop wherever I am.

Why should you consider Notion for your creative business?

Notion allows you to store all of your business notes in one place. As a freelancer, I’m often away from my computer when inspiration strikes or I am out and about when I meet someone I might want to work with or find a product company that I want to remember. Having Notion on my phone allows me to organize that information and store it to review later. I don’t have to remember to search my photos for that one thing I felt inspired by or to go through my contacts for that person I talked to. It’s organized and easily accessible.

Here are the main reasons I would consider using Notion:

• It's easily accessible anywhere online or via the app

• All your resources, notes, and information are stored in one central place

• You can easily add bookmarks for resources you find on the go

• You can embed images and create databases of your artwork for quick review

• You can create templates to quicken your workflow

• Great for client management

• Keeps you organized

• You can share workspaces for collaboration - I do this with clients

I have definitely fallen in love with Notion and am obsessed with creating my own business hub. If you are not sure where to start, here is what I’ve included in my business hub:

• Business Planning Section

  • Goals - I keep track of monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals

  • To-do lists - I maintain a monthly to-do list here

  • Brainstorming - I have a brain dump page that I can add stuff when I am on the go or just have ideas I need to put somewhere

• Business Admin Section

  • Branding guidelines - here I store information about my brand personas, fonts, colors, etc.

  • Finances - here I track my spending, monthly finances, revenue sources, etc.

  • Business Information - Here I store things like my EIN, account information, etc.

• Content Planning Section

  • I keep a tracker of blog ideas, monthly blog schedule, and resources for my blogs

  • Email marketing - this is where I plan out my email schedule and content

  • Social content - here are my social ideas and notes

  • Content calendar - here is my overall schedule for all my content and any monthly themes or ideas

• Clients

  • I manage all of my freelance clients here and sometimes create a separate page for each client to house all of their resources as well.

  • I have a pitch list that has all the company information, dates of pitching, etc.

  • Licensing tracker - since I am a licensing artist I keep track of my licenses, the artwork licensed, and the terms of the license here

• Sales Section

  • Shows - I have a tracker with notes about the shows I participate in such as booth fees, photos of my displays, notes on what sells, etc.

  • Wholesale/Consignment tracker - I have my products at some local spots so I keep track of my sales there and what products they have

  • Product Ideas - I have a brainstorming page for ideas for future products

  • POD - I keep track of the print-on-demand sites I’m on, what designs, and sales information

• Networking Groups section

  • I have a page for each of the networking groups I meet with to keep notes

• Education Section

  • Workshop notes - I like to attend different workshops so I keep track of all my workshops and notes for them in one place

  • Conferences/tradeshows - I keep track of conferences and tradeshows I would like to go to and when they are, for planning purposes

  • Reading list - I enjoy reading business books and professional development books so I keep track of them here and whether I’ve started them or not

If this seems like a lot, it can be. I didn’t create all of this at once. I started with one thing and then just kept adding to it. If you are interested in creating your own hub but are feeling intimidated, I’m currently working on a Creative Business Hub template to sell. Let me know in the comments if you are interested in that and you’ll be the first to know.

Notion Tips

I would recommend downloading the app on your phone, iPad, and computer. That way you can quickly access your information wherever you are and on whatever device you have.

Build a habit of regularly updating your hub and reviewing Notion. It’s only a great tool if you actually use it. I start every workday reviewing my Notion to-do list. If you create a habit of checking it, you will find it easier and more useful to use.

If you have an idea of something you want to add to your notion board such as a tracker, do a quick search online for templates. Sometimes someone has already done the work for you and you can download a free template or pay for one. It will save you time and give you a starting place if you are feeling overwhelmed.

If you would like to add something and you don’t know how just do a quick Google search for a tutorial. There are so many online and they are super helpful when you’re stuck.

I hope this inspires you to at least try out Notion. If you are interested in my template, please let me know! It has truly been a game-changer for me.