Overcoming Challenges in the Notion Template Market

Software engineer Jean-Rémi (JR), stumbled upon Notion in 2022 and was instantly hooked. Witnessing the creator community sharing templates sparked an idea, leading to the birth of Notionglobe in 2023.

JR strategically used free templates to build his audience and experiment with various niches. Leveraging his existing skills, he bootstrapped the business, minimizing costs. Finding the sweet spot for his paid templates proved to be the biggest hurdle. His solution? Cultivating an audience via email marketing and social media first.

Motivation wasn't always easy, so JR built a roadmap with clear goals to stay on track. His entrepreneurial wisdom emphasizes the importance of hard work and realistic expectations. He encourages new ventures to have a plan, research the market, and be prepared for setbacks.

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how it led you to where you are now?

I'm Jean-Rémi from France, but everyone calls me JR, whether it's my family or friends. I work as a software engineer and co-founded my own company with two other associates in 2019. In 2022, while working in IT, I came across Notion, an incredible all-in-one tool that became indispensable to me. The following year, inspired by numerous creators selling their templates, I began sharing my own and creating new ones. That’s how I started Notionglobe.

What inspired you to start your business?

I absolutely love Notion! What truly inspires me is the power of this tool. Its endless capabilities allow you to create and transform countless ideas into products.

How did you come up with the idea for your business?

What truly decides me is witnessing other creators sharing their knowledge with others through their Notion templates. That got me thinking, why not me?

Were there any particular market trends or gaps you noticed that influenced your decision to start this business?

Definitely the Notion templates business

What were the initial steps you took to launch your business?

First, I analyzed what other creators were doing, what was working or not, and what the current trends were. Then, I began by creating free templates to assess my work. The positive responses were great! Encouraged by this, I continued to develop more free templates to explore various activity sectors.

How did you fund your Digital Business initially?

Notion business does not need funds, that's what makes it great! Maybe a few monthly subscriptions but nothing more!

Did you face any challenges or obstacles during the early stages, and how did you overcome them?

Maybe my first challenge and still here until today is finding a good pricing for my products. It’s really hard to establish as you need to take into consideration a lot of factors.

What strategies did you use to grow your business?

Mostly building free templates to grow my email list and my social media audience. Also, to become a bit known in the Notion sphere before creating paid products.

What tools do you use for your business?

I use a lot of tools every day! Notion for organization, MailerLite for email marketing, Instagram and X for social media, Framer for website building, Figma for design, and many more!

How did you acquire your first customers?

I think it was through a Notion marketplace, maybe Prototion if I’m not mistaken.

Can you share any significant milestones or turning points in your business's growth journey?

The biggest turning point is when I released my first paid product. It's a whole other game to convert paid customers, haha. And you realize what you really need to focus on.

What have been some of the biggest challenges you've faced as an entrepreneur?

Motivation, I would say. It's not easy to stay motivated every day. Some days are really good and some days are bad, where you feel like you want to give up. But I overcame it because I set a roadmap with numerous goals. So even on bad days, I just stick to my roadmap and keep moving forward. Without this, maybe I would already have given up.

What lessons have you learned from these challenges?

That nothing comes easy haha. You need a lot of hard work to have results, more than I was thinking when I started.

Is there anything you would do differently if you could go back and start over?

Not really I think, so far I’m quite satisfied. Maybe building my products faster and being less perfectionist in the beginning hahaha.

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out as an entrepreneur?

Come up with a plan and a strong roadmap, and of course, evaluate your market first. Without this, you can hit a wall because you may lose your motivation sometimes. And you need to be able to face this challenge. I started not even 1 year ago, and I saw so many creators give up already.

What are some common misconceptions about starting a business that you'd like to address?

Don't believe the creators who claim that earning $10k per month is easy. You don't know their backgrounds and what they have been through. Nothing is easy, and everything requires hard work. Even earning $1k per month will not happen overnight. Be aware of this or you will easily give up.

Is there any particular mindset or approach that you believe is crucial for entrepreneurial success?

A strong motivation and consistency are crucial, in my opinion. You need to have a strong "why" to keep your motivation.