Marie Poulin transitioned from agency job to full-time freelance, discovered online education, and created a software product called Digital Strategy School to teach designers how to utilize Notion strategically.
Marie found success and growth by consistently providing value, being helpful, and establishing herself as a reliable resource, which is crucial in today's competitive landscape.
Designing a business around your natural abilities and aligning it with your personality and strengths, while emphasizing personalized attention and high-touch interactions, can lead to fulfillment and success.
Deep dives
The Excitement and Discovery of Notion
Marie discovered the productivity tool Notion and became obsessed with its capabilities. She started sharing her experiences with notion through webinars, YouTube videos, and office hours, which caught the attention of the Notion team. She decided to double down on her passion for Notion and created a course called Digital Strategy School to teach designers how to utilize the tool strategically. This marked the beginning of her journey as the 'Notion person'.
Transitioning from Agency Job to Freelancing
After working at an agency, Marie transitioned to full-time freelancing, finding clients through word-of-mouth referrals, networking, and providing valuable services to her clients. She discovered a niche in working with online course creators and gained insights into the trends and patterns of online business success. This led her to explore the world of online education and create her own digital product, Digital Strategy School.
Building Notion Mastery and Success
Marie's passion for Notion led her to create a YouTube channel dedicated to the tool. She shared videos, tutorials, and tips, which gained traction and caught the attention of the Notion team. This resulted in collaboration opportunities, including notion office hours. Encouraged by the positive response, Marie launched Notion Mastery as a pilot course. The demand was overwhelming, and she realized the potential for growth. Notion Mastery has since become a successful and lucrative venture, providing valuable education and resources to its students.
The Power of Generosity and Helping Others
Being known for being helpful and valuable is a key strategy in audience building. By consistently providing value and being willing to help others, you establish yourself as a reliable resource. This approach is particularly important in today's competitive landscape, where trust and shared values play a significant role in purchasing decisions. Building a reputation as someone who is genuinely willing to help is a powerful way to attract attention and gain traction in your business.
Designing a Business Around Fun and Personal Strengths
Designing a business around your natural abilities and what brings you joy is key to finding fulfillment and success. This involves aligning your business model with your personality and unique strengths. Inconsistency can be acceptable as long as you consistently show up in ways that align with your strengths. Emphasizing personalized attention and high-touch interactions, such as group calls and mentorship, can create more meaningful connections with your audience. By focusing on fun, fulfillment, and genuine human connections, you can build a successful business that brings joy to both you and your customers.
Marie Poulin is the creator of Notion Mastery. Marie helps ambitious business owners design their life and business systems, so they can make space for growth.
Notion is one of her favorite tools for making your goals visible and taking action on your ideas, and she loves showing folks how to use it to Supercharge their productivity.
Marie educates people on how to use Notion on YouTube and through Notion Mastery, her 12-month, semi-guided learning journey. She provides video instruction and all kinds of templates as a starting point, which she pairs with weekly live office hours, an online community, live demos, coaching hot seats, and even some additional workshops.
In this episode, we talk about Marie’s transition from agency job to full-time freelance, her discovery of online education, her foray into creating a software product, the origins of Notion Mastery, and why her inconsistency hasn’t slowed her down one bit.