Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Kell.
Hi Heather, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My journey to starting Kellofaplan definitely wasn’t a straight line. I spent nine years in education as a reading teacher and instructional specialist, and I truly loved teaching. I’ve also always been a creative person with a love for paper planners, so in hindsight, it feels like everything was leading me to where I am today.
In 2015, life felt wonderfully chaotic. I had just gotten married, moved to a new city, started a new job, joined a new church, and was trying to keep up with it all. During a teacher training, I noticed another teacher’s beautifully decorated planner, and I was instantly hooked. I eventually bought my first decorative planner after my husband jokingly said, “Would you just buy the planner so we can stop talking about planners?” Little did either of us know, we’d be talking about planners for years to come.
That same year, I started the Kellofaplan Instagram account simply to share my planner spreads. As my audience grew, people began asking how I created different layouts, so in 2016 I launched a YouTube channel to teach others how to “plan a life they love.” I also began partnering with planner brands while continuing to teach full-time.
In 2018, I made the leap to leave education and pursue Kellofaplan full-time. For several years, my business focused on creating planner content, but my audience kept asking for products with my handwriting and lettering. That inspired me to design my very first sticker book. I spent months lettering every word by hand on my iPad, found a manufacturer overseas, and took a huge risk by ordering 1,000 copies.
Those sticker books arrived in February 2020, with a launch date of March 16- right as the world was shutting down due to COVID-19. We decided to move forward with the launch anyway, and to my surprise, all 1,000 sticker books sold out in just one week.
That moment completely changed the trajectory of Kellofaplan. We reinvested every dollar back into the business, slowly expanding our product line one release at a time. We have bootstrapped the company from day one, growing without investors or outside funding. What started as an Instagram account sharing planner inspiration has grown into a multi-million-dollar stationery brand dedicated to helping people plan a life they love.
My dining room slowly turned into a warehouse, and my husband and I spent countless late nights organizing product, packing boxes, and dreaming about what the business could become. He quit his job in 2021 to join me officially as kellofaplan’s first employee.
What started as planner stickers quickly grew into so much more. We expanded into planners, stationery, accessories, journals, and products designed to help people organize not just their schedules, but the lives they wanted to build. Our mission became simple: help people “plan a life they love.”
Like every small business, we’ve experienced incredible highs and difficult challenges. We started the product part of our business right at the start of COVID, so we went through so many trials during those early years. We navigated rapid growth, built an amazing team, moved into our own warehouse, expanded our product line, managed supply chain disruptions, and learned how to lead through uncertainty. We’ve celebrated exciting milestones while also working through seasons that tested us personally and professionally.
One of the things I’m most proud of is that we’ve never lost sight of why we started. We aren’t just selling planners- we’re building a community. Our customers celebrate birthdays with us, share life’s biggest moments, encourage one another, and remind us every day that planning isn’t about having a perfect schedule. It’s about creating space for what matters most.
As my own life has changed, so has the business. Since becoming a wife and mom, I’ve experienced firsthand how different every season of life can be. Those experiences have shaped the products we create, from mom planners to wellness journals to resources that encourage women to give themselves grace instead of striving for perfection.
Today, Kellofaplan has grown far beyond anything I could have imagined when I was packing sticker orders on my dining room table. We’ve grown into a multi-million-dollar company serving customers across the country, launched hundreds of products, built an incredible team, and were recently honored by being named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies.
Looking back, I realize the business was never built overnight. It was built through thousands of ordinary days- early mornings, late nights, mistakes, pivots, small wins, and simply refusing to quit.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned through this journey, it’s that success isn’t about having everything figured out before you begin. It’s about taking the next step, learning as you go, and believing that small, consistent actions can create something far bigger than you ever imagined.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not. While I’m incredibly grateful for where we are today, the road has been filled with challenges, and every stage of the business has brought a different set of obstacles.
In the beginning, the biggest challenge was simply balancing everything. I was teaching full-time while building Kellofaplan during nights, weekends, and school breaks. There were a lot of long days and very little downtime, but I believed in what I was building.
Once I left teaching, the challenges shifted. Every decision carried much more weight because my family’s income depended on the business succeeding. Since we’ve bootstrapped the company from day one, every new product, equipment purchase, and hire had to be funded by the business itself. We grew carefully and intentionally because we didn’t have investors or outside funding to rely on.
Launching our first sticker book in March 2020, just as COVID shut the world down, brought another major challenge. While the launch was incredibly successful, the years that followed were filled with uncertainty. We faced shipping delays, supply chain disruptions, rising material costs, and the challenges of managing rapid growth while the world was changing almost daily.
As the company grew, I had to grow as a leader. Designing products is very different from managing a team, building systems, making financial decisions, and leading a growing business. I certainly haven’t gotten everything right, but every challenge has taught me something valuable.
I’ve also learned how to balance entrepreneurship with the changing seasons of life. Becoming a wife, a mom, and a business owner has taught me that success isn’t about doing everything perfectly. It’s about learning to adapt, staying resilient, and continuing to move forward.
Looking back, I don’t see the struggles as setbacks. I see them as opportunities that shaped both me and the business. Every challenge made us stronger and more intentional, and I believe those experiences are a big part of what has made Kellofaplan what it is today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Kellofaplan is a stationery and lifestyle brand built around one simple mission: helping people plan a life they love.
What began as an Instagram account sharing creative planner ideas has grown into a multi-million-dollar company offering planners, sticker books, journals, stationery, and accessories that are designed to be both beautiful and practical. While planning is at the heart of what we do, our products are really about helping people create systems that reduce stress, celebrate life’s moments, and make room for what matters most.
One thing that sets us apart is that we don’t just sell products. We teach people how to use them. Through our YouTube channel, social media, workshops, and online community, we spend just as much time educating and encouraging our customers as we do designing products for them. We believe that a planner is only valuable if it actually helps someone live a better life.
We’re also incredibly intentional about creating products that grow with our customers through every season of life. Whether someone is a student, teacher, busy professional, mom, small business owner, or simply trying to build healthier habits, we strive to create tools that are functional, inspiring, and adaptable to their unique needs.
Something else I’m especially proud of is that we’ve built our company completely from the ground up. Every product, every hire, and every milestone has been funded by the business itself. We have never taken outside investment, and we’ve grown by consistently reinvesting into our customers, our products, and our team.
Above all, I’m most proud of the community we’ve built. Our customers have become so much more than customers. They celebrate milestones together, encourage one another through difficult seasons, and remind us every day why we do what we do. They have turned Kellofaplan into something much bigger than planners and stationery.
If there’s one thing I hope people know about our brand, it’s that we’re not trying to help people create perfect planners. We’re helping people create lives that feel more intentional, more joyful, and more meaningful, one page at a time.
Any big plans?
I’m incredibly excited about the future of Kellofaplan, but I’ve also learned that success looks different in different seasons of life.
As a business, we’re continuing to expand our product line, reach new customers, and find creative ways to serve our community. We’re always dreaming up new collections, exploring new product categories, and looking for opportunities to continue growing the brand in a thoughtful and sustainable way.
Personally, though, I’m in a very different season than when I started this business. I’m now a mom to two little ones, ages four and two, and that has completely changed my perspective on success. While I absolutely want Kellofaplan to continue growing, my biggest goal right now is to maintain the incredible business we’ve built while pursuing steady, intentional growth that still allows me to be present for my family.
I’ve realized that not every season has to be about chasing the next big milestone. Sometimes success looks like building a business that supports your life instead of consuming it. I want to continue creating products I’m proud of, leading an amazing team, and serving our customers well, while also being there for school programs, family dinners, bedtime stories, and the everyday moments that I’ll never get back.
I’m confident there will be seasons in the future where I’m ready to push for even bigger growth again. For now, I’m grateful to be building a business that allows me to pursue both my passion and my priorities. That’s the kind of life I hope our brand inspires others to create as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kellofaplan.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellofaplan/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellofaplan
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/heatherkell
