Unlocking Me: What My First Digital Product Sale and What I’d Do Differently
written by Allison Santana 5/1/2025
I still remember the exact moment my phone buzzed.
I was sitting at home, in the middle of a slow, beautiful morning with my kids. The sun was pouring in through the window, and we were all doing our own thing, laughing, lounging, just vibing.
And then it happened.
That ding.
That first notification.
“Congrats! You’ve made a sale!”
My heart dropped in the best way. I stared at the screen for a second like, “Wait… did this really just happen?”
It wasn’t a million-dollar payday. But it meant everything. That one sale (the Unlocking You mini workbook I created for people with ADHD using ChatGPT) proved to me that my ideas were valid, my story had value, and I could make money online, ethically, helping others.
What I Sold and Why It Mattered
My first sale was a digital workbook I created during one of my own spirals of overwhelm. I was trying to juggle motherhood, entrepreneurship, and my ADHD brain that felt like it had 72 tabs open at once. So I built the exact system I needed: a bite-sized workbook that teaches people how to use ChatGPT to streamline tasks, organize thoughts, and stop feeling so dang scattered.
I called it Unlocking You. Because that’s what it felt like. Unlocking a version of myself I thought I had to keep buried under stress and executive dysfunction was freedom.
And someone bought it. And then someone else bought it!
But here’s the part I want to be honest about: it took me longer than it should have to get to that first sale. And if I could go back, there are three things I would’ve done differently to get there faster.
1. Lower the Emotional Stakes
I made it too deep, too big. I tied my entire identity to whether or not someone would buy from me. That kind of pressure will straight-up choke your creativity and consistency.
If I had focused on progress instead of perfection, I could’ve launched sooner. You don’t need a million-dollar funnel. You need a solution and a link. That’s it.
2. Create ONE Clear, Low-Ticket Offer
At first, I had too many ideas and was trying to juggle multiple digital products at once. But clarity sells. Confusion stalls.
What finally moved the needle? A $9 product solving one real problem for one specific type of person. If I had started with that mentality, I would’ve been celebrating that first sale weeks earlier.
3. Focus on 1% Daily Wins, Not Giant Leaps
There were days I let fear shut me down because I wasn’t seeing massive, viral success. But success isn’t loud at first. It’s a whisper. A tiny win. A post that gets 5 likes instead of 2. A friend asking for your link. One more email sent. One more caption posted.
Those 1% daily efforts compound into momentum. Momentum leads to money.
You Don’t Need to Be Perfect. You Just Need to Start
My first sale taught me more than any course ever could. And I want that feeling for you too. You don’t have to wait until you feel “ready.” You don’t need a fancy website, a team, or a degree in marketing.
You need:
A real problem to solve
A simple solution to offer
The guts to show up for yourself daily
If you're stuck at square one like I was, I invite you to grab the exact mini workbook that started it all: Unlocking You. It's available now inside my Stan Store and it's designed for overwhelmed minds like ours.
Let’s stop holding ourselves back. Let’s unlock what’s next.