How Cecilie Used PLR to Build a $5K/Month Business Working Just 2–3 Hours a Day

This is an interview with Cecilie Aslaksen of The Rippling Wings.

Hey, Cecilie! Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.

Hi! I’m a business growth strategist, where I help other business owners make more money by simplifying their businesses. The aim is to avoid overwhelm and burnout, and find work/life balance, which by the way does NOT mean that there’s only two elements to the equation. 

I’ve got an accountant degree, and before starting my first business, I worked the normal “9-5” regime.

I’ve built my online business while raising 3 children on the spectrum, one of them also has a physical disability. And I’ve also had to overcome – or more accept – my own anxiety, depression, ptsd and chronic pain to build my business.

How did your online business journey start?

My online business adventure started back in 2009, after I hit the wall mentally and physically late 2008, and I had to take a U-turn, in all honesty, to survive. 

I actually started with a fabric shop, and I was the first business/person in Norway, to get my own designs printed on fabric, and then resell it. I had both B2B and B2C customers, from all over the world, and on all continents except Africa. 

But my chronic pain in my arms and pelvic, made me have to look into digital products and courses instead.

So in 2013 I closed my online fabric shop, and started helping other moms with children on the spectrum, and create printables as a tool to help them on their journeys.

When did you start your brand The Rippling Wings?

I branded myself back in 2020, right before the pandemic hit. Before that, I had different names, kind of someone “all over the place”, but I mainly used my own name. My fabric shop was called CeTho.

Why the Rippling Wings? Because, for some reason, I’ve always been fascinated with Butterflies. Those tiny, weightless flying creatures, with multiple colors and intricate patterns. 

Also, over the years that I had already been working online, I saw the ripple effects my teachings and my products had on others, so it was kind of a no-brainer name for me.

What did the early stage of your business look like?

I was very fortunate to get some great B2B deals, on top of my own designs, where I was allowed to sell other people’s branded fabrics, some of them also under my own name. 

So that was actually the first time I encountered PLR, without realising what it was.

How long did it take before you felt confident enough to go full-time?

I had no other choice than to go all in from the get go, because I needed the income. It was never an option to go back to my previous job, because of my burnout, so it was all or nothing from day 1.

But all in, does not mean the same as full time. I have never worked full time in my online businesses. 

This is because of the work/life balance I’ve had to find, where I could be there for my children, with all that comes with special needs. But also to be there for myself, and at the same time make enough money to pay my bills. 

My workdays are sometimes 0 hours, and sometimes 6 hours. But I guess an average of 2-3 hours a day, 5 days a week. But I’m in a position where I can take a few days off, whenever needed. 

How did you discover PLR products?

As I mentioned: When I first encountered PLR, in 2009, I didn’t know what PLR was. And I didn’t know that that’s what I was selling.

But back in 2019, I was searching for ways to reach more people than just the parents to kids on the spectrum. And during one of these searches, I came across PLR in different variations, including digital products. 

I was already creating printables, so I discovered that I was able to easily change those into PLR products instead of just personal use, as I was currently selling. And that by doing so, I could charge a higher price, and give others the option to earn money from what I’d created.

I researched every PLR provider I could find online, built a long list, and reached out to all of them individually, asking if they’d consider contributing to a bundle I wanted to host. I was a complete stranger to all of them, but many said yes.

And honestly… The rest is history.

For someone new to this world, how would you explain what PLR is and how people can use it?

PLR is a Private Label Rights product. Someone else has created it, and you’re allowed to sell it as your own, but you can not claim copyright to it.

Normally if you’re selling other people’s products, you need to pay commissions or royalty fees of some sort, but with PLR you pay for the product once, and that’s it.

If you buy a PLR product, it’s made ready to sell. But since many people can buy a specific PLR product, it’s recommended that you change some parts of it – design, add some more content or other things.

This is so that you can launch it as a unique product.

What are your current income streams? And what does your business earn these days?

I have products on Etsy and on my different websites. I have books on Amazon and I have a membership. I also participate in bundles. And because of these income streams, I have an email list that I can sell to as well.

After working online for 16+ years, I’ve now turned my focus more towards course creation, whether it’s on how to host bundles, how to launch a product, how to create printables and more. 

So while PLR has gotten me to where I am, it’s currently not my main income stream, that’s my courses and membership.

In 2025, I’ve intentionally reduced my working hours, and most of my business now runs on automation. Basically it’s been a year relying on bundles and my membership. The backdrop is a family issue, and I’m hoping to scale back up in 2026, as my goal is to retire my husband, without overwhelming myself by doing so.

Given that I do not, and have never, worked full hours in my business, I’m happy to make $5K+ each month, without much effort. And if I need more money one month, I can launch a product or two.

I’m really thankful for all my customers, and grateful for being able to have built a business that pays my bills, without having to work full-time.

My goal has never been to get rich from my online business. It was always to replace my 2008 income without burning out – and paying off debt… and PLR helped me do exactly that, in addition to so much more.

Do you use AI in your business? If yes, how?

Yes. I use ChatGPT, and I’ve started using Claude.

I like creating from scratch, so I haven’t bought bundles of ready made AI bots, I rather create them myself.

I’m using ChatGPT to help me optimize text on sales pages and structure text to make it flow more easily. I’m Norwegian, so writing English in an easy-to-read-mode isn’t always straightforward when I have a lot on my mind.

And of course, it’s unfortunately too easy to use for newsletters. Which is why I’ve stopped doing that.

I’m currently looking for ways to keep my voice in the coaching part of my business, but use AI as a supplement. 

Funny note; I used the (now hated by the whole world) em-dash long before ChatGPT existed. I think I even used it in my school days, back in the ‘80-ies. But because that tool uses it constantly, I’ve had to stop using it myself. Somewhere along the way, because of ChatGPT, I felt like I lost a bit of my natural writing voice… 

What types of products sell best?

Digital planners, those with hyperlinks that you can use on your tablet are popular. And seasonal planners too, especially Christmas themed items.

The digital planners are of course popular, because you can bring them wherever you go, without them taking up space in your purse. And of course, they’re environmentally friendly too, as you don’t have to use paper to print them.

For the Christmas themed planners and items, I think it’s pure emotions, and the longing to create happy, lasting memories for your children – or go down memory lane yourself.

You’ve also run memberships. What was your experience like creating and managing them?

I have a membership called Draft to Profits, where I use my “Life Panel Framework”. That framework consists of 7 different pillars that I’ve found essential to master to find the work/life balance we all crave.

Having a membership is a great way to get recurring revenue each month, but it’s also a great way to showcase your portfolio. You can create products, and then when you’ve done launching them, you can add the whole product, or pieces of it to the membership. 

For me as a multipassionate person, that’s a great way to get to use everything that I finish, I just wish I would finish more.

That said, it’s important to not overdeliver. Do drip feeding instead. If people who are new to your world, get into a membership where there’s hundreds of teachings, and no path laid out, they’ll cave, and cancel.

So the first membership I created, I actually stopped all activity and cancelled all subscriptions, because I had so many cancellations within the first month, and the feedback I got was that it was too overwhelming. 

And then I re-launched a simpler version, and a more streamlined one. 

What have you learned about selling online over the years?

Things change quickly online, and if you’re not ready to adapt, or change direction, you’ll risk losing in the long run.

Any tips for launching digital products that convert well?

Find something that interests you.

If you like painting, you could create multiple products around that. Maybe a checklist of what materials you have a stock of, maybe a schedule for when a painting needs to be finished, maybe a tracker for orders.

I’m not a painter, I’m just trying to give examples.

What does your content strategy look like now?

I don’t have a content strategy. I create what I want, when I want to.

If I were to have any strategy, it’s to finish some of the many projects I’ve started on, and also focus more on physical and mental health in my creations.

How do you decide what to create, and how often do you publish new content?

Whenever I get an idea, or inspiration, I start creating it. But I don’t always finish what I start. So I have a lot of half-done-products on my hard drive. 

I read an email one afternoon, suggesting “to create an AI coach”, as a way to use AI. Those 5 words. 

2 hours later, I launched my AI coach to my email list, and made quite a few sales within an hour.

All it took was one of my most popular courses, less than 1 hour of work, a discounted price, and voila – a brand new product. 

I try to create at least one new product each week. And most of them these days are included in bundles, instead of being put up on my website for sale. 

How do people typically find you for the first time?

Through bundles and summits – either from bundles I host myself, or from those I participate in. 

Do you have any favorite tools or systems?

Oh man, I’ve used so many tools over these 16+ years online. 

At the moment I’ve landed on Flodesk as my ESP (after I learned to tag and segment people, I love how easy it is to use, and the price is affordable). I also use Teachery, MemberVault and Thrivecart.

Through these platforms I have my affiliates, my products, and my email correspondence covered. 

For recording I’m using Zoom. And for content creation I’m using Canva.

I try to use as few tools as possible. After all, I’m all about simplifying things. But sometimes, using the right tool is what actually creates the simplicity.

What do you wish you knew when you were just getting started?

That I didn’t need all the tools I thought I needed. Not for my fabric shop, and not for my digital products.  

Of course, when you sell products, it’s important that they showcase the products in a good way. So a good website would be something I should have invested in from the beginning. 

I also wish I knew that I should have had a freebie to collect email addresses. The money is in the list, no doubt about that.

How do you see the future of digital product businesses?

I really believe a shift is happening. Or more like, I think we’re already in the middle of it. 

Everywhere you look, there are new AI tools popping up, to a point where it’s overwhelming. At least it feels that way to me.

And with all of these new tools, I feel there’s a growing mindset that we don’t need anything else than AI anymore.

No courses or PLR. No books or coaches. No websites or ad-experts. Just AI.

Because of that, a lot of business owners are seeing their income drop.  And the people who want to start a business are stuck, just watching AI generate the same things that they’ve dreamed of creating themselves.

I think it’s all about utilizing AI, in addition to your own knowledge, and your own skills. A supplement. 

If you have a course, create an AI coach to guide your students through the material. If you have a PLR printable, show people how they can use a specific AI tool to customize it.

I’ve heard coaches say that PLR is dying. I don’t believe that.

But I do think PLR needs to become something more than it has been. A simple PDF isn’t enough anymore. Digital products need more depth. Like videos, audio, supporting materials, and AI tools. 

And honestly, I think those of us in the PLR niche would benefit from coming together, through bundles or a summit, focusing solely on helping buyers understand how PLR can support them, especially in this new AI-driven era.

What’s next for you and The Rippling Wings?

I have just launched my new book, and I’m hopeful it will find its audience. In it, I open up about my own upbringing and the ways early experiences follow us long into adulthood, all the way until we face them, and begin to heal.

On the creative side, I’ve also started building my own AI tools to pair with my existing courses and PLR products. For me, it feels like it’s a natural next step, including AI but also staying grounded in the work I’ve spent years creating.

For my membership, I’ve started adding some of the AI tools I’m creating, and hopefully this will give it that extra “umpfh” that I feel it’s needing. 

I’m planning new courses, not just for business growth, but also for physical and mental well-being, and I’m currently debating with myself whether to release them as PLR or not. 

I truly believe courses created by someone who has truly lived the journey hit differently than generic, fully AI-generated content, that often lacks accuracy or depth.

You can ask ChatGPT about everything, but you will never get the feeling of having felt the issue in question.