A Micro-Lesson for Etsy Sellers on Pricing Their Products Using AI-Generated Google Sheets

Lesson Plan

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Topic and Learner Context

This micro-lesson supports women Etsy sellers who want to price their handmade products confidently and sustainably. The majority of Etsy sellers are women, and many are self taught creators who didn’t have the same access to business classes, financial literacy, or spreadsheet training as others.

Women entrepreneurs often face barriers such as underpricing, doubt about the value of their labor, and a lack of affordable tools for cost analysis. Many also juggle caregiving and full time work, leaving little time for formal training.

This lesson uses a scaffolded approach. It starts with simple, manual Google Sheets skills to build confidence. Then it shows learners how AI can take over the repetitive or technical work, creating more advanced tools that women can use daily in their business.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to:

1. Manually create a basic pricing sheet in Google Sheets using simple formulas.
2. Explain cost, labor value, markup, and profit in their own words.
3. Use AI to recreate the same basic sheet automatically.
4. Prompt AI to build a more advanced multi tab costing and pricing workbook.
5. Describe how AI reduces barriers related to confidence, financial literacy, and technology access for women entrepreneurs.

Instructional Materials

• Internet connected device
• Gmail Account for Google Sheets Access (free)
• AI tool such as ChatGPT or Claude (free)
• Example prompt handout
• Screenshot of the instructor’s completed workbook

Instructional Procedures

The lesson follows a scaffolded “build confidence first, then introduce AI” structure.

Part 1. Setting the Context: Why Google Sheets? (3 minutes)

Explain that Google Sheets is free and works on any device. It’s accessible for women who may be building businesses on limited budgets or shared devices.

Mention that Excel is also powerful but requires a paid Microsoft 365 subscription. The goal of this lesson is equity, so free and accessible tools are used first.

Part 2. Manual Beginner Lesson: Build a Simple Pricing Sheet (10 minutes)

This instructional step builds foundational confidence before AI is introduced.

Step A: Create a Basic Materials Table

Learners create these columns manually:

• A: Material
• B: SKU
• C: Unit Type (each, ounce, sheet)
• D: Cost per Unit
• E: Quantity
• F: Extended Cost

Step B: Introduce Labor as a Cost

Explain that their time has value. Add:

• Material: Labor
• SKU: LABOR01
• Unit Type: minute
• Cost per Unit: =HourlyRate/60

Learners enter three materials and see how easy data entry can be. Along with labor which is generally undervalued and sometimes forgotten in the pricing.

Step C: Simple Markup for a Sale Price

Introduce the beginner friendly pricing formula: =TotalCost * 1.33

Explain that this 33 percent increase covers fees and produces a simple profit.

This entire manual lesson gives them the mindset: “I can do this.”

Part 3. Show the Advanced Workbook Built by AI (3 minutes)

Now show the multi tab workbook that was created with AI and includes the following sheets:

• Materials Master List
• Product Build tabs
• Drop down menus
• Automatic formulas
• Master Product List that calculates suggested pricing

Then explain, “AI built this for me.” This moment reinforces that learners don’t need advanced spreadsheet skills to run a business.

Part 4. Transition: Now Let AI Recreate the Simple Sheet (5 minutes)

Learners give AI this prompt:

Prompt:
“Create an empty Google Sheet template with these columns:
Material Name, SKU, Unit Type, Cost per Unit, Quantity, and
Total Cost. Add a formula in the Total Cost column to calculate
Quantity × Cost per Unit.”

Learners compare AI’s output to what they built manually. Also, learners will open the AI artifact in Google Sheets to see how the item created can be used.  They see the connection between human understanding and AI automation.

Part 5. Skill Expansion: Add AI Prompts Step by Step (10 minutes)

Now learners ask AI to expand the sheet’s complexity, while learning the language used in workbook / google sheets construction, understanding how to verbalize the information they need to the AI and test the results:

Step 1. Ask AI for multiple tabs

Materials tab
Product Build tab

Step 2. Ask AI for formulas to link products across tabs

Learners learn how tabs work.

Step 3. Ask AI how to create a drop down menus

This introduces data validation without fear.

Step 4. Ask AI how to build (or to build) a Master Product List sheet

The system now becomes a business tool.

Step 5. Ask AI to add markup and profit formulas

Learners see how their product prices populate automatically.

AI now takes over the repetitive or technical tasks, while the learner makes decisions.

Part 6. Closing Reflection (5 minutes)

Learners write a short response:

• “How did the manual steps help you feel more confident?”
• “What tasks did AI take over that used to feel overwhelming?”
• “How might you use AI for other business tasks you’ve avoided?”
• “How did this lesson support you as a woman entrepreneur?”

Assessment

Learners demonstrate their understanding through practical work and several short “test your knowledge” quizzes.

1. Practical Submissions

Learners submit:

1. A screenshot of their manually created Google Sheet.
2. A link to the AI generated multi tab workbook they created.
3. A short explanation of cost, labor, markup, and profit in their own words.
4. A reflection on how AI reduced barriers for them as women entrepreneurs.

2. Knowledge Check Quizzes

These are short, low stakes quizzes designed to reinforce understanding rather than evaluate performance. They appear at the end of each scaffolded step

Equity Considerations

Women entrepreneurs face real structural barriers. Traditional gatekeeping requires credentials, software, time, or training.

This lesson responds to those inequities directly. It starts with a low pressure manual activity to build confidence. It then shows how AI can automate repetitive tasks, explain formulas without judgement, translate instructions into any language, and serve as an always available business assistant.

By learning AI skills in a business context, women gain the access to tools they weren’t offered in school, in their community or in the workforce.

Understanding how to use AI in business is a transferable skill.  It can help someone unfamiliar with running a business learn to build systems to analyze costs, calculate profit, build spreadsheets, create documentation, and manage inventory.

This approach aligns with Moore’s argument in The Design Models We Have Are Not the Design Models We Need, which calls for instructional design that acknowledges real inequities and designs solutions that reduce them.

The lesson also reflects principles from A Framework for Making Ethical Decisions, which encourages designers to make choices that expand access and dignity.

By the end of the lesson, women entrepreneurs have a practical pricing tool, a better understanding of their labor value, and a new confidence in using AI to support their business growth.