Small Business Casual: Content Marketing, Productivity, Customer Experience for Entrepreneurs & Creators

Hosted by Emily Aborn

Business Entrepreneurship

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Welcome to Small Business Casual, where we focus on designing a sustainable, cozy, and thriving business tailored to your LIFE. Not the other way around! Here, small business meets your favorite pair of slippers. It's a little quirky, not too buttoned up, one less accessory, ahhh… just right. From customer service, business productivity, and content marketing to making sense-of-the-behind the scenes, chaos, I walk alongside you as we make life and business less of a roller coaster ride and more like a walk in the park (with snacks, of course!). I offer Small Business Copywriting & Content Marketing Consulting to interior designers, home trade professionals, service providers, coaches, consultants, non-profits, and entrepreneurs with a big mission! Want to be a guest on Small Business Casual? Send Emily Aborn a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/member/smallbusinesscasual I do NOT accept pitches outside of PodMatch.

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September 1, 202629 min

Do We Really Need More "Relatable" Content?

Text Emily! "Just be relatable!" Ahhh, I love me some generic advice overly spewed on the internet, don't you? What exactly does it mean to be "relatable"? How on earth are you even supposed to do that? What if I don't wanna' be relatable? And is relatability really the GOAL? In this episode, I explore how relatability for relatability's sake is about as effective as a bridge that leads to nowhere. I contrast through three real examples that either made me cringe or sign up on the spot, and I break down the three ways relatable content collapses. And of course, because I like my bridges to lead to better destinations... I'll show you how to use relatability to ACTUALLY bring your people closer. You'll Learn: What "relatable content" means and why sometimes, it sounds better in theory than it plays out The difference between content that reaches for connection and "unpopular opinion" bait that's just reaching for attention Flop #1) The bridge that goes nowhere. Aka commiseration in fancier clothes Flop #2) The bridge back to YOU. Vulnerability that U-turns. Flop #3) The bridge built on air. Claiming to relate to something you haven't lived (and where AI makes this worse) The fix for each, and why you need either real empathy OR real authority, not just the manufactured "me too" Takeaways: Relatability is a bridge, not the final destination. The point is to get someone from "this person gets me" to "they can help me get somewhere better." You do not need to have lived someone's exact experience to help them. You do need real empathy or real authority. About me, Emily Aborn! Your Hostess with the Mostess I'm a Small Business Copywriter, speaker, and your loyal and nerdy host of Small Business Casual. I bring 12+ years of entrepreneurial experience and have spent the last eight years writing copy across 122 industries. I help you step into becoming (and sharing) the real YOU. For fun and downtime, I love reading, writing, hiking with friends, and moments of uninterrupted silence. Got a question for the show? Email me at emily@emilyaborn.com . Website: Emilyaborn.com Facebook: Facebook.com/Emily.CatherineGrace LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/EmilyAborn Substack: Smallbusinesscasual.substack.com Listen and Subscribe If this one made you rethink your own "me too" content, follow the show, leave a quick review, and tell me: what's a piece of relatable content that took you somewhere? I'm collecting good examples.

August 25, 202622 min

Fresh Outta' Magic? 5 Ways to Rekindle the Spark

Text Emily! Once you hit the 2, 3, 6... going-on-15-year mark in business... you've come up with A LOT of ideas. So, what do you do when you're fresh out?! When the well runs dry, and things just feel a little... flatlined? In this episode, I'll help you go from ennui to elation as we reinvigorate the spark with some out-of-the-box ideas and experiments (none of which require you to grind harder or drive around on an empty tank). In this episode: Why "I'm not creative enough," is never answer. The power of trying something new, challenging, and with a deadline Going deeper instead of chasing the next thing Gaining outside perspective when you're too up close and personal What you can learn when you commit to "telling about it" How community is KEY to pulling you out of a funk The Experiments: Build excitement and anticipation with a deadline or a date Try something new Get your hands on a challenge Go deeper within (repurposing counts) Gain outside perspective Report or share about it Do it with others Come Refill in Community! Candid Content Day - email me to get on the list for the next one: emily@emilyaborn.com New England Podcasters Group - second Saturday of every month! Join us HERE: newenglandpodcasters.group About Me: Small Business Copywriter and the host of Small Business Casual, with 12+ years as a business owner and 8 years writing copy across 122+ industries. I help you step into becoming (and sharing) the real YOU. For fun and downtime, I love reading, writing, hiking with friends, and moments of uninterrupted silence. Got a question for the show? Email me at emily@emilyaborn.com . Got a Question for the Show? Email Me! emily@emilyaborn.com Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Substack

August 18, 202620 min

Is Consistency for the Birds? Eradicating the hobgoblins

Text Emily! Is Consistency for the Birds? We often treat "consistency" as one of the 10 Commandments of Business. Like changing your mind or backing away is a character flaw. In this episode, I make the case that, at least 50% of the time... it's the other way around, and walking away is being consistent with the truth of YOU. There's smart consistency: Showing up reliably and staying true to your values. And fooolish consistency: Clinging to a decision, a product, or a posting schedule just so you don't look flaky. I get into why changing your mind is often a sign of growth instead of weakness, why consistency and frequency are not the same thing, and the reversals I've made lately in my own business. Main Takeaway: Consistency isn't about staying the same. It's about staying true to who you are while the what, the how, and the how-often are allowed to evolve. Changing your mind might be the most consistent thing you ever do. In This Episode: The difference between smart consistency and foolish consistency Why consistency isn't the same as frequency (and how conflating them can burn you out) How consistency looks different seasonally Why changing your mind isn't always flaky Quotes: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." -Ralph Waldo Emerson "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." - Maya Angelou "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time." -F. Scott Fitzgerald Connect with Me, Emily Aborn: I'm a Small Business Copywriter, Podcast Host of Small Business Casual, and Marketing Strategist with 12+ years as a business owner and 8 years writing copy across 121+ industries. I help you step into becoming (and sharing) the real YOU. For fun and downtime, I love reading, writing, hiking with friends, and moments of uninterrupted silence. Got a question for the show? Email me at emily@emilyaborn.com. Visit my website at: emilyaborn.com If this one landed with you, please like, comment, subscribe, and tell me one thing you've changed your mind on lately. I'll trade you mine!

August 11, 202632 min

Are You Accidentally Turning Your Community OFF?

Text Emily! No one wants to be the bad guy in their own story, of course… but it can go a little too far sometimes. I see it on website after website. Not villains who are posing as saints, but innocent, well-meaning service providers and practitioners who accidentally make themselves the hero of a story that’s supposed to be about their clients! In this episode, we get into what it means to make your clients, customers, readers, and listeners the hero of the story without losing your voice, yourself, or your personal stories in the process. We get into what can accidentally turn your community OFF and make content a little insufferable, and tangible action you can take to fix it. 7 Fixes to make your customer the hero of the story What to avoid when showing empathy and understanding How to keep your experience and expertise in the picture And more! About Emily Aborn Small Business Copywriter by day, host of Small Business Casual by uh... also by day, Emily brings you 12+ years of experience writing across 122+ industries (translation: your project won't be her first rodeo!). She helps you step into becoming and sharing the real YOU. For fun and downtime, Emily's a reader, writer, hiker, and enjoys moments of uninterrupted silence. Got a Question for the Show? Email Me! emily@emilyaborn.com Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Substack

August 4, 202632 min

Keys to Building Something Sustainable & Meaningful with Alex Sanfilippo

Text Emily! I've raved about PodMatch on this show more times than I can count, so when PodMatch founder, Alex Sanfilippo, said YES to being in my guest seat, suffice it to say, I was over the moon! But we didn't just talk podcasting. Alex took us to the lower points behind the highlight reel and a failure he experienced that propelled him to where he is today. From selling used golf balls at age ten to building a company that’s forged endless podcast connections, this episode is part origin story, part masterclass, and part honest conversation about what it actually costs to build something that matters. Conversation highlights: The parts of Alex's entrepreneurial story he rarely shares How PodMatch was born from a whiteboard and a consistent problem What running a business from a place of service (rather than just revenue) changes about how they show up What the best podcast guests do to get invited back and referred, and what makes listeners stick around The data-backed number one factor behind a great episode (spoiler alert: it’s not a natural knack!) Why AI-assisted laziness is making content worse, and where curiosity plays a role The cost of building something meaningful and how to keep perspective when the going gets tough Links Mentioned: Join PodMatch.com : joinpodmatch.com/emilyaborn Quantum Video on Instagram: instagram.com/p/C5lyZkMAKtB/ Age of Audio Documentary: aoamovie.com/ Quotes: “What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.”-Albert Pike "Learn the lessons you can learn while you're in that space, because it might be the very thing that propels you forward." - Alex “The number one contributing factor to what makes a great podcast episode is the time spent on research, planning, and prep before ever getting to the green room.” - Alex About Alex- Links & Resources Alex Sanfilippo is a podcaster and the founder of PodMatch.com, a platform that automatically matches podcast hosts and guests for interviews. Through PodMatch and his podcast titled Podcasting Made Simple, Alex helps independent podcasters grow their influence and revenue so they can better serve their listeners! Instagram: instagram.com/alexsanfilippo7/ Facebook: facebook.com/AlexJSanfilippo LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexsanfilippo/ About the Host, Emily Aborn Emily Aborn | Small Business Copywriter & host of Small Business Casual. 12+ years of copywriting experience in 122+ industries. I help you step into becoming (and sharing) the real YOU. For fun/downtime, I love reading, writing, hiking with friends, and moments of uninterrupted silence. Got a Question for the Show? Email Me! emily@emilyaborn.com Website : EmilyAborn.com | Facebook : Facebook.com/Emily.CatherineGrace | Instagram : Instagram.com/EmilyAborn | LinkedIn : LinkedIn.com/in/EmilyAborn | Substack : substack.com/@emilyaborn

July 31, 202618 min

Should You Put Pricing on Your Website? 5 Service Providers Weigh In

Text Emily! To put pricing on your website or not to put pricing on your website... that is the question! Turns out the answer is more interesting than a simple yes or no! In this special bonus episode, I bring in five expert service providers who share their take and the why behind it. The Quick Decision Rule Selling something standalone and the same price for everyone, like a session or a workshop? Put the number on the page. Doing custom, value-priced work? You don't owe an exact figure, but never go fully silent. Use a "starting at," a range, or "most clients invest between X and Y." The one thing to avoid: a bare "contact for pricing" with no signal at all. That's what makes people assume you're either wildly expensive or about to get pushy. Emily Aborn is the host of Small Business Casual and a Small Business Copywriter. She brings 12+ years of business experience ranging from brick-and-mortar to online and has written copy for clients in 122+ industries. Got a question for the show? Email: emily@emilyaborn.com | Follow on Instagram @EmilyAborn The Experts You'll Hear From - Guest Bios: Jenny Belanger is the CEO and Creative Director of JennyB Designs , a website design studio helping small businesses build sites that attract ideal clients and convert visitors into real leads. With 20+ years of experience in web design and a background in nonprofit and corporate marketing, she simplifies the process so busy small business owners can have a presence they're proud of without the overwhelm. She's also the host of the Website Design Made Simple Podcast, where she shares practical strategies for making more money with your website. jennyb-designs.com | linkedin.com/in/jtaggers | @thejennybdesigns Jessica Lackey is the founder of Deeper Foundations, a consulting and training firm that turns experts into expert business owners through implementing stronger business foundations. She brings a unique blend of corporate expertise and soulful business building, drawing on an MBA from Harvard Business School, a coaching certification from iPEC, and experience at McKinsey & Company and Nike, Inc. Jessica has supported over 200 entrepreneurs through her programs, blending systems thinking, operational rigor, and deep values alignment. deeperfoundations.com | linkedin.com/in/jessica-lackey Chantelle Davis-Gray works with do-good, feel-good businesses to create Squarespace websites and card decks that grow your impact and your income. She's got a unique process of working with only one client at a time, so the work gets done efficiently and collaboratively, without templates or AI. Plus, she's a dog mama, plant lady, and animal lover. chantelledavisgray.com | linkedin.com/in/chantelledavisgray | @chantelledavisgray Barb Davids is the founder of Compass Digital Strategies and host of the Get More Website Traffic podcast. She has over 25 years of experience in digital marketing. Her work emphasizes transparency, practicality, and long-term strategy over trends or quick wins. She's helped service businesses achieve 256% more organic traffic and 51% more sales. When not working, Barb enjoys running with her dog, Stone. compassdigitalstrategies.com | linkedin.com/in/barb-davids | @compassdigitalstrategies Kim Dawson is a business strategist, speaker, and lifelong entrepreneur who has been building businesses since she was seven years old. As the founder of K.Dawson Consulting, she helps creative and service-based entrepreneurs turn their expertise into profitable, sustainable businesses through pricing and revenue strategies built around their goals. Kim is the former host of the Sassy Strategist Podcast and the author of Passion to Profits: Your Guide to Building a Business You Love, an Amazon Bestseller. She's spoken at conferences across the Northeast and is frequently invited to lead workshops on pricing strategy for business owners and entrepreneurs. kdawsonco.com | linkedin.com/in/kimberlybdawson | @kdawson.co

July 28, 202623 min

What If There's Nothing to Prove?

Text Emily! The performing to earn our worth, our rates, our friends, our place at the table, our right to take up space... here's the lesson I keep learning: All that proving doesn't get us the thing. In fact, it usually blocks it. In this episode, we get into the invisible engine of proving and how it can run so much of our striving and doing. I'm sharing candid stories and honest takeaways from letting go of the need to PROVE plus some practices you can put into place right away! Quotes: "What if there's nothing to prove?" -Kevin James Thornton on Jen Hatmaker's podcast "For the Love" @KevinJamesThornton "You don't need to deliver to deserve." -My therapist "Our capacity to make peace with another person and with the world depends very much on our capacity to make peace with ourselves." -Thich Nhat Hanh "I was holding on for dear life, but dear life was waiting for me to let go." - @ReviveYourRoar To Try This Week Catch yourself in the proving. Notice where you're performing instead of just being. Get ahead of it. Before the meeting, the pitch, the occasion, remind yourself. There's nothing to prove. You just get to show up! Keep practicing receiving. Let someone fill the tank, take the help, keep the compliment. Ask Kevin's question. If I had nothing to prove, what would I make, say, or do? Who would I be? Let it be easy more often than not. Spend the bulk of your time with the people and places that make you calm and settled. Places you don't feel you need to prove. About the Host, Emily Aborn Emily Aborn | Small Business Copywriter & host of Small Business Casual. 12+ years of copywriting experience in 122+ industries. I help you step into becoming (and sharing) the real YOU. For fun/downtime, I love reading, writing, hiking with friends, and moments of uninterrupted silence. Got a Question for the Show? Email Me! emily@emilyaborn.com Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Substack Listen & Subscribe If this one landed, follow the show, leave a quick review, and tell me where in your life you're ready to believe there's nothing to prove. I'd love to hear it.

July 21, 202640 min

Receiving Cash & Compliments

Text Emily! We spend a whole lot of energy trying to make more, attract more, and sell more, but very little on learning how to actually receive what's already trying to reach us. This week, I'm talking about the unglamorous missing link in so many "abundance" conversations: Building (slowly) the capacity for the receiving. We get into why receiving is so hard, what it's costing us, and a toolkit of small reps for letting more of the good stuff land. Don't worry, this one isn't going to involve crystals, vision boards, or affirmations taped to your bathroom mirror, I promise. Why it can be hard to receive as business owners, even though the whole point is making money... The Upper Limit Problem, and how we self-sabotage our way back to baseline right when things are going well What compliment deflection really doing Making receiving cash easier A practice toolkit you can start today Quotes & Resources From This Episode: "You don't have to deliver to deserve." (Courtesy of my therapist :)) "If you live by the compliment, you will die by the insult." @notetosoul on Instagram Your Receiving Toolkit (Pick One or Two This Week) The full-stop thank you. Compliment, cash, or gratitude comes your way? You just say thank you. No deflecting or just swapping it out for another compliment. The receiving inventory (idea courtesy of Ande Lyons @andelyons ) . Write down everything you receive, big or small, and celebrate it. The upper-limit catch. Right after a win, watch for the self-sabotage urge, then name it. Practice receiving in low-stakes. Let someone carry the bags or buy the coffee. Build the muscle where nothing's on the line. The receipts file (aka the happy file). Keep every kind word, review, card, and testimonial in one place, and reread them when scarcity creeps in. The price-raise experiment. Nudge your next proposal up a smidgeon, watch nothing bad happen, and notice what stories come up. Additional Resources Last week's episode on charging your worth with Karen Kenney: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2160062/episodes/19403787 The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks (book) About the Host, Emily Aborn Emily Aborn is a Small Business Copywriter and the host of Small Business Casual, with 12+ years as a business owner and 8 years writing copy across 122+ industries. She helps you step into becoming (and sharing) the real YOU. For fun and downtime, Emily's a reader, writer, hiker, and enjoys moments of uninterrupted silence. Got a Question for the Show? Email Me! emily@emilyaborn.com Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Substack

July 14, 202647 min

What Does it Mean to Charge Your "Worth"? with Karen Kenney

Text Emily! "Charge your worth." You have heard it a million times, I've heard it a milliona nd one. And, between you and me...I'm tired of it! It's that it's wrong or bad advice, but no one every takes time to stop and ask the question underneath it... What is "worth"? How do I know what my worth is to charge it?! And can it really come down to a number we slap on a website or a proposal? To help unpack my many questions, I brought in my good friend and constant collaborator Karen Kenney! We get into what worth actually means, what to do when you do not feel worth anything to begin with, the real difference between self-worth and market value, and what is happening in your body when you undercharge or give your work away. In this episode, Karen Kenney and I get into: Why "charge your worth" might be missing the point What "worth" even means, especially when you do not feel worth anything What happens in your body and nervous system when you undercharge or give your work away Where to even start finding your worth when you have no internal compass for it Self-worth versus market value, and how tangled together the two really are What to do when you are afraid to step into being worthy One tangible practice you can use today to start rebuilding your sense of self-worth Make sure to listen for Karen's three R's: Resist, Relaxed, and Resent, and what they tell you about setting prices! Upcoming Podcast Workshops: So, You Wanna' Start a Podcast? | Friday, September 25th 10am-1pm, VIRTUAL: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1993150705414?aff=oddtdtcreator Wanna' Be a Better Podcast Guest & Host | Friday, October 16th 10am-1pm, VIRTUAL: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wanna-be-a-better-podcast-guest-host-tickets-1994683692620?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true About Karen Kenney Bio, Links & Resources Karen Kenney is a writer, speaker, podcaster, certified spiritual mentor, and coach. She’s known for her dynamic storytelling, her sense of humor, her Boston accent, and her no-bullshit approach to spirituality, self-development, and transformational work. She's been a yoga teacher for 25+ years, has been a Thai Yoga Massage practitioner since 2008. She's also a Gateless Writing Instructor, the creator of WRITE CLUB , and the host of The Karen Kenney Show podcast . She coaches clients individually in her 1-to-1 program: THE QUEST and in her HEART-TO-HEART DAYS using Voxer. She also leads a group program and community called THE NEST. About the Host, Emily Aborn Emily Aborn | Small Business Copywriter & host of Small Business Casual. 12+ years of copywriting experience in 122+ industries. I help you step into becoming (and sharing) the real YOU. For fun/downtime, I love reading, writing, hiking with friends, and moments of uninterrupted silence. Got a Question for the Show? Email Me! emily@emilyaborn.com Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Substack

July 7, 202626 min

AI "Tells" & What They're Costing Us

Text Emily! "It's not X, it's Y", the rhetorical "honestly?" and oh, the em-dashes! The overt tells and ... the little gut feelings when you suspect AI... what are they costing us? When our readers and listeners' spidey senses go up, when their AI radar is activated, it can quietly cost you their trust. Which means it can also cost you business. In this episode, I walk through 10 AI "Tells" and why they matter. I also give you permission NOT to overthink and scrape your copy clean of all of them because there are always two sides to the coin. At the end of the day : You don't prove you're human by deleting em dashes, stopping your overuse of adverbs, and stripping out the Oxford commas. You prove it by being the version of you that can't be faked. Stop asking "how do I avoid looking like AI and instead, start asking "how do I sound unmistakably like me!? R esources & Links: The Atlantic - Why AI Is Incorrigibly Didactic https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/06/ai-writing-style-literature/687536/ Forbes - The 7 Deadly Tells of AI Writing https://www.forbes.com/sites/charliefink/2025/06/12/the-seven-tells-of-ai-writing/ Joe Casabona - 3 Signs You've Got AI Brain Rot (and How to Prevent It) https://streamlinedsolopreneur.com/ai-brain-rot/ Visit my website to learn more & connect: Emily Aborn is a Small Business Copywriter and the host of Small Business Casual, with 12+ years of copywriting experience across 122+ industries. I help you step into becoming (and sharing) the real YOU. For fun and downtime, I love reading, writing, hiking with friends, and moments of uninterrupted silence. Got a question for me or an idea for the show? Email me at emily@emilyaborn.com. Website : emilyaborn.com Facebook : @emily.catherinegrace Instagram : @emilyaborn LinkedIn : @EmilyAborn Substack : @SmallBusinessCasual