Emily Aborn Consulting

Sometimes, the smallest pieces of advice have the biggest impact. For Emily Aborn, just nine simple words, “You need to get out there and meet people!” completely transformed the trajectory of her life and business. What began as a winding journey through multiple careers, industries, and entrepreneurial ventures ultimately led her to discover the perfect intersection of her passions: words, connection, and business ownership. Today, as the founder of Emily Aborn Consulting, she credits those life-changing words and the relationships that followed for shaping the thriving business she runs.

How can just a few, simple words change the entire trajectory of your life?

From an extremely early age, Emily Aborn knew two things: she wanted to be a business owner, and she loved words. Her grandparents on both sides were entrepreneurs, and she has fond memories of quizzing her mother on medical terminology for a course she was taking at just four years old, and of locking herself away in her room, preferring alone time with a book to television.

The road less paved

Despite her love of reading and writing, Emily went to college for a secondary passion, health and wellness, at the time not fully realizing the career potential in writing. With the goal of becoming a health teacher, she graduated with a degree in Community Health Education and Nutrition. Out of college, she worked in chiropractic offices, gyms, health food stores, and various small businesses, and served as an Executive Assistant for a large corporation. She admits she’s had more jobs than she's had years of age, often working at several at a time to keep herself busy. 

While she and her husband lived in Raleigh, NC, she found herself working for a couple who owned an organic mattress and bedding store. Their first keyholder employee, Emily, assisted them with administrative tasks, sales, marketing, copywriting, and customer experience.

Another pivot in 2014 took her and her husband, Jason, back to New Hampshire, where they've lived since. This is where Emily would finally discover the intersection of all her passions: business ownership, her background in health education, and the power of words.

The entrepreneurial journey begins

They decided to open an organic mattress store in Amherst, NH, called Tucked in Organics. Emily had experienced a solid business and revenue model while working for her former employers and knew she could make it work in the health-minded Souhegan Valley.

Together, they ran a successful business for four years until they hit a bump in the road. Bed-in-a-box alternatives were springing up everywhere in the mattress industry, and business came to a screeching halt. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts and a lot of patience, it didn’t seem to be picking up. Emily learned about the SBDC from a friend and contacted them right away to help increase cash flow.

She was paired with business advisor Amy Bard, who brought firsthand retail experience and helped Emily and her husband make major decisions about the direction of the business.

They were doing all the right things on paper: a solid brand, website, and SEO; great customer service; local advertising; social media marketing; and more.

Amy gently offered Emily advice: Nine words that changed her life forever.

“You need to get out there and meet people!” Specifically, Amy was encouraging her to break out of her shop’s four walls, form relationships, and meet in person with like-minded businesses. Emily took the advice to heart, and then some, and made it her mission to meet everyone she possibly could. She forged collaborations with business owners throughout the region and took every opportunity to connect.

At the same time, Emily and her husband were taking the next steps to sell their business. Amy provided thoughtful guidance every step of the way, referring them to a broker to list the business for sale. They had several potential buyers who fell through, and eventually Emily and Jason made the difficult and unfortunate decision to close the store and start fresh.

This left Emily needing to decide what to do next. Amy stood by her side, exploring options. During the transition, business owners she’d met along the way came to Emily for help with their copywriting and marketing. Seeing her write for her mattress store, they wanted to hire her to do the same for them. Emily kept saying “Yes” and, in just four months, had built up a clientele of 13 retainer clients before they’d even officially closed the store.

One more “side hustle” before I go...

While running her copywriting business, in 2018, Emily also founded She Built This, LLC, an organization for women entrepreneurs. It started as a local annual event and expanded rapidly into an online membership with workshops, a podcast, group masterminds, and community support and marketing opportunities. Emily engaged with the SBDC again to refine the structure of She Built This and increase marketing and revenue. After trying to singlehandedly juggle two growing businesses for four years, Emily made the decision, with SBDC’s intentional listening and expert guidance, to focus entirely on her copywriting business.

The SBDC’s support has made all the difference

Today, Emily and SBDC business advisor Amy Bard are working together to improve efficiency, increase revenue, and expand on existing opportunities. Emily loves having Amy as a sounding board and a listening ear for new ideas, as well as learning about the many educational opportunities and resources available.

As a professional copywriter, Emily supports small businesses and non-profits with messaging and marketing. She’s also the host of the Small Business Casual podcast, providing business owners with resources and education about marketing, customer experience, and more. She collaborates closely with the Hannah Grimes Center in Keene, NH, and offers workshops and events to help local small business owners thrive.

Emily's advice to her fellow business owners?

It echoes what Amy shared with her back in 2016. “Get out there and meet people!” “You never know what life-changing words you'll hear from the next person you connect with.”

For Emily, Amy’s much-needed message didn’t just change her business; it became a vital part of her philosophy as a business owner.

Every client relationship, every podcast conversation, every workshop she leads is rooted in the power of connection and the belief that the right words, at the right time, can change everything. Your words matter. And sometimes, the most important ones are the simplest: Get out there. Meet people. Say yes!

Emily is ever grateful for her unpaved, winding path because it led her to exactly where she needed to be.