Shiny New Clients! – “How to be Tech-Averse and Still Run an Online Business”

Host: Jenna Harding (Warriner)
Date: September 29, 2025
Episode Length: ~20 minutes

Episode Overview

In this episode of Shiny New Clients!, Jenna Harding tackles a common fear among online business owners: technology overwhelm. Speaking candidly from her own experiences as a self-declared “tech-averse” entrepreneur, Jenna shares personal anecdotes, lessons learned, and actionable advice for anyone struggling to integrate technology into their small business. She emphasizes that even if you’re not naturally tech-savvy, you can still run a wildly successful online business by approaching tech investments thoughtfully, avoiding common mistakes, and focusing on simplicity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tech Fear is Common, Even Among Successful Entrepreneurs

• Jenna opens up about her journey from “being the last person in her friend group to get on Instagram” to running a thriving online business.
• She reassures listeners:

  “If you're intimidated by tech...I totally understand. This did not come naturally to me.” (01:20)

• Relates to listeners’ tech anxieties, such as fear of choosing the wrong software or subscription.

2. Service Businesses Have an Advantage—But Don’t Let Tech Costs Spiral

• Service-based and online businesses generally have higher profit margins because their main expenses are people and some software, not physical products or storefronts.
• Jenna’s anecdote about accidental overspending on Airtable highlights how easy it is to let software costs get out of control:

  “I was adding team members willy-nilly...And I was like, ‘Hey, aren’t Airtable bills like $300? Is that normal?’...Oops.” (05:00)

• Mistakes with tech spending can cause hesitancy in future investments—but should not lead to tech avoidance.

3. Personal Story: You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

• Jenna recounts a misadventure as a 21-year-old moving into a sweltering attic apartment in Toronto and making herself ill trying to stay cool:

  “Sometimes you don’t even know enough to Google what you don’t know. One of my favorite things to say is: you don’t know what you don’t know.” (09:30)

• Moral: Many business bottlenecks are solvable through tech, but you have to know solutions exist before finding them.

4. There’s Almost Always a Software Solution

• Flag inefficiencies, repeated annoyances, or clunky processes in your online business—there is most likely an easier, tech-assisted way to handle them.
• Jenna provides a free downloadable document listing every tool she uses, plus “beginner tech stacks” for different business models.
• She stresses the importance of choosing tools that will scale with you (e.g., starting with Kit for email instead of Mailchimp):

  “You could start email marketing with Mailchimp, but eventually you’re gonna have to transfer… So instead, I recommend you start with Kit.” (13:35)

5. Your Clients Don’t Know There’s a Better Way

• Just like listeners may not realize their tech bottlenecks can be fixed, clients of your business may not know there’s an easier, faster, better way you can show them.
• This is also a core principle in Jenna’s program, Magic Marketing Machine:

  “Your job in your marketing is to show them there’s a better way to do this, that’s easier, that’s faster, that’s cheaper, that feels better.” (15:20)

6. Permission to Make Tech Investments

• If something in your business is slow or draining, and a low-cost software could help, it’s worth considering that expense:

  “When it comes time to make an investment in your business...make that investment.” (19:30)

7. Approach Content Creation—And All Tech Tasks—With a Fresh Perspective

• Jenna encourages listeners to revisit “painful” tech or batching processes, trusting that with the right approach (and mindset), it can be both fun and efficient:

  “You haven’t tried it my way. Do you think I, the queen of fun, don’t have a fun way for batching content? Trust me—there’s a better way.” (17:25)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Being Tech-Averse:

  “One time I cried having to set up an automated calendar. My friends never let me live it down.” (01:40)

• On Business Tech Mistakes:

  “We make these mistakes and then we fear investments in our business and then we fear signing up for new tech—even though we’d drop $100 on a pair of pants super easily...” (06:15)

• On ‘Not Knowing’:

  “Sometimes you don’t even know enough to Google what you don’t know.” (09:40)

• On Using Tech to Fix Annoyances:

  “If there is an annoyance in your business...I’m just gonna tell you right now, there’s a better way to do it. There is a solution out there.” (11:45)

• On Batching Content:

  “Come on. Trust me. You know I have a better way up my sleeve for you to batch your content and create more content quickly and spend less time on your phone. It’s my whole thing.” (17:40)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00 | Jenna’s introduction, framing the tech-fear topic | | 01:20 | Jenna’s confession: tech didn’t come easily to her | | 05:00 | Airtable overspending and accidental software scaling | | 09:30 | Jenna’s attic apartment story and “you don’t know what you don’t know” | | 11:45 | There’s always a tech solution—flag inefficiencies in your business | | 13:35 | Email tools, tech stack recommendations, and scalability | | 15:20 | The marketing lesson: your audience also doesn’t know there’s a better way | | 17:25 | Making batching content fun and efficient—even for the tech averse | | 19:30 | Encouragement to invest in tech that smooths out your processes |

Practical Takeaways

• Audit your business for points of tech friction. If you’re doing anything inefficiently, there is probably a software solution.
• Be mindful of subscription bloat. Always check how billing works for team members or additional features.
• Start with robust tools that’ll grow with your business (e.g., Kit for email rather than tools that you’ll outgrow quickly).
• Don’t let past tech mistakes hold you back. You’re not alone, and making thoughtful choices going forward pays off.
• Explore Jenna’s free tech stack guide (linked below the episode) for recommendations tailored to online service businesses.

Episode Tone

Conversational, self-deprecating, empowering, and practical. Jenna combines warmth and vulnerability with “tough love” encouragement so listeners feel seen in their tech struggles and motivated to try small tech upgrades.