The driving idea behind This is Small Business is that entrepreneurship thrives on community. Every entrepreneur needs a network of support—people who can inspire them with their stories, offer practical advice, and help them make decisions or take their next big leap.
At its core, This is Small Business aims to be that community. Each episode features diverse small business owners sharing their paths to success and the challenges they faced along the way. It’s a weekly guide for anyone looking to start, run, or grow their own small business.
For Season Five, our overarching goal was to foster deeper connections with our listeners—primarily early-stage entrepreneurs—by sharing uplifting stories of resilience. These stories showcase how others have overcome some of the toughest challenges in business, providing inspiration and actionable insights for listeners.
Whether it’s growing your business through social media, finding a manufacturer to bring your idea to life, or figuring out how to price your product, This is Small Business offers a supportive community and practical guidance.
Hosted by Andrea Marquez, an aspiring small business owner eager to learn it all, and brought to you by Amazon, This is Small Business is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs along their journey with a perfect blend of empathy, encouragement, and expertise.
Bringing Season 5 of This is Small Business to life started with a clear and intentional foundation: defining our goals, refining our understanding of our target audience, and establishing the season’s overarching theme. We knew that every decision needed to serve early-stage entrepreneurs, so we prioritized selecting diverse voices and compelling stories that could inspire and inform. This groundwork guided both the production process and our audience growth strategy, ensuring the season would resonate deeply with listeners.
One of the key challenges was keeping the content fresh and relevant. We constantly asked ourselves: Has this topic been discussed at length elsewhere? If so, can we offer a new perspective or highlight an overlooked angle? To overcome this, we engaged directly with our audience and small business owners. Through conversations and surveys, we discovered what entrepreneurs struggled with most and what they wanted to learn. Their feedback shaped our editorial calendar, allowing us to craft episodes that directly addressed their needs while providing actionable insights.
Another unique feature of the season was our storytelling approach. By blending personal anecdotes from business owners with expert analysis, we created a dynamic listening experience that balanced relatability with authority. This mix ensured the content appealed to both aspiring entrepreneurs and seasoned business owners looking for fresh perspectives.
In essence, Season 5 of This is Small Business stood out because of its thoughtful planning, creative execution, and unwavering commitment to serving the entrepreneurial journey. By listening to our audience, embracing innovation, and addressing real-world challenges, we delivered a season that was both exciting and deeply meaningful.
We successfully met our objective of delivering entertaining and educational content tailored to early-stage entrepreneurs, and our results underscore this success.
From an analytics perspective, Season 5 set new records for all-time downloads, achieved significant growth in follower counts, and maintained high “Time Listened” metrics over consecutive months. These metrics reflect not only increased interest in the podcast but also strong engagement from our target audience, indicating that the content resonated deeply with listeners.
Our promotional strategies also contributed to our success. We ran highly effective cross-promotion campaigns with podcasts that shared similar themes, such as Goal Digger, Business School, and Young and Profiting with Hala Taha. Additionally, our targeted paid media campaigns reached the right audiences through podcasts like Side Hustle Show and Marketing Secrets Show, bringing in a steady influx of new listeners who aligned with our entrepreneurial focus.
Moreover, we maintained a consistent top-100 ranking in the USA > Entrepreneurship category on Apple Podcasts, further demonstrating our strong presence in the competitive podcasting space.
