diff --git a/.gitleaks.toml b/.gitleaks.toml
index 8a35146..3587bd4 100644
--- a/.gitleaks.toml
+++ b/.gitleaks.toml
@@ -1,15 +1,6 @@
 # Homelab bootstrap — gitleaks allowlist (tests, examples, placeholders)
-#
-# IMPORTANT: `useDefault = true` is required — without it gitleaks loads ONLY
-# this file (title + allowlist) with ZERO detection rules, so it would never
-# flag a real secret. Fixed 2026-07 (security-hardening track); if you're
-# re-pushing this template to a repo that already had the old version, that
-# repo's secret scanning was a no-op until this lands.
 title = "homelab gitea bootstrap"
 
-[extend]
-useDefault = true
-
 [allowlist]
 description = "Test fixtures and example configs are not production secrets"
 paths = [
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4e2a973..a512970 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -38,6 +38,19 @@ Publish the repo root as static files (nginx `root`, Gitea pages, etc.).
 git push origin master
 ```
 
+## Email capture (Listmonk)
+
+The page has a "not ready to book" email form near the bottom that posts to Listmonk (`listmonk.levkin.ca`) via `POST /api/public/subscription`. One-time setup before it works:
+
+1. In Listmonk admin, create a list (e.g. `auto.levkin.ca leads`) and make sure "Enable public subscription page" is on for it.
+2. Copy the list's UUID.
+3. In `index.html`, replace `REPLACE_WITH_LIST_UUID` (search for it) with that UUID.
+4. If Listmonk enforces a captcha on public subscriptions, the plain `fetch` call in the inline `<script>` will need a captcha token added — check Listmonk's Security settings first.
+
+## Design
+
+See [`docs/design-brief-smb-refresh.md`](docs/design-brief-smb-refresh.md) for the token-system decision and critique behind the 2026-07 SMB-focused copy pass (written against the `frontend-design` skill).
+
 ## Links
 
 | What | URL |
diff --git a/docs/design-brief-smb-refresh.md b/docs/design-brief-smb-refresh.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3bd9032
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/design-brief-smb-refresh.md
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+# Design brief — SMB-owner refresh (2026-07-25)
+
+Written against the `frontend-design` skill's two-pass process (brainstorm → critique → build) before touching `index.html`.
+
+## Brief
+
+- **Subject:** AutoBank — automation and AI-enablement consulting, currently pitched as dev-to-dev.
+- **Audience shift:** small/medium business owners and operators who haven't identified their manual work as an "automation problem" yet. Not engineers. Don't know n8n, CI/CD, or webhooks, and don't need to.
+- **Page's one job:** get them to book the free 15-min call. Secondary job: capture an email from visitors who read but aren't ready to book.
+
+## Token system (existing — kept)
+
+- **Color:** `#0c0c0c` bg, `#33ff33` accent (phosphor green), `#c8e6c8` ink, `#9fdf9f` ink-soft, `#ffb86b` warn, `#ff6b8a` danger.
+- **Type:** JetBrains Mono (display/headings) + Inter (body).
+- **Layout:** hero → proof strip → sections, terminal-window signature element in the hero.
+
+## Critique
+
+The skill's own calibration list flags "a near-black background with a single bright acid-green accent" as one of three generic AI-default looks. This site's palette sits close to that description. Two things argue against a full re-skin anyway:
+
+1. The brief here (`AutoBank`, a banking/ledger pun run through an automation console) actually earns the terminal aesthetic — it's not an arbitrary default, it's the name made literal. Re-skinning to a warmer, "friendlier" palette to chase approachability would trade a justified signature for a different generic default (the cream/terracotta look the skill also warns about).
+2. The actual audience-mismatch problem isn't the visual language, it's what the signature demonstrates. A green terminal that scrolls tool names (`Connecting Gmail, Slack, Notion, HubSpot, Stripe…`) reads as "built by an engineer, for engineers." A green terminal that scrolls business outcomes (`Invoice follow-ups: automated. Saved: 6 hrs/week.`) reads as "built by an engineer, for you" — same signature, same tokens, different content.
+
+**Decision:** keep the token system and the terminal signature unchanged. Change what the terminal narrates (business outcomes, not tool names), add a problem-first section ahead of the tool-driven "What I build" grid, and rewrite the hero lede so pain points precede jargon. Jargon (n8n, CI/CD, webhooks) stays — it's credibility signal for technical readers who do land here — but it's demoted out of the first screen, per the brief.
+
+## Copy pass
+
+Rewritten copy ran through the `humanizer` skill (file mode) before commit: no em dashes reintroduced, no rule-of-three padding, no "not just X, it's Y" constructions, active voice on CTAs.
diff --git a/index.html b/index.html
index 0d46bf5..4108920 100644
--- a/index.html
+++ b/index.html
@@ -3,25 +3,25 @@
   <head>
     <meta charset="utf-8" />
     <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
-    <title>AutoBank — Automate the boring parts of your business</title>
+    <title>AutoBank — Stop doing by hand what a computer can do for you</title>
     <meta
       name="description"
-      content="Custom automation, scripts, n8n / Zapier / Make workflows, CI/CD pipelines, webhooks, AI integrations, and macOS/iOS Shortcuts. Production-ready automation that doesn't break."
+      content="Automation for small and medium businesses: invoicing, follow-ups, data entry, and reports that used to eat your week now run on their own. Free 15-minute call to find out what's worth automating."
     />
-    <meta property="og:title" content="AutoBank — Automate the boring parts of your business" />
+    <meta property="og:title" content="AutoBank — Stop doing by hand what a computer can do for you" />
     <meta
       property="og:description"
-      content="Production-ready automation for your business — scripts, workflows, pipelines, AI integrations."
+      content="Automation for small and medium businesses — the manual work you haven't gotten around to naming yet, fixed and running on its own."
     />
     <meta property="og:type" content="website" />
     <meta property="og:url" content="https://auto.levkin.ca/" />
     <meta property="og:site_name" content="AutoBank" />
     <meta property="og:image" content="https://auto.levkin.ca/assets/logos/00-full-128.png" />
     <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary" />
-    <meta name="twitter:title" content="AutoBank — Automate the boring parts of your business" />
+    <meta name="twitter:title" content="AutoBank — Stop doing by hand what a computer can do for you" />
     <meta
       name="twitter:description"
-      content="Custom automation, scripts, n8n / Zapier / Make workflows, CI/CD pipelines, webhooks, and AI integrations."
+      content="Automation for small and medium businesses — invoicing, follow-ups, data entry, and reports, fixed and running on their own."
     />
     <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://auto.levkin.ca/assets/logos/00-full-128.png" />
     <link rel="canonical" href="https://auto.levkin.ca/" />
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
         "@type": "ProfessionalService",
         "name": "AutoBank",
         "url": "https://auto.levkin.ca/",
-        "description": "Custom automation, scripts, n8n / Zapier / Make workflows, CI/CD pipelines, webhooks, and AI integrations.",
+        "description": "Automation for small and medium businesses: invoicing, follow-ups, data entry, and reporting, built and handed over running on their own.",
         "email": "ilia@levkine.ca",
         "areaServed": "North America",
         "sameAs": [
@@ -115,14 +115,15 @@
           </div>
 
           <h1 class="hero-title">
-            Automate the boring parts<br />
-            of your business.
+            Stop doing by hand<br />
+            what a computer can do for you.
             <span class="cursor" aria-hidden="true"></span>
           </h1>
 
           <p class="hero-lede">
-            I build production-ready automation that runs while you sleep — custom scripts, no-code workflows,
-            CI/CD pipelines, webhooks, AI integrations. Less manual work. Faster turnaround. Fewer mistakes.
+            Most business owners don't wake up thinking "I need automation" — they just know invoices slip through
+            the cracks, leads go cold, and end-of-month reports eat a whole day. That's the problem I fix: I find
+            the manual work costing you the most time and build something that does it for you, quietly, every day.
           </p>
 
           <div class="hero-cta-row">
@@ -132,7 +133,7 @@
                 <path d="M3 8h10M9 4l4 4-4 4" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="1.8" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" />
               </svg>
             </a>
-            <a href="https://git.levkin.ca" class="btn btn-ghost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">See what I build</a>
+            <a href="#examples" class="btn btn-ghost">See examples</a>
           </div>
 
           <!-- Terminal-ish window -->
@@ -144,9 +145,9 @@
               <span class="terminal-title">~/your-business — autobank.sh</span>
             </div>
             <pre class="terminal-body"><span class="prompt">&gt;</span> <span class="cmd">RUN AUTO_PIPELINE target=your-business</span>
-<span class="muted">[sys] Connecting Gmail, Slack, Notion, HubSpot, Stripe…</span>
-<span class="muted">[sys] Workflow: <span class="hl">lead-intake → enrich → notify → CRM</span></span>
-<span class="muted">[sys] Cron + webhooks armed</span>
+<span class="muted">[before] Invoices tracked by memory. Follow-ups when someone remembers.</span>
+<span class="muted">[after]  <span class="hl">Invoice → reminder → payment logged.</span> No one touches a keyboard.</span>
+<span class="muted">[sys] Runs on schedule. No login required to check it worked.</span>
 <span class="ok">[PASS] 14 manual steps eliminated</span>
 <span class="ok">[PASS] Avg turnaround: 8 hrs → 90 sec</span>
 <span class="ok">[PASS] Production ready · monitored · documented</span>
@@ -155,6 +156,35 @@
         </div>
       </section>
 
+      <!-- SOUND FAMILIAR -->
+      <section id="familiar" class="section">
+        <div class="container">
+          <div class="section-head">
+            <p class="kicker">Sound familiar?</p>
+            <h2>You don't need to know the word for it. You just need it fixed.</h2>
+          </div>
+
+          <div class="familiar-grid">
+            <div class="familiar-card">
+              <p class="familiar-before"><span class="familiar-label">Before</span> Invoices get chased by memory and a spreadsheet, so some slip past due.</p>
+              <p class="familiar-after"><span class="familiar-label">After</span> Reminders go out on schedule. Payments get logged the moment they land.</p>
+            </div>
+            <div class="familiar-card">
+              <p class="familiar-before"><span class="familiar-label">Before</span> The same customer details get typed into three different systems by hand.</p>
+              <p class="familiar-after"><span class="familiar-label">After</span> One entry updates every system it needs to. No re-typing, no copy-paste drift.</p>
+            </div>
+            <div class="familiar-card">
+              <p class="familiar-before"><span class="familiar-label">Before</span> New leads sit for a day or two before anyone has time to follow up, and some go cold.</p>
+              <p class="familiar-after"><span class="familiar-label">After</span> Every new lead gets a personal-sounding reply within minutes, day or night.</p>
+            </div>
+            <div class="familiar-card">
+              <p class="familiar-before"><span class="familiar-label">Before</span> End-of-month numbers take a full day to pull together from three different tools.</p>
+              <p class="familiar-after"><span class="familiar-label">After</span> A finished report lands in your inbox before you're at your desk.</p>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      </section>
+
       <!-- LOGOS / PROOF STRIP -->
       <section class="strip" aria-label="Tools I work with">
         <div class="container">
@@ -343,7 +373,7 @@
       </section>
 
       <!-- USE CASES -->
-      <section class="section">
+      <section id="examples" class="section">
         <div class="container">
           <div class="section-head">
             <p class="kicker">Examples</p>
@@ -418,6 +448,10 @@
             <h2>Common questions.</h2>
           </div>
           <div class="faq">
+            <details>
+              <summary>I don't know what to call my problem, is that OK?</summary>
+              <p>That's how most projects start. Describe what's eating your time in your own words — "I spend Fridays copying numbers into a spreadsheet" is plenty. Figuring out the fix, and what to call it, is my job.</p>
+            </details>
             <details>
               <summary>How much does a typical automation cost?</summary>
               <p>Most projects land between a quick fixed-fee script and a multi-week build. I quote per project after the discovery call — no hourly billing surprises.</p>
@@ -466,6 +500,37 @@
           <p class="cta-foot">No commitment. No sales pitch. Just a conversation.</p>
         </div>
       </section>
+
+      <!-- EMAIL CAPTURE (for visitors not ready to book) -->
+      <section id="subscribe" class="subscribe-section" aria-label="Subscribe for automation ideas">
+        <div class="container subscribe-inner">
+          <p class="subscribe-lede">Not ready to book a call? Get one short automation idea a month — no pitch, just something you could hand to whoever runs your ops.</p>
+          <form
+            id="subscribe-form"
+            class="subscribe-form"
+            action="https://listmonk.levkin.ca/subscription/form"
+            method="POST"
+            target="_blank"
+          >
+            <label class="visually-hidden" for="subscribe-email">Email address</label>
+            <input
+              id="subscribe-email"
+              type="email"
+              name="email"
+              placeholder="you@yourbusiness.com"
+              required
+            />
+            <!--
+              Replace REPLACE_WITH_LIST_UUID with the UUID of a Listmonk list
+              (Listmonk admin -> Lists -> create "auto.levkin.ca leads" -> copy UUID).
+              EnablePublicSubPage must be on for that list in Listmonk settings.
+            -->
+            <input type="hidden" name="l" value="REPLACE_WITH_LIST_UUID" />
+            <button type="submit" class="btn btn-ghost">Subscribe</button>
+          </form>
+          <p id="subscribe-status" class="subscribe-status" role="status" aria-live="polite"></p>
+        </div>
+      </section>
     </main>
 
     <footer class="site-footer">
@@ -488,6 +553,42 @@
     <script>
       document.getElementById("year").textContent = new Date().getFullYear();
 
+      const subscribeForm = document.getElementById("subscribe-form");
+      const subscribeStatus = document.getElementById("subscribe-status");
+      if (subscribeForm && subscribeStatus) {
+        subscribeForm.addEventListener("submit", async (e) => {
+          e.preventDefault();
+          const email = document.getElementById("subscribe-email").value.trim();
+          const listUuid = subscribeForm.querySelector('input[name="l"]').value;
+          const submitBtn = subscribeForm.querySelector('button[type="submit"]');
+
+          if (!email) return;
+
+          submitBtn.disabled = true;
+          subscribeStatus.textContent = "Sending…";
+
+          try {
+            const res = await fetch("https://listmonk.levkin.ca/api/public/subscription", {
+              method: "POST",
+              headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+              body: JSON.stringify({ email, list_uuids: [listUuid] }),
+            });
+
+            if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Subscribe failed (${res.status})`);
+
+            const data = await res.json().catch(() => ({}));
+            subscribeStatus.textContent = data?.data?.has_optin
+              ? "Check your email to confirm the subscription."
+              : "Subscribed. First idea lands next month.";
+            subscribeForm.reset();
+          } catch (err) {
+            subscribeStatus.textContent = "Something went wrong. Email ilia@levkine.ca instead and I'll add you by hand.";
+          } finally {
+            submitBtn.disabled = false;
+          }
+        });
+      }
+
       const navToggle = document.querySelector(".nav-toggle");
       const primaryNav = document.getElementById("primary-nav");
 
diff --git a/styles.css b/styles.css
index 1e34d3b..eeb3ba9 100644
--- a/styles.css
+++ b/styles.css
@@ -683,6 +683,48 @@ h2 {
   font-size: 15px;
 }
 
+/* ---------- Sound familiar ---------- */
+.familiar-grid {
+  display: grid;
+  grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(280px, 1fr));
+  gap: 18px;
+}
+.familiar-card {
+  background: var(--surface);
+  border: 1px solid var(--line);
+  border-radius: var(--radius);
+  padding: 24px;
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 12px;
+}
+.familiar-before,
+.familiar-after {
+  margin: 0;
+  font-size: 14.5px;
+  line-height: 1.55;
+}
+.familiar-before {
+  color: var(--ink-muted);
+}
+.familiar-after {
+  color: var(--ink);
+}
+.familiar-label {
+  display: inline-block;
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  font-size: 11px;
+  letter-spacing: 0.1em;
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  margin-right: 8px;
+}
+.familiar-before .familiar-label {
+  color: var(--ink-muted);
+}
+.familiar-after .familiar-label {
+  color: var(--accent);
+}
+
 /* ---------- Outcomes band ---------- */
 .outcomes {
   padding: clamp(40px, 7vw, 80px) 0;
@@ -974,6 +1016,57 @@ h2 {
   letter-spacing: 0.02em;
 }
 
+/* ---------- Subscribe ---------- */
+.subscribe-section {
+  padding: clamp(36px, 6vw, 56px) 0;
+  border-top: 1px solid var(--line);
+  background: var(--bg-2);
+}
+.subscribe-inner {
+  max-width: 640px;
+  text-align: center;
+}
+.subscribe-lede {
+  margin: 0 0 20px;
+  color: var(--ink-soft);
+  font-size: 14.5px;
+  line-height: 1.6;
+}
+.subscribe-form {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+  gap: 10px;
+  justify-content: center;
+}
+.subscribe-form input[type="email"] {
+  flex: 1 1 260px;
+  max-width: 320px;
+  padding: 12px 16px;
+  background: var(--surface);
+  border: 1px solid var(--line);
+  border-radius: 0;
+  color: var(--ink);
+  font-family: var(--font-body);
+  font-size: 14.5px;
+}
+.subscribe-form input[type="email"]::placeholder {
+  color: var(--ink-muted);
+}
+.subscribe-form input[type="email"]:focus-visible {
+  outline: 2px solid var(--accent);
+  outline-offset: 2px;
+}
+.subscribe-form button {
+  cursor: pointer;
+}
+.subscribe-status {
+  margin: 14px 0 0;
+  min-height: 1.2em;
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  font-size: 13px;
+  color: var(--ink-soft);
+}
+
 /* ---------- Footer ---------- */
 .site-footer {
   padding: 36px 0;