On the “Scale Her Up” podcast, Dr Brenda Hector MBA from ActionCOACH UK talks to female business owners who are building, scaling and redefining business success; and each episode brings conversations with founders and leaders who share real experiences to help you grow with confidence and clarity.
I was recently interviewed by Brenda for the “Scale Her Up” podcast and in the episode we talk about social media strategy, finding your audience, the realities of running a business and how to show up online in a way that feels aligned with your values.
This post pulls out some of the key moments and learnings from our chat – and delves into the start of the Bird & Emmy business journey too – you can listen to the full podcast episode here.
Why social media feels hard (and why it doesn’t have to be).
One of the biggest things Brenda and I spoke about is the pressure business owners feel around marketing, especially when it comes to social media. It’s easy to see social platforms as a separate world in your business – something you either “get” or you don’t. But the truth is much simpler: social media is part of your marketing toolkit, not the entire kit.
Whether you love it, hate it or have a complicated relationship with it (snap with me on that one), the people you want to reach are spending time online. So rather than resisting it, we need to shift the mindset from: “I have to do social media” to “I’m building a marketing strategy that works for me and my business.” That change matters, because when you approach social media with a strategy and a plan, it stops feeling like a performance.
The strategy-first approach (before you post anything).
If you take one thing for your business from the “Scale Her Up” podcast episode I recorded with Brenda, let it be this: Your social media content should come after your strategy, not before it.
Before you worry about what to post, you need to understand:
- Who you’re talking to
- What they actually need
- Where they spend their time online
- What action you want them to take next
When you’re clear on your audience, you stop wasting energy trying to show up everywhere and do all the content things. You’ll know whether your business needs to focus on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok or a combination and you’ll be able to make decisions based on your business goals, not trends or panic-posting-mode.
“Because building a business isn’t about viral moments or chasing numbers. It’s about creating consistent visibility that supports sales, community and long-term growth.”
Social media is a job.
One point I’ll always come back to (especially when people tell me social media is hard) is this: it’s hard for you, because it’s not your actual job (unless of course your business is in the social media industry … exceptions apply of course.).
No one expects you to become an accountant overnight, or a web designer, copywriter or a solicitor. So why do we expect ourselves to magically become marketing experts? You can learn the skills needed to run your social media for business channels and you can learn to manage the process, but this will take time and budget, and doesn’t automatically come hand-in-hand with being a business owner. You also have the option to get support in a way that fits your stage of business, whether that’s:
- a one-to-one SOS session
- a workshop
- a strategy project
- or ongoing support through a retainer
The key is knowing what you need as the business owner and making sure you’re putting time into the activities that actually create momentum.
The Bird & Emmy story: redundancy and starting before it felt “ready”.
During this podcast episode, Brenda asked me how Bird & Emmy began and spoiler alert, it wasn’t a neat, perfectly-timed launch.
I was working in an agency as a digital marketing account manager when I was made redundant; and at the same time, I was navigating a separation and raising my (then 6-year old) daughter. In and amongst that chaos era, I’d been volunteering with a local community event, helping them build their online presence by setting up their Facebook page, growing their email subscriber list and running marketing activity through events and blogging (we’re talking circa 2015/2016).
That volunteer work unexpectedly became my starting point, as corporate sponsors and businesses involved in the event started asking “can you do that for us too?” – which is pretty much how I got my first client.
Fast forward to 2026 and we’re months away from celebrating 10 years of Bird & Emmy, and I’m incredibly proud of that! My business has been built through real life and for me, some of the biggest challenges have been:
- The financial reality of freelancing – it takes time for a business to become profitable (we’re talking “make a living profitable”, but the high notes of six figures and an early retirement plan kind), and that “in between” stage requires organisation, patience and a lot of juggling
- Time, energy and creativity – especially as a single parent – running a business while managing family life (and your own ambition) isn’t a simple balance, it’s a constant adjustment and needs tons of patience and flexibility to pivot (often)
- The mindset shift from employee to business owner – freelance life isn’t nine-to-five (and neither is the digital marketing industry) and you need a new set of boundaries, resilience and set of time management skills
- The business will evolve (whether you plan for it or not) – industries shift, algorithms change, client and business needs evolve; and sometimes your business naturally grows into something slightly different than what you originally imagined
The ability to adapt is a skill every business owner develops over time.
When that voice in your head gets loud…
Brenda raised something I think many business owners quietly relate to: how lonely it can feel when you’re the only one making the decisions. When you’re running a business alone, the voice in your head can become your loudest critic. I highly recommend keeping evidence of what’s working for moments like that (think feedback and testimonials) and building a community that lasts longer than the algorithm. I’ve very intentionally built my community over the years, using LinkedIn and Instagram – I work with businesses throughout the UK and my business-support network are not all local to me – not just by posting, but conversations, DMs and showing up consistently on stories.
Also worth remembering that sometimes the best opportunities come from people you haven’t spoken to in years; not because of luck (Brenda and I discuss this on the podcast too), but because you’ve been quietly building a community the whole time …
Why networking still matters (even if you hate it).
We also spoke about the power of networking – the connections, collaboration and community part of networking (Brenda and I first met through BWC Aberdeen) – about being in spaces where you can ask questions, share challenges and learn from other people. Even if you go alone! Yes, we speak about going to a networking event alone on the podcast – which is of course uncomfortable and scary, but the thing is if you only go when you have a Plus One, you might not go at all. And nothing changes if nothing changes right?!
Top podcast-takeaways: if you’re building your business (and social media community).
If you want the TL:DR version of this blog, here are a few of my biggest takeaways from the podcast conversation:
- 1. Social media is part of marketing, not a separate world – stop treating it like an add-on. It’s a marketing tool and you can learn to use it well
- Strategy first, content second – know your audience, know your goals, then decide where to show up and what to say to reach them
- You don’t need to be everywhere – the right platform is the one your target audience actually uses and where you can show up consistently
- Community is a business asset – the relationships you build today can support your business months (or years) down the line
- Trust your gut – you definitely / probably already know what you need to do next, the hard part is giving yourself permission to do it
And one last thing … Brenda closed the episode with these statistics and words – and I think they’re perfectly placed right here, in this conversation:
Only one in three UK entrepreneurs are female. Men are five times more likely to scale their business to over £1 million in turnover than women. If women started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men, it could add £250 billion to the UK economy and provide millions of jobs.
Big mic drop moment. Listen to the full episode here.
