by Scarlett Darbyshire

Running a Business When You’re a Dog Mum: A (Fur)iously Funny Guide

Running a business is no walk in the park—unless you’re a dog mum. Then, it’s literally a walk in the park…while answering emails, chasing after your four-legged “assistant,” and praying they don’t eat another stick. Balancing entrepreneurship with dog motherhood is a unique skill set. Here’s how to survive (and maybe thrive) while keeping both your business and your furry companion happy.

1. Your Dog is Now Your Co-Worker

Every entrepreneur needs a team, and your dog is officially hired. Sure, they nap through meetings and demand snacks every 30 minutes, but at least they don’t talk back.

  • Their role: Emotional support and shredding your to-do list (literally).
  • Perk: They’ll never judge your 3 PM ice cream break.

2. Conference Calls vs. Bark Alerts

You’re on a Zoom call with a client, explaining your groundbreaking idea, when suddenly… WOOF WOOF WOOF! No, that’s not your business strategy; it’s your dog alerting you to the mailman’s presence.

  • Pro Tip: Mute is your best friend. Just like your dog is.

3. Morning Walks = Networking Opportunities

Every walk is a chance to promote your business. Got your logo on your sweatshirt? Business cards in your pocket? Your dog’s leash might as well be a marketing tool. Just don’t hand out slobbery cards.

4. Time Management: A Tail-Wagging Balancing Act

  • 7 AM: Walk the dog.
  • 8 AM: Work on your business plan.
  • 9 AM: Remove a squeaky toy from your dog’s mouth during a meeting.
  • 10 AM: Realize the toy is now in your mouth because they’re tugging the other end.

Scheduling is tricky, but hey, you’re multitasking like a pro.

5. Client Gifts? Try Dog-Approved Swag

Clients love personalized gifts. Why not throw in some branded dog treats or a cute bandana for their pups? Who can resist doing business with someone who understands the real decision-makers in the family?

6. Doggy Distractions: The Struggle is Real

You’re in the zone, nailing your latest project, when suddenly a paw smacks your keyboard. Congratulations! You’ve accidentally sent an email that says “wooooof” to a potential investor.

  • Solution: Give them their own “workstation.” A Kong toy stuffed with peanut butter works wonders.

7. Celebrating Wins with Your Pup

Closed a big deal? Time to celebrate! Your dog doesn’t care about the numbers, but they’ll be thrilled if it means an extra treat or a trip to the dog park. Bonus: They’ll never complain about your happy dance.

8. Marketing Inspiration from Your Dog

  • Social Media Content? Post adorable photos of your dog “helping” you work. (Spoiler: People will care more about the dog than your actual work.)
  • Tagline Ideas? “Work hard, play harder, nap hardest.”
  • Mascot Material? Your dog is already the face of your brand. Lean into it.

9. Lessons from Your Furry Mentor

  • Live in the moment.
  • Take breaks (preferably outside).
  • Celebrate the little things (like finding an old tennis ball under the couch).
  • Wag your tail after every success—literally or metaphorically.

10. Embrace the Chaos

Running a business while being a dog mum isn’t about perfection—it’s about finding joy in the mess. Whether you’re cleaning up chewed documents or brainstorming your next big idea during fetch, you’re making it work.

Conclusion:
Being a dog mum and an entrepreneur means you’ve already mastered patience, multitasking, and cleaning up disasters. So, if you can handle your pup’s antics, you can handle anything business throws your way. Just remember: Treats aren’t just for dogs. You deserve one, too.

What’s your funniest dog-mum-business story? Share it in the comments—bonus points for photos of your “assistant”!

by Scarlett Darbyshire

A Funny Guide to Dealing with Pretentiousness on LinkedIn

LinkedIn: the social network where humblebrags reign supreme, everyone’s a “thought leader,” and words like “synergy” and “impactful” are thrown around with reckless abandon. While it’s a great platform for networking and finding opportunities, let’s be honest—sometimes the pretentiousness can be a bit much.

If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at someone’s “disruptive pivot to actionable paradigms” or wondered why everyone’s a “guru” now, this guide is for you. Here’s how to survive (and maybe even enjoy) LinkedIn without losing your sanity.

1. Translate the Corporate-Speak

LinkedIn posts often sound like they were written by a robot that swallowed a thesaurus. Here’s how to decode the jargon:

  • “I’m humbled to announce…” = I’ve been dying to tell you this for weeks.
  • “Thought leadership” = I posted a hot take that went viral once.
  • “Passionate about leveraging synergies” = I like teamwork… I guess?
  • “Just wanted to share some thoughts…” = Brace yourself for a 27-paragraph essay.

Pro Tip: Treat every post like a game of LinkedIn Bingo. Score extra points for words like “innovative,” “disruptive,” or “game-changer.”

2. Recognize the Humble in Humblebrag

Some LinkedIn users have mastered the art of making their bragging sound like a life lesson. For example:

  • “After 16 sleepless nights, 72 cups of coffee, and sacrificing my pet goldfish’s birthday party, I’m thrilled to announce I closed a $10 million deal. Hard work pays off!”
  • Translation: I’m amazing. Please applaud me.

How to Handle It: Reply with, “Congrats! How’s the goldfish doing?” Keep it light, and they’ll never know if you’re serious or subtly trolling.

3. Beware of the Overachiever’s Timeline

There’s always that one person who starts their post with:

  • “At 7 AM, I ran a half marathon. At 9 AM, I gave a TED Talk. By noon, I restructured an entire Fortune 500 company’s supply chain. What’s YOUR morning routine?”
  • Answer: “I hit snooze three times and ate cold pizza. Thanks for asking!”

4. Survive the “Open to Work” Flexes

We love seeing people land new gigs, but some announcements come with a lot of flair.

  • “I’ve accepted an opportunity to disrupt the [insert industry] space with [insert company]! Excited to create scalable solutions that transform [insert buzzword].”
  • Translation: I got a job, and I’m not entirely sure what I’ll be doing yet.

Pro Tip: Comment, “Congrats! When can we expect your first thought leadership post?”

5. Handle “Inspirational” Posts with Grace

LinkedIn loves a good rags-to-riches tale, even if the story is… questionable.

  • “I started with nothing but a dream and a broken laptop. Now I own three startups and drive a Tesla. #GrindNeverStops”
  • Translation: I was always doing fine; I just wanted a dramatic intro.

Your Move: Counter with your own story: “I too started with a broken laptop, but now I just have a newer broken laptop. #Relatable”

6. Survive the “Comment Bait” Posts

Ever seen a post like this?

  • “Only 1% of people will answer this question: What’s your favorite type of synergy?”
  • Translation: I need engagement to feel validated.

How to Respond: Leave a completely unrelated comment like, “The weather’s been wild lately, hasn’t it?” Let the algorithm do the rest.

7. Outsmart the Buzzword Brigade

When someone uses phrases like “future-proofing strategies” or “disrupting verticals,” don’t feel intimidated.

  • Instead, reply with your own made-up jargon: “That’s great, but have you considered hyper-leveraging post-quantum synergies?”
  • They’ll either laugh or invite you to a webinar. Win-win.

8. Laugh at the “Thank You, Me” Posts

Every so often, someone posts something along the lines of:

  • “Today, I want to thank myself for believing in my dreams, for working 25 hours a day, and for being an overall legend. I couldn’t have done it without me.”
  • Translation: My therapist told me to practice self-love, and I took it literally.

Your Response: “I’d like to thank myself for reading this post. It was hard, but I persevered.”

9. Resist the Urge to Take It Too Seriously

At the end of the day, LinkedIn is just a platform where people are trying to network, share wins, and yes, occasionally overshare. Pretentiousness can be annoying, but it’s also a source of endless entertainment if you approach it with humor.

Your Survival Kit:

  • A dash of sarcasm.
  • A healthy scroll limit.
  • And the reminder that not every post needs your engagement.

Final Thoughts: Laugh, Don’t Rage

LinkedIn can feel like a sea of buzzwords, bragging, and inspirational fluff, but it’s also a place to connect and learn (in between eye-rolls). Instead of letting the pretentiousness get to you, lean into the absurdity, keep it lighthearted, and maybe even enjoy the ride.

What’s the most hilariously pretentious thing you’ve seen on LinkedIn? Share it in the comments—just don’t tag the person who posted it.

by Scarlett Darbyshire

40 Social Media Content Ideas for Your Restaurant

We all know how important social media is a tool people use to make purchasing decisions. This is especially true when it comes to choosing where to eat⁠ — people just seem to love sharing and searching for photos of food. So much so in fact, according to TouchBistro, 41% of people have decided to eat at a specific restaurant based entirely on positive social media feedback.

So you’re a restaurateur that’s sold on getting social and you’ve created your profiles, but what next? Anyone who has ever created a social media account will, at some point, know the difficulty of coming up with fresh content. Many find it overwhelming to navigate the world of social media as it is, but throw in trying to run your actual business at the same time as well… well it can all just get a bit overwhelming can’t it.

Restaurants are one of my favourite businesses to work with as social media content is literally everywhere! It’s just that you may not be recognising it as such. That’s why I’ve created this handy PDF that’s free to download that you can reference whenever you’re feeling a bit uninspired for content. Why not try one of these fresh ideas for your next Facebook, Twitter or Instagram post…

Restaurant Content IdeasDownload

Still feeling a bit overwhelmed with it all? Why not book a meeting so we can talk it through? Or if you just want social media off your plate… I can help you there too.

by Scarlett Darbyshire

Powerful Call to Action Phrases You NEED to Use in Your Social Media Content!

Megaphone

Having thousands Facebook Likes or Instagram followers is great, but it doesn’t mean anything if those followers never take any action. Whether it’s a tweet, blog title or text in your ad, every word you share in an update needs to inspire people to do something beyond just reading it. Words are very powerful and for social media to be a successful addition to your marketing strategy you must learn how to right copy that converts!

What Does a Call to Action Mean?

A call-to-action (CTA) is an image or text that prompts your visitors, leads, and customers to take action. It might be signing up for your email list, buying a product, investing in a service, or following you on social media.

Call-to-Action Statistics

  • Almost 90 percent of website visitors read headlines and CTA copy. Many of them don’t read anything else.
  • Full-screen CTAs, such as exit popups you create through Hello Bar, perform better than any other position for CTAs (up to 25 percent conversion rate).
  • Color can make a huge difference in whether or not people click on CTAs.
  • More than 90% of visitors who read your headline also read your CTA copy. (Unbounce)
  • Emails with a single call-to-action increased clicks 371% and sales 1617%. (WordStream)
  • Adding CTAs to your Facebook page can increase click-through rate by 285%. (AdRoll)
  • By forcing visitors to watch an informational video on their services before presenting a CTA, Kimberly Snyder increased conversions by 144%. (QuickSprout)
  • For KISSmetrics, a CTA within a video gets 380% more clicks than their normal sidebar CTAs. (QuickSprout)

CTA Phrases to Persuade

If your intent is to persuade people to choose your product/service, here are several phrases to try incorporating into your call to action:

  • “Try it free now” or “Start your free trial now” Everyone loves a freebie. This CTA is good because instead of straight up asking a prospect to hand over money for your product/service, you’re offering a free ‘test drive.’
  • “Join now and get…” Here you’re simply asking your audience to reply to your message to get something of value in return. It could be an e-book, a free sample, or a template, just make sure it’s relevant to your audience.
  • “Start now to get…” or “Your Journey to X Starts here” or “Start now” infers to your prospect that they are about to begin an exciting process — with the rest of the CTA telling the user how he or she will benefit.
  • “Talk to an expert now” This is a great CTA to use for an online chat opportunity or when you want the prospect to call. Telling your prospect that you are a team of experts, will automatically make them feel safer in your hands.
  • “Learn more about us at…” Prospects at the top of the sales funnel are collecting information, learning about brands and your industry without knowing exactly what they want yet. Using a CTA that invites people to learn more about your business can be extremely effective at building brand awareness. When prospects decide they’re ready to buy, they’ll have your business name at the top of their mind.
  • “Please don’t hesitate to call us” Let your customers know you don’t mind talking to them over the phone. These types of CTA’s belong on every page of your site.
  • “Order now and receive a free gift” If you can tempt prospects with a free gift, they’re more likely to buy the original product. The free gift on offer doesn’t have to be physical, it could be a discount off a future purchase or a downloadable template for example.
  • “Get yours now” A personable CTA subtly telling the consumer that you want him or her to have something valuable — something other people might want.
  • “Request your FREE quote today” Giving a free quote costs nothing but time to you, but once you have the prospect communicating with you it may just turn to a sale!
  • “Click here to get free shipping” Use this popular CTA to overcome one of the chief barriers to buying products online – shipping costs!
  • “Money-Back Guarantee offer here” When you offer a money-back guarantee, consumers feel more confident trying out your product or service.
  • Activate X Today! Using a CTA like this one puts the prospect in the driver’s seat and motivates them to act. These call to actions work well if you’re offering a discount on products or a free demo of your service.

CTA Phrases to Create a Sense of Urgency

Creating a sense of urgency encourages customers to act now instead of holding off making the purchase. Here are some effective call to action phrases that you should consider using as the sooner you can get people to take action, the better!

  • “Download here immediately.” Or “Download here right now” Strong adjectives promote urgency and encourage click-throughs.
  • “Act quickly or you might lose it” Loss-aversion is a common psychological principle that is proven to work! Get the point across that if they don’t act now, they might lose something valuable.
  • “Reserve your spot now” Same principle as above! Tell your prospects that if they don’t sign up and reserve their spots, they run the risk of leaving it too late.
  • “Order now while there’s still time!” Urgency is often a key element in effective call-to-action phrases. Subtly pressure consumers into acting now rather than waiting until the opportunity passes them by.
  • “In a hurry? Call…” Call-to-action phrases like this one let the consumer know that you’re willing to respond to their needs right away. A perfect CTA to use if you offer out-of-hours or emergency services.
  • “It’s very important that you respond promptly” With this CTA you’re telling the prospect that if they don’t respond right away then they might lose out on something good.
  • “Offer expires very soon” A powerful, snappy CTA that clearly states there’s an offer on the table, but if you don’t snap it up, you’ll miss out.
  • “For a short time only” This CTA is popular during sales or clearances. It’s clearly stating that here is a chance to buy a limited-edition product, take advantage of a big discount, or get some other benefit. But only if you act now.
  • “Limited availability” a great CTA as it creates urgency and infers your product is highly popular. A win-win for you as it serves as a form of social proof as well as an incentive to act quickly.
  • “Expires at midnight tonight” It gives a definitely end point to the sale, so your prospects know they have to act quickly as the clock is ticking.

CTA Phrases to Imply Exclusivity

A very effective way to make people act is to imply exclusivity with whatever you’re offering. Try these phrases out to get people taking action and jumping at the chance to be a part of your product or service to not get left out of the group.

  • “I invite you to…” Everyone needs to feel wanted and special —foster that sense of belonging by giving the impression that you’re personally inviting your prospect to do what you want.
  • “Join X Other [Category] as Subscribers to My Email List” A great CTA for social proof. This CTA comes in many forms for example “Become one of the X people who subscribe to my emails.” Or “Join the club! Over X request my emails. You could, too!”
  • “Request an invitation”
  • “Members Only”
  • “Only available to X”
  • “Pre-register/Pre-order”
  • “Exclusive access”

This is an excerpt from my book ‘The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Social Media for Small Businesses: A Comprehensive, Jargon-Free Guide to Social Media Marketing For Those Who Just Don’t ‘Get it’!’ – Want a copy? Get it for FREE here! 📚

by Scarlett Darbyshire

What is Social Media and Why is it Important?

Social Media Apps

Social media is the means by which people interact with others in virtual communities and networks allowing them to create, share and exchange information and ideas. With the rapid popularity growth of these new technologies, social media has had a profound impact on the way people discover, read and share news, information and content. Social media encompasses all forms of ‘user generated’ content, from communication platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to multimedia services such as YouTube and virtual gaming platforms like World of Warcraft. It has become extremely popular as it allows people to connect and form relationships in the online world for personal and business use.

How is Social Media Being Used by Businesses?

Social media puts you out there and brings your solutions to your prospects’ doors. As such, the benefits of creating a social presence on the web have been felt by every type of business and industry. Whether you have a restaurant, retail outlet or provide professional services, social media enables you to build your online reputation, increase credibility and help generate business and drive sales. By taking advantage of social media, you can make your business gain more exposure, be more personable and generate and maintain long term connections as well as benefit from rich insights into your customers and industry. All of which can greatly benefit your business in the future.

Why Should You Join In?

With the surge in popularity in having a presence on social media, the chances are that your customers and competitors are already involved. On the web your customers will be talking, forming their opinions and its’s where they’re making their own recommendations to their friends and connections. Likewise your competitors may be already channelling in on those customers and reaping the rewards from engaging with, joining and listening to those conversations. People all around the world may be already talking about your business, so it’s important that you get involved in the conversation and present yourself how you want to be presented on the web. Still not convinced? Here are 5 more reasons why you need social media for your business;

Social Media is Everywhere and Very Popular

Social media has become a central part of most people’s lives, whether they are at home or on the go, people are actively engaging online. These users aren’t just sharing updates from their own lives; they are searching for businesses, products, and services, and connecting with brands through their social channels. People of all ages and genders are actively using social media so no matter how old or young, or what gender your target audience may be, chances are most of them are already logging on and waiting for you to get started.

Social Media Sites are Free

Getting started on most social media platforms is completely free. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, WordPress and LinkedIn all offer free accounts to users and businesses and in most cases signing up won’t require anything more than an email address.  There are features within some platforms that you need to pay for such as a Facebook Ad or a profile upgrade in LinkedIn, but for the purposes of getting started there’s no upfront cost for most of the social networks.

Join an Existing Conversation

Social media provides you with an opportunity to listen to the conversations about your business and industry being openly discussed online. Not only does joining this conversation mean you can hear what is being said about you, it also means you can easily develop a richer understanding of your customers and benefit from insights into your target audiences. Moreover, it can also be used to create dedicated communities where you can host discussions about the products and services you offer or use your followers as an outlet for helping build new ones.

Social Media is Great for Customer Service

Customer service through social media is quickly becoming an expectation of consumers. Businesses have quickly come to realise that it offers a unique opportunity to showcase your customer service skills, promote more intimate business relationships with your customers and enables you to cater to your customer’s needs instantly. In a world where everything is fast-paced, a quick response that showcases how much you care about providing a memorable experience can create a lifelong customer.  Social media allows you to continually strengthen relationships with these customers through social engagement and because this engagement is publicly visible to others, it can introduce your business to a whole new audience and enable you to reach your next customer.

It Helps People Learn More About Your Business

Social media sites are becoming the go-to place for consumers who want to learn more about a business. People are online actively searching for information about anything from product reviews to informative articles and general entertainment so it is up to you to utilise this and use your social media presence to provide valuable, informative and entertaining news and updates to existing and potential audiences.  If customers are already searching for you on Facebook or Twitter and not finding your business, you are missing opportunities to win new customers and inform and engage your existing ones so it is vital that you join in with social media and have your brand heard and seen online.

Are you sold on getting social? Whether you want me to work with you from the beginning or help you get your marketing efforts back on track, i’m here to help your business level up and reach its full potential by getting savvy with social! 🚀