So to anyone who has been following me on my blog may have noticed a little bit of a gap from my last entry to now. I definitely needed to take some time over December and most of January to spend time with family, and also to recoup after being sick. I also wanted to start focusing on expanding my audience and trying to create videos for various social media platforms. However, anyone who knows me, knows I am terrible at technology… and a slight brat because I don’t always want to learn new things, haha! So… enter my incredibly smart, sweet, funny and savvy friend… AMBER HEWITT!! (Insert low key applause and cheers here)… She is an absolute master-mind with social media platforms and in fact, created this gorgeous website for me! She also encouraged me to set up an Instagram, TikTok and YouTube account so got those up and running for me. (Plus makes my life much easier because I send her the videos and she uploads them for me). She is amazing at what she does and I felt she deserved a shout out for all her hard work!! With it being a new year and new collaborations coming I figured it would be a good way to not only try to expand my audience, but others as well. Therefore over the coming months you will see some “shout outs” to other people I am doing projects with… and really whatever I find is something important to share, or motivates me to sit down and write a post about… that is what you will see.

So without further blabbering… here is my interview with Amber Hewitt… and getting to know a little more about her, and her company 🙂

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Brandy (B): Why did you choose the name for your business? #Hashtag Assistant

Amber (A): I wanted it to be cute but have something to do with social media. Hence the hashtag and helping people with their social media… so like a personal assistant but all social media related.

Brandy (B): Fair enough! I think the name is quite fitting and easy for people to remember, plus also for anyone who knows anything about social media will have a pretty good idea of what you do simply based on the name. So well done!

Brandy (B): Any recommendations for those starting a new social media business?

Amber (A): You need to constantly be evolving and learning as things change so much on all the different platforms. You can’t be good at everything so focus on the platform you enjoy the most and get really good at that.

B: What do you find is the easiest platform to work on? And the hardest?

A: I prefer Instagram but I’m not sure it’s the easiest but I enjoy it the most. It used to be the easiest to grow and see results but now it’s much more difficult and more of a slow burn to grow organically. Trying to figure out the algorithm is a constant challenge.

B: That’s a good point you bring up with the “slow burn”. I think that’s why it’s important for people to remember these things take time… and also why it can be very helpful to have a social media assistant. For example, with me, I just want to make the videos and get the messages out there. I would not have the energy (or patience) to also do the other parts like the editing and posting. So thank you for all that you do!!

B: On a more personal note, I do share about my anxiety, depression and health conditions on my blog. In doing so, my goal is to bring awareness and a sense of a safe community to others. Therefore, if you are comfortable sharing… do you have experience with anxiety? If so, what do you do to help when having a high anxiety day?

A: I get anxiety when I’m overwhelmed. Sometimes my brain doesn’t want to shut off and I have a hard time sleeping. I also have OCD so if I forget to take my pills I really notice I get overwhelmed easier. When I get anxiety I need to step away from the screens and try to relax. Sometimes if I’m overwhelmed I listen to an app called Insight Timer. I need to learn how to meditate so I can calm my anxiety without an app.

B: Thank you for sharing that! I know it’s not always an easy topic to open up about but it is appreciated here. That is also helpful to know there are apps that can help to calm and relax people during an anxious moment or day. And mediation is a wonderful tool but just like many others sometimes the outside piece (in this case the app), is beneficial to almost “force” a calm down. You also bring up a good point about needing to step away from the screens. I would totally agree with you and have to remind myself of this too!!

B: So shooting into another random direction… obviously this website and the readings I do involve spirituality. Do you have any spiritual experiences you wish to share?

A: I’ve always been interested in the spiritual world. It’s something I’ve always believed in and been drawn to.

B: Nice. Do you have any crystals that you like to work with, or have around you?

A: Amethyst is my favourite as I’m drawn to purples.

B: Girl after my own heart! I love purples and amethyst is a great stone! On another random topic/question… How do you have FUN?! 🙂 (TV shows or music you like to watch/listen to)?

A: I love the TLC channel and watch a lot of the shows on it. My favourite show by far, is 90 Day Fiance! It’s definitely my guilty pleasure. I also like true crime documentaries. My family thinks I’m weird because I have these on in the background as I work.

B: Nice! The true crime documentaries I can sometimes watch… but definitely not in the evenings haha! I also love 90 Day Fiance. I greatly enjoy my Sunday evenings and just taking a break from my reality and sitting down to see how the couples interact (a.k.a. fight) that day. 😉 Who’s your favourite couple? Or one of them anyways? 🙂

A: Probably Kenny and Armando. They are so cute and have a great relationship.

B: I like them too! They’re a very sweet couple and I think they show how to communicate well as a couple. They also seem very down to earth, and I love how Kenny styles his hair! Cannot believe he’s like in his 60s! Armando did very well for himself, LOL! 😉

B: Tell us a little more about yourself. Since you work from home, do you enjoy going out or staying home more?

A: I’m very much a home body these days but I do love shopping and finding great deals and going out to eat so when my hubby is home (he works 2 weeks on and 2 weeks out of town), we go out to the movies and out for dinners quite a bit when he’s home.

B: That’s awesome! I’m right there with you wanting to be a home body most days myself. I also very much enjoy good deals and love “the hunt” when at a thrift store.

B: We are a very pet loving community! Please share with us about your furry friends.

A: I have 2 dogs, Shiloh, 7 years old (She is a rescue dog and is a Sheperd Husky mix). We also have Tucker who is 16 years old (Maltese Poodle). We lost out Daisy (Maltese Bichon) this past September. She was 16.5 years old. They all have their own little personalities. Shiloh is the big bossy one but she’s afraid of so many things, like air vents, men with hats, vacuums, brooms, fishing rods… we got her at 10 weeks old so we don’t think she was abused but she is just a big chicken! Tucker is definitely our little old man. He’s deaf, partially blind, has seizures, trouble breathing but always happy and wags his tail when you talk to him. He is like Frank Gallagher from Shameless, he’s a hot mess but still keeps going. I love my dogs as they keep me company as I work from home and Shiloh keeps me active with her 2 walks a day, whether I like it or not.

B: They are all so adorable! Shiloh is just gorgeous!! And I find her super friendly when she gets used to someone. Tucker (and Daisy) have the cutest look to them with their hair… makes me think of the Muppets! Absolutely love your furry friends! Thank you for sharing… and I am sure many others in this community will enjoy seeing their pictures, too! 🙂

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Thank you to Amber Hewitt from #Hashtag Assistant today and doing a little interview so we could get to know her more and take a moment to applaud her for all her hard work! Anyone who is interested in social media support… her info is below and I strongly encourage you to check her out on Instagram!

Website: https://www.hashtagassistant.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/thehashtagassistant/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/hashtagassistant/

TT: https://www.tiktok.com/@hashtagassistant

Thank you to all my lovelies for reading this blog post. Take care of yourself and others. Have a fantastic day!

Brandy Marie 🙂