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AI is everywhere right now. And if I’m being honest, most small business owners I work with are sitting somewhere between curious and completely overwhelmed. I’m Debbie Hatumale-Uy. I’m a marketer by trade, a small business owner by reality, and a Digital Solutions advisor. I spend a lot of time testing tools, breaking them, fixing them, and figuring out what’s actually useful in real life. This post is about how I actually  use AI to create content faster without sounding ro

If social media feels louder, faster, and more demanding than ever, you’re not imagining it. Every year we’re told there’s a new trend we must  follow, a new format we have  to use, and a new platform we’re already “behind on”. I’m Debbie Hatumale-Uy. I’m a marketer by background, a small business owner by reality, and someone who works closely with business owners every week. This post is about how I’m approaching social media in 2025 without chasing every shiny thing. Socia

If you’re thinking about sourcing products from overseas, let me start by saying this: you’re not silly for feeling overwhelmed. I didn’t set out to become someone who teaches sourcing. I fell into it by accident, made plenty of expensive mistakes, and learned everything the hard way. I’m Debbie Hatumale-Uy. I run an e-commerce business, I’m a Digital Solutions advisor, and I source products overseas every year. This article is the beginner’s guide I wish I had when I started

If you’ve ever opened Shopify, stared at the dashboard, and thought “where do I even start?” you’re not alone. I see this reaction every single week. I’m Debbie Hatumale-Uy. I’m an ecommerce business owner, a digital marketer with 15+ years of experience, and a Digital Solutions advisor. I’ve built, broken, rebuilt, and scaled Shopify stores for my own business and helped countless others do the same. This post is how I simplify Shopify for beginners so it feels achievable, n

If you’ve ever felt like the rules keep changing, you’re not wrong. Algorithms shift. Platforms evolve. Trends come and go. It’s no wonder small business owners feel overwhelmed. But here’s what hasn’t changed. People still want connection. The Digital Landscape Is Moving Fast Change Is the New Normal We are experiencing more change in a few years than previous generations saw in decades. AI, platforms, and tools are evolving quickly. That doesn’t mean organic content is dead

If you run a small business, you’re constantly one email away from someone else’s problem becoming yours. This weekend, that email came from Sendle. Effective immediately. All bookings halted. No real warning. No runway. No meaningful guidance. To be clear, I don’t use Sendle much these days. Over time, I realised they were contracting out to the same couriers I was already working with, so I went direct. It gave me more control, clearer communication, and fewer layers when s

To this day, I still hate the word marketing. I know, ironic. I’m a marketer. I’ve worked in corporate marketing for global brands, now run my own businesses, and I advise other small businesses on marketing every day. Go figure. But the word itself often feels cold. Performative. Salesy. And at some point, I realised something important. The moment I treated content like marketing, it stopped working. The biggest shift I’ve made in my career wasn’t a new platform, algorithm

Let me be real with you: I used to do everything manually. I printed every shipping label one by one. I handwrote every thank-you note. I...

Before I was running a business from my living room, I was managing campaigns for some of the biggest brands in the world. McDonald’s. Canon. Nestlé. I knew how to build a social media calendar a year in advance. I knew how to write headlines for million-dollar product launches. I knew how to interpret a spreadsheet filled with KPIs and ROI metrics. But none of that prepared me for running a small business. When I launched Only The Sweet Stuff, I wasn’t sitting in a corner of

So many small business owners get stuck in perfection. “I’ll launch when my branding is done.” “I need professional photos first.” “I’m...

Spoiler: I didn’t have a business plan. I didn’t have a fancy studio or startup capital. I had a baby in a pouch, a craft machine I...

Everywhere you scroll, someone’s selling something. Flashy offers. Countdown timers. "Buy now" plastered on every post. But here’s the...