Unhitch Provides–and Accesses–Valuable Support During Difficult Times

While the individual circumstances around a separation or divorce can be as unique as the relationship itself, it is very often a challenging and unsettling experience. Meagan Ross and Carmen Kinniburgh founded unhitch to provide support and resources to women during this time so they may feel less alone and scared as they go through the process.

“Our tagline is ‘A different way through divorce’ because when we both went through our own separation journeys, we realized there was almost no support available; nowhere to go for general or free help or advice. Thinking about, or going through, separating or divorce is isolating and scary. We talked about what unhitch would look like for a long time, more than a year, then decided it was now or never! We launched unhitch in late 2021.” – Megan Ross, unhitch cofounder.

Unhitch operates primarily as an online source for information, resources and events, and provides access to experts including lawyers, financial advisers and therapists. “We try to connect women with high-quality resources for informed decision-making,” says Ross. Women can select one of three membership options, or choose to access resources and participate in live events as they go. Unhitch offers valuable content through regular newsletters, articles on the website and, for members, personal touches like welcome bags that include gifts and discounts from local businesses. They also have active social media accounts with a growing number of followers.

Ross and Kinniburgh looked to Digital TBay’s Digital Service Squad for ways to increase their online presence in order to offer their services to more women as they navigate separation and divorce. “We know that this type of business will thrive with word of mouth, and social media marketing is not a skill set we have yet, so we turned to Digital TBay and made an appointment with Brook,” explains Ross.

During their first session, squad member Brook Dallaire provided many suggestions and insights that are now being incorporated into unhitch’s social media strategy. “Our session with Brook was chock full of great ideas. She really stressed the importance of an editorial calendar to take the pressure off of "in the moment" posting. Taking the time up front to plan it out two to three months [in advance] means less panicking down the road!”

Their experience with Dallaire was comfortable and valuable, and the advice they received produced noticeable results—Dallaire suggested that Ross and Kinniburgh monitor their social media and email followers’ habits to see when they were most likely to be receptive to content. “We have started posting and sending emails at our most popular times. Our last newsletter had a 72% open rate in the first 24 hours,” says Ross. “Brook was so friendly and approachable, and there was no judgement about our knowledge gaps. We're excited to book another appointment with her to go over our website.”

Unhitch looks forward to accessing more services through Digital TBay, and encourages other local businesses to do the same. Says Ross, “The responsiveness and quality of the advice we received was worth its weight in gold. If you're bootstrapping it, then you need to contact Digital TBay and take advantage of this incredible service.”