Me & Orla’s Sara Tasker

Instagram Expert and Creative Business Coach

I’m a big fan of Sara Tasker, the creative behind the blog and Instagram account Me & Orla. The way she writes and expresses herself through her creativity really speaks to me. Clearly, it speaks to a lot of other online creatives, as well, since she’s grown her own six-figure business based on her photographs, writing, and business advice. In her own words, the Yorkshire-based creative is “passionate about helping other women and creatives find their online voice” because she knows first-hand “all of the huge and brilliant changes it can bring.”

How Sara Tasker Got Her Start

While on maternity leave from her job with the National Health Service, Sara found herself turning towards her creative hobbies – photography, writing, and the creative hobbies she kept to herself – to create a sense of community while she felt isolated at home. She turned to Instagram, which she says changed her world.

That sounds ridiculous, I know – to give so much credit to a free app we all have on our phones. And yet it is utterly true: starting my account, beginning to take photos and share tiny fragments of my thoughts was the catalyst to everything unfolding for me; the tightly scrunched paper ball of my life being spread out and opened, full of uncharted territory like a long-forgotten map.

Hashtag Authentic: finding creativity and building community on Instagram and beyond, Sara Tasker, pg. 6.

After finding that her slow living Instagram posts resonated with people, Sara expanded into what is now her creative business, where she mentors similarly minded individuals, and teaches online classes about social media.

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Sara Tasker’s Podcasts

I can’t quite remember which I found first – Sara’s Instagram or her podcasts. Her podcasts – Hashtag Authentic and Letters From A Hopeful Creative – were two of my original favorite podcast finds. Hashtag Authentic explores the secrets to online success for dreamers, makers, and creatives. Letters From A Hopeful Creative, cohosted by Sara Tasker and Jen Carrington, serves as mini coaching sessions and pep talks for online creatives. The hosts answer questions they’ve received from hopeful creatives and delve into their personal experience and knowledge base to help listeners out.

These podcasts kept me company on the way to and from my courthouse job. I found myself almost looking forward to the drive – to listening to the tips, insights, and general commentary from both podcasts. I think it’s probably safe to say that they’ve really informed my pivot towards a more intuitive and creative path.

Hashtag Authentic: finding creativity and building community on Instagram and beyond

In 2019, Sara published a book all about her creative process and what she’s learned since starting out on Instagram. The book shares a name with her podcast and describes methods of visual story telling, photography, and community online.

The book is beautiful on its own, without even turning to the actual words. Full of Sara’s photos, the book will make you want to book a trip to the UK for as soon as possible.

Whether or not your looking to build an online creative business, or even looking to build a stronger photography portfolio, the book has something for everyone. As someone who can get wrapped up in the idea of blindly pushing forward on a path regardless of resistance, I find the slow living mentality and simplicity of it all – the photos, the insights, the anecdotes – to be really nourishing.

The Insta Retreat and 15 Minute Magic

Sara runs two regular online courses, the Insta Retreat and 15 Minute Magic. The latter is a newer course, the first one I signed up for. 15 Minute Magic focuses on helping creatives beat procrastination and grow their businesses in just 15 minutes a day.

After finding that I enjoyed the 15 Minute Magic course, I signed up for the Insta Retreat, a higher-priced course that I had heard great things about. Without a doubt, signing up for these courses was the right choice for me, and I’ve really enjoyed learning the different insights and tips from both over the past few months.

And I say all this as someone who is incredibly wary of online courses. I’ve done the free webinars you see on Instagram, touting all kinds of “boss-babe” language, and it’s just not for me. If you’re someone who can’t quite stomach those messages, but still wants to carve out space for yourself online as a creative business owner, I highly recommend checking out Sara’s resources.

#StayHome Photo Challenges

Lately, Sara’s been running some photo challenges to boost creativity during social distancing. In an effort to “document our days from a shared perspective,” Sara releases regular photo challenges designed to take 15 minutes or less. If you’re feeling like you need some creativity in your life right now, check out the original challenge here. Check out my rendition of this challenge, originally shared in the 15 Minute Magic course, here!

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Check out Sara Tasker’s blog and Instagram!
Her book, Hashtag Authentic, is available on Amazon.

Read more of my Spotlight on Female Founders pieces here!