The Future of Me & Orla

Drumroll please... this is kind of a big deal for me!

Do you hear that?

It could be the sound of a countdown somewhere…

Oh, yes it is. Like the glittering ball on New Years Eve, there’s a big, sparkling bundle of newness ready to drop here at Me & Orla and I’d love you to be a part of what’s about to unfold.

Because change is afoot - and unlike NYE, I promise this one won't leave you with an hangover, picking glitter from your hair for the following week!

So, as the numbers tick down to our little “midnight”, I wanted to take you behind the scenes of these momentous and exhilarating (and occasionally quite scary) decisions.

In fact, in this post I’m going to ask you for something I’ve never ever asked anyone for before.

But before we get to that, let me catch you up…

Right here, right now

Change in my business is nothing new. Me & Orla has seen many evolutions over the years; what started as a hobby became into a side-hustle around my NHS job, before developing into a mini empire; me, making all of my dreams come true from my kitchen table with passion, tenacity and cups of tea.

Then, sometime roughly around the time that global Thing That Shall Not Be Named, it evolved again. This time, though, the driving force was my wavering health. 

Because yes, despite my most desperate denials, the advice of all the medical professionals to do less finally caught up with me. Gradually I’ve seen my ability to be up, awake and active continue to decrease. The hours that I can spend engaged in activity are now outnumbered by the hours when I cannot. Some days my step-count consists entirely of short trips up the stairs to the loo.

A lot of the time I feel like a pinned butterfly, desperately flapping my wings to exhaustion but unable to move from the board.

But in my work, I still get to fly.

If I’m honest, my health a whole big thing that I’m still working through and will probably talk about more down the line. But suffice to say that it has prompted some changes for me - not least, a need to simplify, prioritise and do less every day.

But I also still want more.

In fact, my goal for 2023 is to make more money than ever before by doing less than ever before! Audacious, no? But I firmly believe that our earnings are linked to the value we create in the world, and not the time it takes us to do so.

A heart surgeon can do a procedure in minutes that would take a rookie doctor hours. A pro photographer can take the picture you’ve been struggling to capture all week in a single click. Which one is worth more? 

Time spent is not the measure of worth or of value.

Of course, it’s still a necessary consideration. With time and energy so limited I’ve been forced to distill my priorities down to a new kind of clarity. I cannot do it all; that’s no longer an option available. But what I do get to decide is where do I most want to devote all of the energies I have?

And for me, the answer for 2023 onwards is this: with you, lovely readers, right here, together on Substack.

Just between us

Part blog, part newsletter and part members-only community, Entre Nous (that’s French for ‘between us’, btw) is my new online home.

Nothing that currently exists will be going away - I’m still making podcasts, teaching classes and doing my 1:1 client work. But everything else - all my innovation and expansion - I’ll be pouring into this space.

I’ll be writing more regularly. If you’ve followed me online for a while before now you’ll likely know what to expect - creativity, online business, social media, photography, growth. Woven in are some personal things too - my French house renovation, my favourite product recs. Interiors and dreamy summer dresses and hard-won lessons on parenting and friendship and health.

I’ll be growing this community. That thing so many of us are craving right now: nuanced, niched and nice community. A place to hang out and expand your audience in a network of likeminded souls.

And I’ll be offering a hand to anyone out there who is struggling or stuck. Sharing the tools and support that we miss when we’re doing this solo - the camaraderie of co-workers, the inside advice.

And so, that brings us back to our countdown…

From today, Entre Nous will be offering an exclusive paid subscription option, filled to the brim with goodness and joy. I’d love you to consider becoming a paid subscriber here with me for as little as £4.60/month*.

It’s my lowest priced offering ever, and a kind of practical, accessible support that I know so many of us need. Not just more content (I know most of us already have enough things stacked up on our virtual ‘to read’ pile) - but tangible structure, accessible support. Community that gets it and is there to hold your hand.

Want in?
You can get started now by clicking the button below.

What you’ll get when you go paid:

• Members-only posts, including a monthly written guide on a digital creativity/business topic. Think: everything I know about mailing lists, podcasting, Instagram photography, creating courses, getting a book deal, finding your niche. We’ll be tackling the messy questions too - how do we build a community? Why are we so frightened of selling the work we pour our heart and soul into? What’s with that urge we sometimes get to disappear and ghost the entire world?

• Full access to the Entre Nous Community. Members-only posts, discussions and private chat spaces where you can connect and converse with like-minded whole-hearted business owners, dreamers and creatives. Small, intimate, visible, supportive. This might be the part I’m most excited about!

• Monthly co-working hours. If you’ve never experienced the mind-blowing impact of virtual co-working then trust me: this alone is worth the subscription price! Once a month (to begin with - I’m open to adding more calls if the demand is there) we’ll meet via Zoom for an hour of quietly working together in a group. Bring anything you like, but it’s especially powerful for tasks that you may have been struggling to complete. Show up, state your intention, then get to work in the quiet glow of other people’s parallel industriousness.
It really effing works - especially for neuro-diverse brains and chronic procrastinators. Get ready to do more in an hour than you currently do in a week!

• Live conversations and Q&As with industry experts, thought leaders and generally cool humans you might want to know. Want the inside scoop on Substack, or podcasting, or tax returns, or writing your first book? I’ll be calling on friends and favours so they can spill all the juice.

• The warm fuzzy glow of knowing you’re supporting me in taking this big, scary leap in a whole new direction, and the chance to help me shape this community and the future of Entre Nous in an essential way.

Want even more?

Fancy sitting down in my kitchen for a brew and a nerdy strategy chat? Maybe even with a side of promotion for a Substack of your own?

Sign up to the ✨Founding Member✨ subscription package and you can grab both, in addition to all the benefits above.

This special tier is for my biggest supporters so has exclusive extra benefits to express just some of my gratitude. In the Founding Member subscription you get everything above, plus:

• A personal promotion for your own Substack here, shared with my 35k+ subscribers.

And…

• Two 30-minute 1:1 chats with me where we can strategise, review your Instagram, brainstorm content ideas or just chat about your world. If you’d like, and geography permits, we can do these face-to-face over coffee at my home. Otherwise, we can do it on Zoom.

By subscribing, you support me and my business and the small team that help me keep it all running, even when my body cannot - and at a price that I hope is accessible to as many as possible.

I really truly hope you’re as excited by this new venture as I am, and can see all the potential here. And of course, as I learn and grow through this I’ll bring you all along for the ride - the good, the bad and the oh-god-how-do-I-delete-the-internet ugly too.

Have any questions, suggestions, comments? I’m here for them all. Drop me a comment below or come talk to me in my (free) subscriber Chat in the Substack app.

And before I wrap up this announcement, I need to say big, heartfelt, bear-hugging thank you for the support you have shown me already. All the love, the comments, the messages, the likes - whether we’ve crossed paths on Instagram or the podcast or inside of a class - I appreciate you far more than these written words can say.

This new part of the journey just won’t be the same without you, so please say you come along too. Pack some snacks, fill a flask and don’t forget your bikini. I’m not entirely sure where we’re going just yet, but I can already tell that it’s going to be full of sun ☀️👙🍸

With endless love,

Sara xx

PS: Here’s that magical button again, just for good measure!

*£4.50/month based on the Annual Subscription rate, purchased now at the current discounted price of £55. Subscribe now to lock in at the lowest price!