How Influencer Hattie O'Hara Built the "One Week in Birmingham" Brand

What does it take to build a platform that actually changes the way people see their city? In this episode of The Localist, Carrie Rollwagen sits down with Hattie O'Hara, the creator behind One Week in Birmingham, a weekly Instagram series that tells the story of life in Birmingham through local businesses, events and community. Over 60 episodes in, Hattie has built one of the most beloved local platforms in the city, and recently launched Your Week in Birmingham, a curated weekly newsletter to help people plan their own weeks in the city. Hattie talks about what inspired the series, how she kept it going when nobody was watching, why she makes decisions based on her own values rather than best practices, how she manages the production process every Sunday entirely on her phone, and how she is beginning to build a real business around the brand she has been quietly creating for years. If you are a small business owner, a content creator or just someone who loves Birmingham, this is a really honest and energizing conversation about doing creative work your own way. 🎥  Watch the Full Episode on YouTube  ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Mentioned in This Episode One Week in Birmingham (Instagram series): https://www.instagram.com/hat_ohara Your Week in Birmingham newsletter: https://www.hattieohara.com Carrie's episode on Word of Mouth Podcast (referenced by Hattie): https://open.spotify.com/show/1icxBH4UjcZFSrtKIJ4rDi Birmingham Education Foundation (Hattie's first job): https://www.bhamef.org Breakthrough Birmingham (Hattie's current day job): https://breakthroughbham.org Railroad Park Foundation (nonprofit spotlight example): https://railroadpark.org Balance Wine Club (Hattie's brand partnership): https://www.balancewineco.com The Little Red Print Shop (newsletter sponsor example): https://www.instagram.com/thelittleredprintshop F Up Nights Birmingham (event referenced at the start of the One Week in Birmingham story):  https://en.fuckupnights.com/city/birmingham ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 💻 Connect with Hattie O'Hara Hattie O'Hara is the creator of One Week in Birmingham, a weekly Instagram series that tells the story of her week in the city, and Your Week in Birmingham, a curated weekly newsletter that helps readers plan their own week in Birmingham. Website and newsletter signup: https://www.hattieohara.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hat_ohara  ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 📲 Follow Carrie Rollwagen Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crollwagen Website: https://www.carrierollwagen.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/crollwagen  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@crollwagen ______________________________________________________________________________________________  📢 Thanks to Our Sponsor, Infomedia The Localist is sponsored by Infomedia, a Birmingham-based web and digital marketing company that helps small businesses get big results online. Contact Infomedia: https://infomedia.com/contact ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Join Us at Localist Lab Localist Lab is our free live marketing event series for small business owners, held on the third Thursday of most months at Saturn in Avondale. Each session features practical strategies you can use right away, plus free tacos and coffee. See upcoming events and register https://infomedia.com/events ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Subscribe to Carrie's Newsletter Get more small business insights, resources and behind-the-scenes updates from Carrie delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for the newsletter https://gmail.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9c59a060684d71f12f6e495fc&id=98cd3122b9