We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Inamdar recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sarah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

To be considered successful, all one needs is to be consistent and sincere towards their work. The amount of hard work you put in to building your brand yields great results. Thinking about my journey, staying consistent was the key. I dedicated time and completely focused on building my business. With a lot of hard work, research, learning and gaining knowledge about business, I was able to establish my brand. Another advice I would like to give to everyone is to not compare yourself with others. Each person grows from their own pace and efforts. Get inspired, be creative, believe in yourself, trust the process, be patient and, above all, enjoy the journey.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?

I am Sarah Inamdar, founder of mama llama cooks. I am a teacher by profession, but the quarantine gave me the opportunity to pursue my love for food photography. I was trying out new dishes and taking lots of food pictures. This led me to starting an Instagram food page, encouraged by my sisters. Initially it was just a fun page where I would post food pictures, but when I was approached by a brand to do a collaboration, I realized I can do more with my talent. In no time I was doing brand collaborations, product testing, and reviews. I test and review kitchenware, kitchen gadgets, food products etc. I love to cook for my family. I focus of cooking quality meals without spending too much time in the kitchen. This means I am always on the lookout for healthy meal options and time-saving kitchen gadgets and kitchenware. The products I showcase on my page are the ones that I truly like and use in my own kitchen. I write honest reviews and don’t advertise or promote things I do not approve of. My followers and community is my biggest drive. Their constant encouragement, uplifting comments, and personal appreciation messages make it all worth it. I love how they text me to inquire how am I doing if they find me inactive, support me through thick and thin and celebrate little milestones. My relationship with my Instagram community completely justifies the purpose of social media.
I am sharing some testimonials from my clients. Reviews like these explain it all.

“Sarah is really kind and produces very aesthetically pleasing photography centered around food and eating. Her photography is very comforting and gives off a very family-centric vibe. She was very nice enough to accept samples of products from us and use them to cook a deliciously looking sweet and spicy boneless chicken with noodles dish. It looked SO good our mouths were watering as soon as we saw the Instagram post. We hope that we will be lucky enough to appear again on her page as it is an honor and pleasure.”
-Mansour Arem
Zwita Foods

Unapologetically Tunisian

“Sarah was wonderful to work with for a collaboration. She followed the agreed-upon guidelines for our collaboration and went the extra mile when creating a special and unique recipe using our products. We loved how she included more than 1 photo of the recipe made for us and we would love to work with her again in the future” – Boxed Halal

“Our team approached Sarah after analyzing her Instagram profile. As we loved her cooking content, we decided to choose her for our product promotion campaign. I must say that our decision of choosing Sarah was indeed the best. She came up with a great idea to promote our product. She also cooperated with us at every level.
Her services are highly recommended as an Influencer, and we shall choose her again for any kitchen-related promotion.”
-Influencerly Bonela Funnels

“AYO Foods loved working with Sarah @mama.llama.cooks. She was professional and a true fan of the brand. The photos she took came out beautifully and the colors of the food and brand were well represented. Sarah’s description of the product was very informative and the presentation was very nicely done. Thanks again, Sarah!” – Shannon, AYO Food Content Manager

“Thanks again for working with us and showcasing our product via IG post and story. The photographs of the puff puff were excellent and really captured the dish. Your description of the product was accurate; your followers got great info on this delicious treat from West Africa”. -Trudy, Golden Delish LLC

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients for me is Instagram. Each time I am approached by a brand/company, the very first sentence of the email/message is “We came across your wonderful page on instagram and loved it and want to work with you.” Instagram is my full time job. My inquisitive nature to learn and create valuable and fun content has worked well to gain new business. Developing a genuine, organic feed isn’t easy, it takes time, hard-work, and loads of patience but its totally worth it. So far I have successfully worked with over 40+ brands and tested over 200+ products.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

For any business to prosper and gain respect in its respective field, I think it is important to be completely honest towards your work and be transparent with your client. Be clear about your do’s and dont’s. For example, I do not eat pork or consume alcohol, so I clearly mention this to my client that I cannot accept a task involving advertising/reviewing these products. Sincerely fulfill all the requirements and deliver as promised. I try my best to deliver a quality result each time and am glad my clients sees these qualities in my work and come back again and again. I put in my heart and soul to come up with creative yet simple everyday ideas to present the products which my audience can easily relate to in their everyday life. My repeat customer base is a good sign that I’m doing a good job.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mama.llama.cooks/

Image Credits
Sarah Inamdar