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Danielle Desir - Author, Podcast Host, and Founder of Women Of Color Podcasters
147 Plays3 years ago
Danielle Desir is an author, speaker, podcaster, and the founder of The Thought Card, an award-winning affordable travel finance blog and podcast empowering people to make informed financial decisions - travel more, pay off debt, and build wealth. Danielle paid off $63,000 of student loan debt in 4 years and purchased her first home at the age of 27. She has traveled to 26 countries and 3 continents and strongly believes in not letting your financial responsibilities hold you back from pursuing your dreams. Danielle recently published the Iceland travel guide, Iceland: Nature, Nurture & Adventure which shares how to plan an affordable, adventurous and cultural trip to Iceland.
Check out Danielle at www.thethoughtcard.com or follow her on twitter
Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/baronessbree)
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Transcript
Introduction to Fabulous Fauquery and Danielle Desir
00:00:11
Speaker
Welcome to today's episode of Fabulous Fauquery. I'm your host, Baroness Brie. I am joined today by Danielle Desir.
00:00:21
Speaker
And oh my God, y'all, she's amazing. She is the founder and CEO of Women of Color Podcasters. Hello, Danielle. Thank you for having me, Brie. Thank you. No, thank you for coming. I really appreciate your time. Guys, I want to explain to y'all that she is
00:00:41
Speaker
powerhouse in the podcasting industry. I mean, she's been doing this for a short time, but she is taking over the world. I'm going to just read her bio to you really quickly.
00:00:52
Speaker
As the founder and CEO of Women of Color Podcasters, Danielle is passionate about supporting and amplifying the voices of Women of Color Podcasters and audio creators. Women of Color Podcasters includes an inclusive podcasting community, blog, job board, and membership.
Danielle Desir's Podcasting Journey and Passion
00:01:11
Speaker
In addition to that, she is an author, she is a blogger, she is a podcaster. Her podcast is The Thought Code.
00:01:21
Speaker
an award-winning travel and personal finance blog and podcast empowering financially savvy travelers to make informed financial decisions to travel more, pay off debt, and build wealth. So thank you for coming. My pleasure. Thank you. And thank you for motivating me. This woman is all about fiscal responsibility. And I'm not saying she's frugal.
00:01:50
Speaker
But she's going to make you honor your time. She's going to make you respect what a dollar does. And your books have really helped many people to move forward in their financial journeys. So thank you for sharing your guidance. Wow, that's so powerful. Thank you. That's like what a creator would always hope to happen, right? For you to be able to make an impact and help folks in some sort of way, big or small. So that means a lot. Thank you.
00:02:15
Speaker
Oh, no, no, no. So tell me, what made you decide to go down this path of financial creative entrepreneurship? Because you're more on the border, you're creative, but you're also finance driven. Yeah, so I've always had a passion for personal finance. I was that kid that their mom opened up a retirement account at the age of 15. So personal finance and saving money and even investing was
00:02:43
Speaker
really imported in my household, my mom's an accountant, my dad's an accountant as well. So there was always this financial, just financial angle in the household. I remember the first bill that I saw, I picked up my mom's bill and I was like, mom, there's so many zeros in this. Like, what is this? Lo and behold, it was a student loan bill. And I was like a little girl just like realizing like, wow, like just the importance of like wealth building and money. So that's where it started.
00:03:13
Speaker
Now, when I wanted to start a blog, I had wanted to start a blog for a really long time and I started in actually 2015.
Innovative Blend of Travel and Finance
00:03:21
Speaker
And I was just kind of randomly talking about my thoughts and a lot of my thoughts came out to be travel and personal finance.
00:03:28
Speaker
So I said, you know what, let me be the anomaly. Let me be the one that talks about both topics, even though at the time it wasn't very popular. People were just talking about personal violence. They were in their own lane or you were in your travel lane and there weren't mixing. But I was one of the first people to be like, no, there's a clear, we need to have both. And money really helps to either help you to travel or hinders your ability to travel. So let's really get this under control.
00:03:54
Speaker
So that's where I really started to start creating content about it on the on the travel and personal finance blog back in 2015 How did you find comfort through combining both of those lanes because most people tell you you have to pick your niche and stick to it How did you say this is my niche? This is my lane
00:04:13
Speaker
I think it's just, again, being like everything that I was talking about would have a financial aspect in it. Like that was my interest. And regardless of what other people thought, or, you know, what buckets they were trying to put me in. Like at the end of the day, I had a website, I had a platform that I can create whatever kind of content that I want.
00:04:32
Speaker
So I realized that as a content creator, people follow me for my authentic journey and I couldn't not talk about my student loans at the time. I could not talk about like trying to climb the corporate ladder at the time. This is all the things that I was dealing with. So I would just say like, Hey, you guys aren't paying my bills and I'm doing this for fun. Um, so I'm going to use my platform the way I see fit.
00:04:56
Speaker
And now I see so many more people talking about personal finance and travel, which is a great thing, but you know, it is difficult to be one of the first, especially when you have to do a lot of educating, like educating people as to why what you talk about matters, but you will find your tribe if you continue on that path. Well, and found find your tribe you have because guys, she's all like, all right, so let me just say this because I'm a stand fan, part of a community.
Building a Community for Women of Color Podcasters
00:05:22
Speaker
Um, I joined women of color podcasters probably about four or five years, four years ago. It was a Facebook group first. And what made you decide? I know enough about what I'm talking about as a blogger, what I'm talking about as a podcaster to build a community.
00:05:39
Speaker
So to be really transparent, I didn't know what I was doing at all. All I knew is that pretty much Spotify had released the sound of bootcamp opportunity in 2018, and they were looking for women of color who had an idea. And I applied, and I was waiting on Twitter, as I always do, tweeting up a storm, waiting for Spotify to announce the winners. And they hadn't that day, as they had promised. But during that time, I saw a lot of people using this hashtag.
00:06:07
Speaker
And I was like, oh my gosh, there's like hundreds, if not thousands of women talking about this opportunity. I didn't know women of color liked to podcast or wanted to start a podcast. Cause when I would look at the top 100 on Apple podcasts, I would see a few, the same ones we all know. A handful. Yes. A handful. The same ones we all can probably just say off the top of our tongues. So I didn't think that women of color were podcasting.
00:06:33
Speaker
So it was just like an eye opener to see all these women on Twitter. And I tried to create like a Twitter list to keep in touch with everyone, but I said, there's, this is not going to feel like a community. So I created the Facebook group so that we can all have a place to continue on our journeys. And we were all new. And I think that's what made it a little less daunting is that we were all coming in a new place where we were just aspiring podcasters who had met online from the Soundit bootcamp opportunity.
00:07:01
Speaker
Now, we found out later that Spotify had 18,000 applications which caused them to be delayed. And this is only US-based content creators and only people who had a new idea. So for me, it's just so powerful that just because online you don't see this growing interest or this growing sector, these group of people who are doing these things or wanting to do these things doesn't mean that they don't exist.
00:07:26
Speaker
But I'm really grateful that Spotify had that opportunity because if not, then I wouldn't probably have started my podcast and I wouldn't have made so many friends and connections years later. And I mean, just to look at how many podcasts of color Spotify has expanded to over the last, you know, since 2018, holy crap. Like, I'll be honest, I just woke up in the morning and was like, I'm gonna make a podcast.
00:07:51
Speaker
I didn't know how to make a podcast. I didn't know anything about it. I did a little bit of research and it's like, you know, it fine. But it's so much, there's so much work that goes behind this hobby or job, depending on what people are doing with their career. Like people have transitioned out of their career due to podcasting because they are a thought leader because they are now seen as an industry best practice for podcasting and
00:08:16
Speaker
Who would have thought that this group that you created of like-minded people who just wanted to get their voices heard?
00:08:23
Speaker
would be doing the amazing things. And I just want people who are listening to know that if you have an idea and your family don't support you and your cousins don't support you and nobody at work understands you, find your community. They're out there. And there's a bunch of women right now that we probably have never listened to most of each other's podcasts, but we're still like, okay, girl, you got this.
00:08:47
Speaker
you know hey girl this is how you do so and so so and so and to have this sister group of podcasters who are phenomenal I'll be honest with you I listen to some of them like I need to go back and redo my show but you know I need to go and make a marketing plan and
00:09:04
Speaker
These women just wake up and they have a gift. So if you have a gift and you think you may want to podcast, I'm going to recommend that you check out the Women of Podcasters community. It is no longer a Facebook group. In April of this year, Danielle was like, nah, I'm over this and moved us all to Circle.
00:09:25
Speaker
And I didn't know what circle is. And then I'm be honest, I'm one of the older podcasters. It's like, when did I become the old person? But we need to move us to circle. I'm like, oh, Lord,
Opportunities and Growth in Podcasting Community
00:09:39
Speaker
but I love it because I don't have the distraction of Facebook. I'm not getting the alerts from my cousins trying to send me TikTok videos that I already saw on TikTok yesterday. You know, those types of things. I'm on circle. I'm doing my business on circle. I see what I mean, there are opportunities, guys.
00:09:55
Speaker
If you are a podcaster, there are opportunities within this organization that you don't see anywhere else, because I'm gonna be honest, podcasters that don't look like me, don't really help me. Not to say that they won't, but podcasters that are of color, black, Indian, Asian, I've met Australian podcasters, like people from, like what? You're listening to my podcast in Ghana? Like that is an honor.
00:10:24
Speaker
There are people around the world who have opportunities that aren't just US based. So please think about expanding your network beyond whoever's following you on social media. That's one thing I've learned from Danielle is I was thinking too small. And on top of everything else, she also runs a podcasting conference called Podthon. And we'll talk about how you and Lee came up with all of that goodness too.
00:10:51
Speaker
As a creator and as now a community leader, how has your life changed?
Transition to Full-Time Entrepreneurship
00:10:57
Speaker
My life has changed like 180 degrees because just this week is actually my first full week as an entrepreneur. So I've quit my job as a result of all of the work and all the success from
00:11:15
Speaker
from all the creative work that I've done in the communities I've built. So I think that doing all these things has opened me up to the possibilities of opportunities. I remember when I was younger, I said to myself, I don't want to be that person who looks back at their life and say, I regret not taking a chance. I regret not
00:11:37
Speaker
going after it or giving it my all. So I've become an opportunist, not the negative connotation where people are like, oh, they're mooching off of someone. No, meaning that I'm looking for opportunities and ways to grow and succeed. And it's not only about me, it's like I'm looking for opportunities for my community as well. So it's like something may not be right for me, but I may know someone in my network who can truly benefit from that.
00:12:04
Speaker
So I think it's opened up a door of opportunity possibilities and it made entrepreneurship something that I can actually truly consider versus something that I was just like, oh, one day this side hustle, maybe that's nice. Other people's stories are inspiring, but now I could be like, oh my gosh, I actually did this with my own tears and sweat and some blood at the same time. So yeah.
00:12:29
Speaker
Well, congratulations for making the transition to entrepreneurship. So many of us, myself included, are professional side hustlers. And I am looking for the day where I can, I'm in the process of developing a strategy, but you know, what tips would you give? And I know you have a whole community where you give these tips, but what tips and what guidance would you give to someone to say, Hey, get on it, do it now. What are you waiting for?
00:12:59
Speaker
Yeah, when it comes to entrepreneurship, I think it's keeping the eye on the prize and not ruling it out. I think the difference between my past six years of side hustling is that in 2020, I really considered it.
00:13:16
Speaker
I really was like, let's test it out and see if I can truly bring in enough income to replace my high earning job, my high earning corporate job. Cause I always thought, well, I make too much money at corporate. So there's no way that this little thing here, this little thing there could actually add to something that is significant.
00:13:33
Speaker
But in 2020, I had the space to actually try and experiment. And if I failed, I failed. At least I tried, but I never tried before. I just casted myself out and said, no, this is not possible until I actually sat down.
00:13:50
Speaker
And I started tracking the numbers, right? As a side hustler for so many years, I would just have some windfall money come here, maybe a project ended. I got paid and it was in my PayPal account. I would, you know, do a little couple of things with it here and there. But last year I really got serious. I created a spreadsheet. I started tracking my income outside of my nine to five job, everything I spent as well. And I created a separate account.
00:14:17
Speaker
where I could actually track that as well. So not only I had it on paper, but I also had a bank account dedicated solely to my side hustle money that I could actually see accumulated and growing, which was like really helpful. Now you start to see real numbers that could actually pay real bills. So that I think is really important that meant the mental and the belief that, you know what, let's give this a true shot. And I'm just going to experiment with seeing how far I can go during this time period.
00:14:44
Speaker
And you may be surprised by what doors open for you. The universe or God may conspire with you and things may happen. But that mental, I feel like I could have maybe done better or more if my mental was clear. My mental was awful for so long, but 2020 offered me that, that chance. That is amazing. So you just mentally prepared yourself to do it.
00:15:12
Speaker
And that sounds really daunting to a lot of people who doubt themselves because a lot of people are like, Hey, listen, I made good money at this job, but, you know, I make a little extra money to get, you know, my braids done and my nails done. How do I justify, you know, this little pocket money or, you know, you're spending money for your, you know, karaoke time or whatever people do with their spare time. It's really interesting to watch and also, you know, to watch how.
00:15:38
Speaker
You are very honest about your financial goals. You are serious about what I'm going to do. People need to be very intentional in their actions. So I thank you for that guidance. And also, because you are also an author, where do you find time to do all of these things? Like you work a full-time job. You have a husband. You got a doggy. Y'all like to travel. When are you finding time to write books, create podcasts,
00:16:05
Speaker
give financial guidance, create communities, create your speaking engagements, pitch your podcast, get guests. Who's editing your podcast? What are you doing? How do you do all of these things? Well, good news is that I was at a point where I could actually hire an editor. I do credit outsourcing. I would say, outsource the tasks that you know for a fact,
00:16:31
Speaker
is a time suck, but is productive. So an editor is important to me because it improves the quality of my podcast and it saves me three hours per week on the technical aspects. So I was willing to part away with money and hire a podcast editor.
00:16:51
Speaker
So I'm always thinking about, okay, what's the benefit of how is hiring this person going to push the business forward versus just hiring like a VA for just random tasks that don't mean anything at the end of the day. So that is very, very important.
00:17:06
Speaker
Now the other thing I would say in terms of like writing books and making time for your creative work as well is with a full-time job I would actually have seasons for the type of projects I was going to work on. So I would actually take seasonal breaks from the podcast and during that time I was
00:17:23
Speaker
pitching to be on other shows. I was writing books so that I knew I couldn't do all the things at once. But if you're like, I'm going to put something in the back burner for this season, for these couple months as I work on this project, that's going to take most of my time.
00:17:39
Speaker
I think that was really, really helpful. And also, it's a project when you're writing a book, it's a product that's time consuming, but there's a paycheck at the end of this project, right? When you're a published author, you have your books out, it's going to create passive income. So I think it's definitely, definitely worth it.
Monetizing Creative Projects Effectively
00:17:58
Speaker
Another thing that I would do for writing books in particular is like NaNoWriMo and these challenges where it's like you spend 30 days with the community and you're writing every single day.
00:18:08
Speaker
I try to never miss those because again, a lot of people all across over the world are writing and I could use that energy to help me write as well. So those were some of the things that would keep me focused so that I can complete the project from start to finish.
00:18:26
Speaker
NaNoWriMo. A few years ago, we had like- I remember, I remember. And it was intense. It was intentional. I was in there as like, oh, I'm just going to write something. And I ended up writing a half of a script and a half of a book. And so now the script has turned into a TV pilot, and I'm in the process of working that. But
00:18:48
Speaker
The dedication and the discipline is real and I find that as a creative and then I'm gonna get my my zodiac sign I'm a Pisces so I'm all over the place and you know you need to get that discipline and get I went and podcasting has made me organized. I walk around everywhere with my little passion planner like a child
00:19:09
Speaker
You know, when someone says something to me, I put it in the planner. If it doesn't go on the planner, I'm like, oh, let's revisit this. Because right now the goal for 2021 and forward is to make money. I'll have enough friendships, got enough network. The goal is to make money.
00:19:26
Speaker
So if you are interested in learning how to monetize your gifts and you want to connect with Danielle, please find her online because she is literally like making money in her sleep just because of her discipline and her focus. And she's motivating all of these women
00:19:48
Speaker
to change their lives. So if you're interested in that, she's your girl. I say that because I think so fondly of you. I thank you for the opportunities I have been given. The speaking engagements when you see me post on social media, oh Bree speaking somewhere else. Bree learned about it, more than likely learned about that opportunity in women of color podcasters. And if I didn't learn it in the group, somebody that I've met through networking, through podcasting from the opportunities I've been given to speak have hit me up with these opportunities. So
00:20:17
Speaker
You never know who's thinking of you. You never know who's considering you, but you need to open your mouth and let people know you exist. That's the word. I was always like so quiet in the group and you're like, Bri, what do you think about that? And I'm like, I don't want to say nothing today, Danielle, because I don't know. But you pull people out of their shells. And guys, the powerhouses within these communities are just amazing. So how do you leverage your
00:20:45
Speaker
Because to me, you seem fairly introverted, but you enjoy these opportunities. How do you balance your introvert with your extrovert?
00:20:55
Speaker
Ooh, that's interesting. I think when I was younger, I was more extroverted, but I'm an only child as well. So we all have, you know, our little shells there. I think, I think when you're in a space where you feel comfortable, it's easy for you to open up. Like I feel really comfortable on platforms like WC podcasters because I know I never feel judged,
Community Support and Authenticity
00:21:22
Speaker
right? Like,
00:21:23
Speaker
There's some vulnerable moments. Like you're like, I don't know what I'm doing. I need help. Right. There's some real vulnerable. And I mean, like we're all, most of it, we're professionals, like high achieving women, you know, corporate careers and everything like that. And we can come together and we're like.
00:21:40
Speaker
Hey, so I think that's what's unique is that you can actually let your guard down a bit when you feel super comfortable in a space and you know that it's coming from an authentic and safe place, right? Which I present myself probably different in other spaces that I go to. I might maybe a little bit more reserved because it's not the same feeling I'm trying to kind of flesh it out and that kind of thing. So I think comfort level is really important.
00:22:08
Speaker
And I think also understanding your energy levels, like if I'm like tired and low vibe, I'm not gonna do that post, right? I'm not gonna try to show up when I know I'm not gonna be able to give my whole self. That's maybe why you have a team member or maybe why you have your community that's talking to each other without you having to be always the face of it, right? So I think when you're building a community, you wanna be a face among faces.
00:22:36
Speaker
not necessarily the face, compared to when you're a thought leader, you were the face and people will depend solely on you. So with my goal for WSE Podcasters is to be among the women, and I can offer input, but I'm not necessarily the woman that everyone is looking for, for guidance, you know, so I think that's really important, especially when you're trying to balance your energy levels.
00:23:01
Speaker
So everything you just said is a word because so many entrepreneurs and so many people getting into podcasting have said to me, I'm tired of posting on Instagram all the time. I'm tired of being the face. I'm tired of doing Instagram lives. And I'm like, well, what if we schedule these out? What if you plan this out and just stop winging it?
00:23:22
Speaker
And people are like, what do you mean? So this is little tips. Like you said, you want to be a face among within the group. And so many communities, people want to be the star. Sometimes the content is the star and it takes a lot of self worth and self work to be able to say, this is my community. I'm good with it. I'm going to sit back because a lot of people are like, you got to see my face because this is me and this is that of us. So the fact that you have that ability is amazing.
00:23:51
Speaker
Now, one of my next questions for you is a question I ask everyone. What are you doing to take care of yourself? What do you do to balance the work with the fun and the reward?
00:24:05
Speaker
Yes, that is so important. I do a lot of spinning. So you might not be able to see it on the video here, but I have my Peloton bike
Importance of Self-Care and Balance
00:24:15
Speaker
on the side. So I do a lot of spinning. I do a lot of extraneous running, sweat exertion. For me, it's fun. So whenever I can, I do try to make sure I get a good workout and sweat in.
00:24:31
Speaker
I also like to take my naps. I like a lot of rest. Resting is so important to my creativity. And whenever I can, even if it's going to another town over,
00:24:47
Speaker
I do like I'm very sensual, like sensual, visual person. So I like to get out of Dodge and go somewhere new so I can get inspiration and just be able to relax a bit. You don't have to like stay at a hotel or anything like that. It could just be just driving over to the next town, going to the beach or something like that. These are all things that I think help center me and help me feel super grounded enough that I can create on a very consistent basis.
00:25:16
Speaker
Okay, so exercise is not my spiritual language, but I'm working on it because in the pandemic, you know, it's like, what do you do now? And mine is napping and drinking wine. So, you know, what we do have to, and it's very important for us to move our bodies. Now, when you made your, you said you had a distinct mindset in place when you decided, I'm going to see how much money I can make.
00:25:41
Speaker
Were there other factors that made you decide that you were ready to be an entrepreneur? What was your fucking moment where you were like, you know what, I'm done with corporate America? I don't think I had that moment until I put my notice in. Because when I put my notice in, that's when the wolves came out and the teeth started showing and just the effery started really when I put my notice in.
00:26:10
Speaker
So I truly did enjoy my corporate job. It was very demanding, but I was the person to do it. I love what I did. I was pretty much like a project manager, so very individualistic, but also keeping my team on track. I just love that. But the FM moment came when I put my corporate, I'm going to put my resignation in. And I was like, you see, this is why. This is why, because sometimes you think
00:26:39
Speaker
Things are one way and then you're about to leave and then they just do a flip on you. So I do feel like it happened after, but if I had to think of an effort moment beforehand, oh, this is it. This is the effort moment. So I got a notice. There was an email that went out in May that was like, you have to come back into the office between two to five days a week.
00:27:05
Speaker
after like, you know, 15 months of just working remotely and doing a bang up job. And there was no conversation. There was no let's talk about this. It was just like, you must. I was like, child, I must stay home. OK, so that that was my effort moment. But I had known that I was going to put my notice in very shortly after. So I was like, I'm on the right track. But the way they be talking sometimes is just crazy. So that was an effort moment for me. Yeah, for sure.
00:27:35
Speaker
It really is hard to make that transition back into the office. And I'm sitting here and I know it's coming and it's like, okay, how does this work? And I'm warning my friends, you know, you don't have to start looking for daycare for your kids. I know you're enjoying being home, but eventually all signs are reopening. They want us outside breathing, whatever air, they don't care about what's going on pandemic wise. They want money. So, and the economy is, you know, slowing down. So,
00:28:06
Speaker
to decide that you wanted to stay home and do your thing is so admirable. And I hope that you're motivating someone listening today who is like, ah, she's saying some things I want to hear, but I'm still on the fence. How do you say to someone, hey, get off the fence?
00:28:27
Speaker
Make your plan, make your plan. Listen, there's no risk in this, right? Because if you fail, you still have your corporate job to depend on, you know? So you already have your number one. So there's no risk. Make it a game. Let's see how much I could make this month versus I gotta make this amount of money.
00:28:47
Speaker
Right? Because if you make it, you're like, yay! And then next month you don't make it. You're like, oh, right? This yo-yo, this like, this up and down, right? So just say, okay, I'm going to experiment with it to see how far we can go with this. Okay? Also know that you need to put in the work, right?
00:29:08
Speaker
I had to wake up early in the morning before 9. I had to wake up. I had to be up late at night, usually 11 p.m., because that's what it demanded. It demanded a lot of work, some weekends and time like that. But I had nothing to lose because I always knew I had a number one, right? I had a number one and I was trying to grow the number two on the side.
00:29:30
Speaker
So I think let's not put too much like emphasis on the success. Of course we wanted to succeed, but just be able to start tracking what you're doing and know that I want this to be an intention I'm going to follow through with. And when the time is right, it'll happen. But for now I'm going to put my reps in, going to practice, going to have the discipline and termination to do what
Entrepreneurial Mindset and Overcoming Rejections
00:29:53
Speaker
I have to do. So I'm ready for entrepreneurship when the time's right.
00:30:00
Speaker
What I heard, and this is what I hear from many other entrepreneurs, is that this is a mindset. It is. This isn't just, I'm waking up in the morning and I'm going to make a million dollars tomorrow and say, screw my job. It is, I need to get up, do the thing every day that you want to do that you claim you love. You love this thing, you need to do it without feeling stressed or feeling upset or, oh man, I can't do this because I got to do that. This is your thing.
00:30:27
Speaker
So I actually, I'm, when I'm finished recording this, I'm hoping when my son is editing this, like, okay, you hear what she said? So, you know, he'll come out and say, Hey mom, I listened to the episode and she hurt my feelings. You know, so I'm waiting for this tomorrow for him when he starts editing this episode to say, okay, I heard her. I heard her. I got this. So Bernard, this episode's for you, sir. But you know, I want to say thank you for the opportunities that you have created for women.
00:30:55
Speaker
the opportunities that you've taken for yourself because that's motivation, because a lot of times we kind of sit back and chill. And it's like, you know, it's whatever, I'm gonna let this person stand up. But then also, you have created stages to speak on. And for, I'll be honest with you guys, I was pitching all kinds of stuff, and it was just falling on deaf ears. But Danielle and her partner Lee created Podthon.
00:31:24
Speaker
which is the pod marathon because it's not a sprint it's a marathon and they actually sent me feedback like hey we got your pitch we kind of like it but this is the part that sucked and i was like i kind of i was like i got an email back like i wasn't upset that it had criticism i was excited that it had
00:31:46
Speaker
feedback, because that's what I was looking for. We can't grow without knowing what we're doing wrong. And you know, if it's not Danielle, someone else from the team will reach out to you and be like, Hey, listen, this is what I want you to tweak. Or Hey, I was watching your video that you pre recorded. You can cut off these like last 22 minutes and just go back and I'm like, dang. I was stressed out, like, you know, it but it also helps you it helped me to
00:32:12
Speaker
Get better as a public speaker because a lot of us had never spoken to anybody beyond our podcast friends and whoever so Thank you for providing people of color The opportunity to get on a stage that we wouldn't have gotten from some of the bigger Conventions and now we can have we have a speaker reel
00:32:31
Speaker
with the little logo at the bottom and now I can send that along to wherever I'm speaking next and say oh I've spoken at a conference and I like holy crap it's a real conference and I've had people reach out to me say what is Python I've never heard of it and now they're buying tickets because they're really learning nuggets and these are podcasters from all around the world how did you guys come up with this fantastic idea
00:32:55
Speaker
Yes. So because I'm always advocating for community members to apply to speaking opportunities, apply, apply, apply, they were doing it. They were applying to opportunities and it was time for speaker selection time and a lot of our community members got rejected.
00:33:12
Speaker
a lot, we included. Yeah, I got rejected. And it wasn't that like I was sad about the rejection. I just could feel the energy in the group. It was just like everyone's heart sank that they were excited about this. And I think that was like a real year we all like pushed to get in front of people. And again, only a handful of us did. And I was like, Oh my gosh,
00:33:34
Speaker
I cannot do this. Like I cannot let my community be here just so sad. So we had the idea to create a podcast summit and I was like, okay, let's do it. So we came up with the name Pothon and we were able to put on a virtual summit because we knew our communities were international and it's also cost effective too as well to do virtual. And we started off with Pothon the first year and this year 2021 was our
00:34:02
Speaker
third year, so we were able to do it for three years. And we almost didn't do it this year because we were like, our job is done. We're good. And then the FRE started with another convention and we're like, there's no people of color here. So, so I just think that it was just needed. Sometimes you just need to create space when you don't see you or other folks like you who are at the table, who are serving value and just delivering. We're just like, you know, we're just going to create it. We don't know what we're doing, but we'll figure it out.
00:34:30
Speaker
And the first year we did it for free because we just didn't know we were doing it. We didn't know the value of how much we could provide. So there's nothing wrong with giving it a try. And as we continue to grow, we're like, okay, this is a, you know, sustainable business model. But it was just, again, because we all got rejected and we wanted to see our folks succeed. That opportunity, like,
00:34:52
Speaker
I'm just thinking of, I'm sitting here like, wow, this is an opportunity that people missed out on. Or sometimes you get into that group chat mentality.
00:35:02
Speaker
where everyone goes in and commiserates together. And instead of commiserating, you're like, you know what? After that, I'm making an opportunity. Here's a platform. Y'all going to get on this Zoom. We're going to chat and party and talk about how to grow our businesses, how to grow our podcasts. And that's the first time I actually thought about my podcast as being a business. To me, it was just a hobby. And you're like, stop calling it a jobbie. And Lee used to get, stop calling it a jobbie. It's a thing. You can make money from this. I'm like, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. So.
00:35:31
Speaker
You guys are motivating so many people and I just hope you know what these hands on the community mean to other people as you watch these, like we have baby podcasts, we're all baby podcasters and people may not and you know everyone's like oh what's your downloads, what's your downloads. I really believe that you want your reach
00:35:52
Speaker
People are getting sponsorships without huge numbers. People are speaking at conferences without huge numbers, but it's the impact in how you stand out as a brand and how your brand resonates with. So thank you for all that you do, because ma'am, you are doing it. You are now the queen of the podcasters. You are, you know. Raining, right? No, I'm just kidding. Yes. No, I'm just saying, you out here,
00:36:20
Speaker
Come on out, like you see these opportunities and you jump on them. And then you're like, from the way I learned how to do this, I'm gonna teach you how to do this. And here's my course to teach you how to do it. My dumb tail is on a Zoom call with people giving away information for free. And so my mantra for 2021 is, I love y'all, but no more free. And I hate to be that way, but I realized I'm on the phone. I can help somebody come up with a whole strategic plan for social media.
00:36:50
Speaker
And then I'm talking to Danielle and you're like, here's the link to my thing. Just how much it costs to talk to me. And I'm like, here I come because it's worth every penny. So.
00:36:59
Speaker
We have to be mindful. Everyone's like, oh, pay Black women, pay Black women until it's time to. And then it's like, oh, she really sent me an invoice. Yes, I sent you. Yes. And I'm going to just say one thing really quickly is that this year I invested in a podcast monetization coach because that was an area where I was like, I want to really make money with my podcast. And I was like, who around me is making real money with their podcast?
00:37:24
Speaker
I need to go learn from that person. So investing in yourself and again, seeing yourself as a business and knowing that, okay, that investment I'm going to make, I make that investment, I'm going to make it double, triple, because now I know how to make money. I'm always going to know how to make money, right? It's like you learn how to fish or ride your bike. You're always going to learn how to do that. So don't be afraid to invest in yourself because it would always pay dividends. Yes.
00:37:49
Speaker
You are amazing. And with that, I'm going to use that as your closing word. Where can people find you online? Yes, please connect with me over on my podcast, The Thought Card Podcast. Again, it's an affordable travel and personal finance podcast. Or thoughtcard.com is the blog version, hundreds of blog posts as well. I'm active on Twitter.
00:38:16
Speaker
Also, if you want to learn more about WC podcasters, you can head over to wcpodcaststers.co and we are at WC podcasters on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Engagement and Call to Action
00:38:29
Speaker
All right, everyone. Thank you all for listening to today's episode. If you have heard anything that has resonated with your spirit
00:38:36
Speaker
please like, share, and review Five Stars Only. Thank you for your time and I will talk to you next time.