Inclusive Podcast Community: Interview with Danielle
Let's go back to April 2018 and Spotify had a Bootcamp opportunity. They were looking for women of color podcasters who were aspiring podcasters. So all you had to do is have an idea and identify as a woman of color. And you could win an opportunity to get a flight out to New York City and do a week-long boot camp with all these podcasting experts. And from those 10 one person would win $10,000.
So when I saw this opportunity, mind you, this was not advertised on their main homepage. This was not a big campaign. It was a very underground campaign, which a lot of people found through smaller blogs and different things like that. There are not many times that you see opportunities, looking specifically for women of color, and specifically for people who just have an idea or new out the gate.
And one of the last questions in the application was something to the extent of what would you like to see a change in the podcasting industry. And I thought about it and I said, you know what I really would like to see a community formed for women of color podcasters so that we can all be together based on my experience looking at like Apple podcasts, top 100 I literally could count on my fingers. On one hand, how many women of color podcasters I saw on the top 100 list. So I honestly thought that there weren't that many of us out there. And I honestly wholeheartedly thought that I was going to be one of the winners. I was like, how many people are there really? Who would be interested in this opportunity?
Now fast forward to a month later, May 1, Spotify was supposed to announce the winners of this competition. I woke up super early. And no emails, nothing. I went on Twitter and I just so happened to, you know, type in like Spotify, boot camp and I saw all the women were tweeting about it, you know, anxiously nervously. But the one thing about Twitter list is that it's great for organizing for one on one conversations. But if you're trying to engage a group or to really start discussions, it's really hard to navigate using a Twitter list.
So I went ahead and created a Facebook group really quickly. Mind you I've been a moderator in Facebook groups, but it's nice. Having a Facebook group was something I always wanted to have, but not something that I said I wanted to do. Like I didn't have a plan to do this.
But I quickly created a Facebook group and I called my mom a couple of minutes later after I created the group and I was breaking down and crying like I was just distraught. I was like, Mom, like, I think I'm onto something really big. And I don't think I'm ready for this. I don't think I have the skill sets or I don't have the know-how to create a Facebook group. My mom said to me, You know what, like, don't worry about it, relax, you're gonna do fine. You're creating a space, just enjoy the process.
Don't put all these expectations for yourself, just enjoy the process. So I opened the Facebook group up. I encourage everyone who I met on Twitter to join the Facebook group that same day and we had hundreds of people joining that day. And just so happened that Spotify didn't get back to us like we heard nothing for a good amount of time, I would say about a month later, they were able to say who won the application, that application process. But in the meantime, we're like, Who cares? We already have a community, we started our own podcast, already doing all the things so there's no need. If we lost, we weren't completely distraught because we had a place to be in community with each other. So that's the beginning of WOC podcasters.
Only 22% of podcasts are or hosted by women of color. And statistics are facts. Like it's just facts, but I feel like it's sort of misleading because you would think that they're not that many people who are podcasting who are women or people of color. I so many women of color who are podcasting, and it's just a number that I say, okay, it's 22% but we're growing and it's definitely having a place for us all to be together is very important.
The podcast is a spin-off of my affordable travel finance blog. I've been blogging since 2015. And I had an idea of wanting to start a podcast since 2016. But again, I was just sitting on the idea I thought I needed a co-host, and just not really committing to getting it started.
So when I had founded the WC podcast Facebook group, that was in May 2018, and I had a meetup in New York City. In a bunch of the women who were attended, they were like "Danielle, like we love the community that you've given. We noticed that you don't have a podcast. What's going on?"
I was like, You're right. I don't know what I'm waiting for. I'm just waiting for this imaginary co-host to come and, help me and save me. That was really illuminating for me to realize that I don't need to wait for someone else to create something. It was just so much easier to create a podcast based on my already existing brand. And the great thing about it, if you're a blogger, you have so many existing skills that you've developed that will transfer over to being a successful podcaster. So I had that idea to start the podcast in July 2018. I gave myself a two-month runway to get the podcast launched.
There's a lot of mindset work that needs to be done with a lot of people, there's a lot of scarcity mode operating. So for me, I always say that there is a way as long as you have a will and you really want to do something. doors will open, I'm sure the giveaway and you win those tickets, that opened a new door. And that opened new possibilities. And that is really what my brand is all about.
Because we always have these financial priorities that are competing with each other. But it doesn't mean that we have to postpone having a fulfilling life and doing the things that we value. So for me, it's about how do I afford to travel and still build wealth and pay off my debt and be a homeowner and and and so I don't want to just, you know, just focus on one thing I want to be, I enjoy being this multifaceted person and my finances align with that.
