Embracing Opportunities Instead of Excuses
When COVID-19 went from an isolated issue to a world-crippling pandemic, long-time friends Mariposa and da i.ZZ were just beginning conversations about their ability to partner. Like many Americans, the pair faced challenging circumstances that forced them to explore ways to generate new revenue streams that could withstand the pandemic.
“We’d always talked about working together but never quite found anything that panned out,” Mariposa began, “Right from the start, this time felt different. We were having interesting conversations that needed to be heard, and that’s how The 30 Minute Podcast (30MP) began.”
The 30MP hosts started by hosting virtual listening sessions that allowed friends and family to provide feedback on test episodes. From there, they consolidated feedback, made adjustments, and went about planning their first episode. Their debut podcast hit all major platforms in June of 2020 and featured a lively discussion on the Emancipation Proclamation.
As listeners quickly discover, 30MP explores an array of topics spanning business to culture to alternative lifestyle choices. These sometimes taboo topics are embraced by Mariposa and da i.ZZ, who revel in discussing the un-discussable. Each episode is presented with the pair’s unique brand of intellectual curiosity, unapologetic honesty, and relentless humor. da i.ZZ says, “We come from a certain perspective that is uncommon among people of a certain age, race, and gender. Our motto is you don’t have to agree to align.”
In the roughly six months since their podcast debuted, Mariposa and da i.ZZ have completed and released 2 complete seasons of 30MP. Recording, however, is only one aspect of the work. Along with finding time to actually record these compelling conversations, the duo must also find the time to identify and book guests, research topics, court sponsors, craft outlines and promote 30MP on various channels. It is a lot of work but a labor of love for Mariposa and da i.ZZ. da i.ZZ explains, “Everybody is talking about the importance of having a side hustle or pivoting their business, but for us, it’s about focus. The pandemic has allowed me to focus on the podcast and making TTMP the best it can be.”
Like any new business, making 30MP has its challenges as well. In addition to competing in a heavily saturated podcast and entertainment landscape, sustaining 30MP means shifting focus away from other ventures or projects in the short term. da i.ZZ chimes in how he does it, “It’s about being laser-focused on our goals for the show. We don’t have enough time to do everything, but we make time for this so that it’s successful.”
It’s about being laser-focused on our goals for the show. We don’t have enough time to do everything, but we make time for this so that it’s successful.
To learn more about 30MP, follow them on social media. They’re always promoting upcoming episodes, snippets of interviews, and other exciting developments you don’t want to miss. Don’t forget to check out their episode featuring serial entrepreneur and PopShopolis owner Valaurie Lee on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.
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