We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Claudia De Leon . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Claudia below.
Alright, Claudia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today.
If I were to start my podcast journey over again, I would immediately invest in a podcast coach. I had a hard time embracing my voice in the beginning and embracing parts of my story. Something I focus on with my clients is really having them embrace their voice and their gifts. I meet so many women who want to start a podcast but they are worried about how they will sound and if their story or journey is “enough”. So my approach is to simply hear them out and I really pay attention to what they are posting on their socials and try to pick up trends. If they are comfortable talking a certain way or creating content a specific type of way, I encourage them to continue doing that. When someone is in your corner highlighting all the things you do right, it boosts your confidence. I should have found a podcast coach from the start.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I go by Caya, my real name is Claudia but my family started calling me Caya when I was little and so I grew up with everyone around me calling me that so when I entered the creative world I used Caya instead of my real name because at the time I worked for the government and I wanted to keep both lives separate. People in the creative world know me as Caya and honestly, it’s the name I’m most comfortable in. I am a Podcast Producer, Coach, Blogger and content creator. I started my podcast in 2019 and at the time there weren’t many Latina podcasts that focused on taboo subjects, motherhood, transitions and breaking generational curses. The way we approached these topics were with love, compassion and a sense of humor. Our podcast grew so fast, I had never been apart of something that was received with so much love. My favorite part from that experience was learning this craft from scratch. At the time I had no idea, what podcast equipment to buy, what a hosting site was, or how to record and edit a podcast. There were so many nights I spent on YouTube university teaching myself how to edit. We spent late nights at coffee shops, trying to get our podcast on Apple because we didn’t know what an RSS feed was. It makes me laugh because we first started streaming our podcast on Soundcloud because we couldn’t figure out the other platforms but that didn’t hold me back. I knew I had to get this podcast out into the world. What made this experience so great was the feedback and engagement we received by our community, every week we had so many Latinas in our DMs sharing their own stories with us. The content we created whether it was on our instagram or our podcast episodes, was always tailored for our listeners. We knew our target audience so well that it became easier and easier to create content for them. Eventually we began to monetize through ad space, merch and happy hours. Eventually people started to ask me how they could start their own podcast and I would give advice and coach them. After a while of doing that a friend advised me to turn into a business and I did. In 2020 I started taking private clients, I would help them launch their podcasts. In 2021 I left my government job and decided to take my business full time and that is how Cayate and Pod was born. It has taken me a couple of years to really find my rhythm as a podcast producer but in 2024, I can say that I have a steady clientele and I can now confidently call myself a Podcast Producer.
I am currently focusing on podcasts created by women of color. I offer a couple of different services at the moment. I take on clients who don’t really know anything about the podcast process so I help them set the foundation of their podcast and their niche. We take 3 months to work on their target audience, format and recording process. Lately, we’ve also been working on showing up online and creating captivating content for their podcast episodes and social media. The second type of client I am currently working with are online coaches. I love working with online coaches because they are so focused and disciplined already, it makes my job so much easier when they come to me with their entire google drive of ideas and I basically come in a put the pieces together for them. I work on script writing, outline editing and I take care of all of the back end tech. Many of the online coaches that I work with are so busy onboarding their clients and coaching they just need someone to come in and take over their podcast process and so that ‘s where I come in. I create their social media posts like reels, audio snippets and I edit and upload their episodes into the hosting site.
The third type of client I currently work with are clients who just need editing services. I currently have some online coaches and practitioners who do not have time or do not like editing so they outsource their editing to me.
There is something for every type of podcaster in my business. In the future I would like to have a full house production agency but for now I provide all these services myself and I don’t mind because I love everything that I do. Whether it’s editing a 30 minute episode or brainstorming 10 episodes for a new podcaster, I approach every single project with love and focus. I am most proud of all these skills that I have learned in the last 5 years. If you would have asked me in 2019 when I was up at 2 am trying to edit if this would be my life, I would have laughed and cried from frustration. Here I am 5 years later, helping women of color embrace their voice, share their story and build the podcasts of their dreams. I want more women of color to embrace their voice, This is something I am extremely passionate about, I want my clients to feel confident when their podcast comes out and a huge part of that is including as much of their personality and who they are into their podcast. I believe that my first podcast was successful because my stories resonated with my community and that is the same approach I take with my clients. Who are you? What is your story? What have you been through? What is going on in your business at the moment? Once we answer these questions we can connect with your audience.
One thing I believe sets me apart in this podcast coaching space and that I am proud of is I will always plug in my community any chance I get. I am always keeping myself updated on on anything to do with podcasting. If there is a webinar that will help my community, I am posting it on my instagram. If I see a podcast competition, I am sending it out to everyone encouraging them to submit their podcast. If someone needs a guest or desires to be a guest, I am making calls, sending DMs trying to make it happen for them. I want to see my people win, always. So anyway that I can support my podcasters and get them into spaces, I will make it happen.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My mission is to continue to launch voices of color into the podcast industry. I see more women of color podcasters and networks and I absolutely love that but I need to see more brands supporting them as well. I would like to walk into a podcast conference and see more panels with women of color. I would like to see more keynote speakers look like myself. So until I see that change, I have to continue to cheer on my community and elevate them in any space I can.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
At the beginning of 2023 I went back into the workforce. I wasn’t disciplined in my business, I wasn’t showing up online enough so my business suffered. I had bills to pay and I am sure anyone can understand that push to do what you need to do as a parent. Against my better judgement I took a job a friend referred me to. It was close to home, decent hours and good pay, I thought to myself what could wrong? Immediately, something felt off about this place. I started to feel in my gut that this place was not right for me but I decided to stick it out because I needed the money. Things started to get even worst, it was a very toxic work environment with a toxic manager. I would notice many business dealings that weren’t by the book and I am a very by the book person so it felt uncomfortable to uncover office practices that didn’t look right in my eyes. I started to speak up and stand up for myself and call out what I was seeing, it didn’t go well. My managers began to harass me little by little and I knew it was because I was speaking up against there practices. I started to feel depressed and I would pray in my car before going in every morning. I asked god to give me a sign that I needed to leave this place, well he actually sent me so many signs including my gut feelings but I was stubborn and didn’t want to see it. Finally, in April everything came to a head when my manager cornered me and started yelling at me. I was in shock and I froze. I started to defend myself and when I realized that I was in tears, I picked up my purse and walked out the front door and never looked back. I knew that was God telling me to get out. I knew I should have left after the first month. After that encounter, I vowed to work on my business and give it my all. Sometimes we need those pivotal moments in our life to really set us straight. I had it in me the entire time to work on my business but I didn’t believe in myself. My advice to anyone in a toxic work environment, get out, it’s not worth sacrificing your mental health. Bet on yourself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cayadeleon.substack.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caya_te/
Image Credits
Confidence A Toda Madre Podcast with Sylvia Brands Págame Podcast with Evie Prete Raw Soul Podcast with Monique Espinoza