We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Natalie Arriola a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Natalie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is definitely my podcast called the Mujeres In The Know Podcast. Creating my podcast was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The purpose of the podcast is to encourage, enlighten, empower, educate, entertain and inspire listeners. After giving birth to my second son, I went through a severe case of postpartum depression. I had a deep desire to use my knowledge, skills and talents but I had no idea how I was going to do that. I prayed and asked God to help me. One day I had an epiphany moment and it hit me like a ton of bricks, I needed to create a podcast that was going to empower myself and other women. I began producing and hosting episodes for what I called “Latina Moms In The Know”, where a couple of my mom friends and I discussed the joys and struggles of being a mom. I later changed the name to the “Mujeres In The Know Podcast” so I could reach a broader audience, not just moms but all women. Every woman I have featured on the podcast shares their story and offers words of encouragement for listeners. Not only do my podcast guests empower and inspire listeners, but they have helped me in ways you could never imagine. If I did not create my podcast, I would of had a much more difficult time getting out of the postpartum depression. It gave me a sense of purpose, hope and a reason to never give up and to keep moving forward. This podcast has helped me tremendously in my personal life, and all I hope is that it helps listeners in their personal life as well.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
There has been many things that have inspired me. I attended college at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley where I obtained my B.A. in Mass Communication with a concentration in broadcast journalism. That is where I gained knowledge about what a podcast is. It’s also where I gained the necessary skills to produce and host a podcast. The one thing I did not learn was how to create a brand. When I made the decision to create my podcast, I began studying and taught myself how to create a brand. I began to look for inspiration in my every day life. For example, one day, I was driving in my car and Selena’s hit song “Como La Flor” came on. Although I know all the lyrics to the song, I never really took the time to really hear what she was saying. At that moment , her lyrics resonated with me and I felt such a connection to the song. That is how the flower in my logo came out. The inspiration for the background color was simply because I love the color purple, as well as for a political reason. When you mix the color red (Republican) and the color blue (Democratic) together, the color purple is formed. I feel it’s extremely important for all parties to work together and respect each other. What sets me apart from others is that I am not doing this for fame or fortune. I’m simply a woman who wants to help other women. I’m a woman in the business of championing other women, and my podcast has been and still is the tool I’m using to do just that. I’m proud of myself for following my intuition. If I had not done that, I would not have this great opportunity to be featured in CanvasRebel Magazine. In life, I believe we all have moments when God speaks to us. Sometimes we hear him, but we choose to ignore it and do things our own way. I’m most proud of myself for not ignoring it, taking action and creating a brand that has experienced success.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing all of my hard work and ideas come to fruition. I don’t really seek validation, but it’s extremely rewarding when I receive a positive message from a listener explaining how an episode they heard has helped them in their personal life.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. The city I grew up in, Edinburg, is so special to me. I knew from the get-go I wanted my audience to be people who live or are from the Rio Grande Valley. Not only that, I had a desire to give back to the community I grew up in, and my podcast was a great way for me to do that. Some advice I would give to anyone who is just starting to build their social media presence is to start small. Start with a small target audience. If you start small and you keep at it, I guarantee your audience will grow! Believe in yourself and believe in your brand!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mujeresintheknow.com
- Facebook: @mujeresintheknow
Image Credits
Barbara Delgado Ben Briones