Husband and wife team Ian and Tonya Fitzpatrick footprints of the world travel podcast. Although they are now married and host a successful podcast together, they rarely met. When lawyer Tonya first met Ian, she had no interest in dating anyone. Ian's cousin, who had known Tonya since college, said she tried to be a matchmaker between the two, but she quickly learned that it would not be easy.
This was Tonya's reaction when she heard that Ian was also a lawyer. I don't want to meet him. ' However, when she learned that Ian was also from the Midwest, like her, she softened her thoughts on wanting to connect with him (at the time, they were living in Washington, DC). She explains: “I was really looking for someone with Midwestern values.”
Her next question to Ian's cousin will be the deciding factor. She asked, “Does he have a passport? Is there a stamp on it?” She had recently returned from living abroad, so it was important to her that her potential suitors valued her travels. “I had no interest in fighting other people, especially other lawyers, about my worldview,” she says. Luckily, Ian was traveling abroad on a university exchange program, so she agreed to have dinner with him.
A shared love of travel between Ian and Tonya Fitzpatrick started all the adventures
“Basically our life started with travel,” Tonya says. Ian proposed to Tonya during a surprise trip to Toronto. “I didn't know where I was going until I got to the airport and looked at the airport code,” Tonya Fitzpatrick says. After checking into the hotel, they boarded a propeller plane. “Just as I was starting to feel a little nauseous from this propeller plane, another plane flew past us from the opposite direction with a banner that said, “Marry me, Tonya.'' Their 2005 wedding was like a proposal in a faraway place, but this time it took place in the tropical islands of Bermuda. “We took some of our closest family and friends to Bermuda and had an absolutely wonderful weekend,” says Ian.
A chance encounter with a life coach changed the course of their lives.
Shortly thereafter, during a trip to San Francisco, Tonya and Ian met a life coach at a hotel cocktail hour who changed their career paths. The life coach asked several questions to help couples clarify their passions. “My two passions were travel and horses, so we thought, 'How can we set up a business?'” she Tonya explains. Since owning a horse costs a lot of money, they decide to set up a travel agency. “We started [the travel agency] Our aim is to provide our customers with an innovative travel experience,” says Tonya.
Within three years of running the travel agency Bronze World, their company was on track to generate $250,000 in revenue. Despite being financially successful, they decided to focus on his travel podcast, which he created in 2007, and closed their travel agency in 2009. At the time, running a podcast and a travel agency was too difficult for them. “The passion was really for travel, not selling travel,” Ian says. “The media side has given us a bigger microphone to share what we want to say about the world and travel,” Tonya says. Another reason they closed the travel agency was because the White House had offered Tonya a job as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education.
Initially, their travel podcast was aired on radio stations as a travel talk show. continue the journey. Later, in 2010, the brand name was changed. footprints of the world and the transition to digital platforms. “footprints of the worldis a more impactful title that I think shows the footprint we're leaving around the world and the impact of the socially conscious messages we share,” says Tonya Fitzpatrick. Masu.
The transition from radio to podcasting was difficult. It was “in the early stages of podcasting. We didn't really know what we were doing,” Ian says. “In this space, we wanted to do something a little more uplifting and a little more insightful than asking, 'Where's the best beach? Where's the cheapest cruise?'” It's a typical vacation-oriented, value-oriented, consumer-based travel show. ”
Podcasts also give you more freedom in choosing the type of content you create. “They are [the radio station] They were conservative, but we are promoting socially conscious dialogue. So there was a little bit of conflict there,” Tonya says. Before starting the podcast, they moved to a more liberal radio station, but the station was then acquired by Dan Snyder and switched gears to primarily broadcast sports-related content.
The two finance the podcast with their own money. “[The podcast] is something we designed ourselves, and while more revenue is coming in and the business model has changed a bit, it's still a passion project at this point in its evolution. ” explains Ian. “Economic conditions remain difficult for podcasting, and for media in general, and we are not immune to them. But we are still here, evolving and moving forward, and that is why I It’s all we can do.”
They both still work as lawyers, but have grown their podcast businesses. “Right now we have a partnership with her MSN.com,” says Tonya.
Transforming people through travel
The main focus of their podcast is “The Transformative Power of Travel” and their content is aimed at conscientious travelers. They aim to share untold stories while embracing social justice. One of Tonya's favorite podcasts is about Deaf Her Heritage Trail on Martha's Vineyard. “Even people who visit Martha’s Vineyard regularly don’t know about the Deaf Heritage Trail or the background of the Deaf community, the largest deaf community in the country. [at one point in history]That was my focus,” she says.
In addition to sharing untold stories, they also had the opportunity to interview celebrities like Maya Angelou. “There are multidimensional aspects about who we are and our journeys that we can infuse into the podcast and blend into conversations that bring us to interesting places and with people from all walks of life. We hope it will lead to interesting conversations” to share their journey. [and] I love sharing my travels,” says Ian.
For anyone thinking of starting their own podcast, these veterans shared some tips. “I encourage them to find their voice and stick to it,” Tonya says. Sometimes people say, “I try to appeal to everyone, but it's impossible.” Ian agrees, advising: “Just be yourself and know who you are.”
Photo by Tonya Fitzpatrick.
