POD CON 2024 at THE MET (Philly, PA)

Every chance I get I try perfecting my Blog and my Podcast so when I seen WALLO(267) was having a POD CON in Philly, AND it was a FREE Event, I HAD TO BE THERE! I had been up one night on IG, back in December, 2023, and seen @Wallo267 had a post up about a POD CON he was having for those of us who had Podcast. It would be a great way to get better, learn the DO’s and DONT’s, as well as Network with other Creatives. I Immediately reserved my spot!

This POD CON took place at THE MET, Philadelphia on Saturday, January, 13th 2024. The journey I took was well worth the travel, especially for the information this event provided. Money was tight so I had to get there the best way possible; what my funds would allow. This meant I had to travel from Virginia Beach, Virginia, after work, to New York, then to Philly then back to New York and then back to Virginia Beach, in time for work again. This was all in 3 days. *insert sweating emoji*

I arrived in New York on Friday and spent the day chillin’ alone in the City (NYC/Manhattan) walking around then I sat in a Cafe, in Chelsea and prepared for the next day ahead. Afterwards I linked with my youngest after she got out of school and we had Mother-Daughter Time.

Saturday arrived and I was super excited to be heading to one of my favorite Cities other than my own Boro of BROOKLYN. I woke up early, took the MTA bus to the A-and-F-trains to East Broadway and made my way to my bus.

I got to Philly in no time and I was so glad my StepPops was there to greet me. We went to his house where he cooked a huge breakfast and we ate as we caught up and watched PAID IN FULL on BET. Later on he dropped me off at THE MET and I was Syked!

We were given a badge upon entering and when I stepped inside; in the lobby there were tons of other Podcasters, Entrepreneurs, Videographers, Small Business owners and more. I went straight to the ‘Step and Repeat‘ and asked someone to snap my picture before I went inside.

Once I got to my seat, (we could sit anywhere), the DJ had the theatre rocking, playing some Philly natives like Freeway and Meek Mill. There were people mingling and Dappin’ up friends as well as strangers they’ve seen around before whether in real life or on social media. It was a black crowd. I Love to See It! I don’t think I seen any white people at this event (except Tori Dunlap, who was also a Guest Speaker), although I’m sure it was for everyone. I was happy to see that I wasn’t the only one who had come solo but mostly everyone had someone or many with them.

The first thing Wallo asked as soon as he stepped on stage was, “Who out there wanna make some money?” Of course we all yelled out “YEA!” Then he brought the Mayor of Philly out to Bless the event before it started. According to NPR.org, “Cherelle Parker will be the city’s first female mayor, and only the fifth Black woman to run one of America’s largest cities.” Update: She Now, IS! Now how inspiring is that!?

The Mayor Thanked Wallo for the invite and she said he was inspiring because he turned his Pain into Power. She said he was one of Philly’s Chief Connectors. She had me hooked when she said she was a HipHop Head. Cherelle Parker said she wouldn’t tell us her age but she was HIP HOP + 1, lol. Then she quoted a Chuck D (Public Enemy) verse from “Welcome to the Terrordome” WHAAAT!

Cherelle Parker had a great message to start this POD CON. She told us, our gifts may be with our cameras or with our podcast. She said it was commendable how we turn what our passion and our purpose was into something that’s not just for us but for others and when we can motivate and inspire and encourage others not to Wallo(w) in any negative experiences they’ve had in their lives that’s always something positive because we cannot look back, only forward.

I cried a few times during the evening but the 1st time was when Wallo brought Gillie out on stage. The love these two brothers have for one another is like nothing I’ve ever seen between two men who aren’t blood related. They gave us the back story on how they connected and how they started everything they do. Of course it wasn’t easy and it didn’t happen overnight.

They stressed how much they had to grind and are still grinding, Everyday. They were hilarious. They feed energy off of each other.

Wallo said;

Don’t do Too Much but Be consistent.
Nothing Supersedes the Content.
Know what you’re doing.
(when working with a team) – Understand each others Strengths and Weaknesses; Everyone can’t be a Boss but Everyone can be a Partner.

Wallo Quotables:

“Its Cool to die for a Ni&&a where we come from but its better to live for a Ni&&a.”
“It may not be the 2nd or 3rd it might be the 15th episode that GO!…
You only gonna get what you invest into yourself!

I wish I could go into everything we learned but there was so much information provided to us. I’d have to write a Short Story in order to tell it all. However, be sure to listen to my next podcast episode, S3 E4 (Coming Soon) where I will go into more details on this experience.

I was happy for this free game. I was put at ease knowing some of the things kicked to us, I’d already been doing. Here are a few takeaways I got from the guest who came out…

Herman Dolce, Jr., who is the Business funding coach and Owner of, Bella Sloan Enterprises, LLC. If you have never heard of him, be sure to Follow him on IG (@Haitian_CEO) and get some Money! He is the man with the Master Plan. He kicked game on maximizing how much money we can get. He mentioned getting a LLC, a Business address and phone number. Website, etc. Herman Dolce gave us information on how to go about doing this.

When he broke down the proper way to get loans and how to deal with bill collectors, I was shocked. This was all too easy. He also assured us if we have bad credit, its not the end of the world. There are ways to recover from this. His company can help. I will definitely be working with him to GET TO THE MONEY that’s waiting for me out there… Whether with this Blog, my Podcast or my future Café,,, HELL! Or ALL OF THE ABOVE!

Damaris Long, is a Business Consultant and CEO of Bella Sloan Enterprises as well as, Peace and Harmony Management. I will be working with her in the future when I start investing more time in developing my business, TYE’s Rise & Grind Café. When I met up with her in the lobby of the venue, I was a mess. eyeliner running. Tears I could not hold back. I told her how overwhelmed I was and she spoke to me with so much assurance. In that moment, she spoke Life into me because I had been questioning all of my goals. Were theY possible. Did I deserve success. COULD I MAKE IT HAPPEN?!

When Angelica Nwandu, Founder and CEO of The Shaderoom, came out, I was super excited because I am an Original “Roommate“, which is what TSR fans are called. She explained how she started and I remember seeing her post back in the days. It’s where I got a lot of news. Nonstop. All day! Angelica was unemployed and sitting at home and broke! A friend suggested that she should start her own website. She decided to start posting all day on Social Media.

Today, TSR is where you can get all the (Hot & Iced) “Tea” on celebrities and Reality Stars. Angelica said, by just starting, you can disrupt the entire industry. She got a lot of followers because she used Hashtags and she was talking about people who weren’t being talked about. I personally believe TSR is the main reason Reality Stars became/become famous, too.

I love how her current team interacts with the followers. I know 1st hand because I’ve sent them something they shared and it became Viral. My baby sis, and some classmates. That’s one thing I already do as well. I always appreciate the ones who follow me and support my work and buy my Merch.

She said you have to find your Nish. Something relatable to who you are. Find what you love to talk about or something that people want to know about. Don’t do it for money. That will come on it’s own. Figure out a way to speak to your community in a unique way and go from there.

“You don’t have to do it first. You just have to do it best.” A. Nwandu

Brian Anderson is the Global Head of Music, & Podcast Ad Sales for Youtube. He broke down the Monetized parts of Youtube and how you can make money. This was interesting for me because I don’t post to Youtube often when I really should. He also stressed to GET STARTED! Find your voice, build your audience. have a style. Be consistent! That’s also something I need to get better at.

Wallo mentioned the benefits to having YOUTUBE STUDIOS. They both said to utilize YOUTUBE SHORTS and share to all of your Social Media platforms. This was something I was doing but on Instagram by making REELS. Moving forward I will make shorts then share everywhere. There was so much more they went into, you will have to check my podcast out for more. (S3E4).

I couldn’t wait for Charlamagne The God & Dollie S. Bishop to hit the stage. Charlamagne is the Founder of THE BLACK EFFECT Podcast Network, where Dollie is the President of Production & Creative Development. When asked by Wallo, What do they looks for in a Podcast, Charlamagne said, an authentic voice because a lot of Podcast theses days sound the same. I Agree.

They both said “Podcast” are Audio. Not Video. Charlamagne said the money is in the audio as far as the Advertises. You can make more money with audio Podcast. Dollie said, they partner with iHeart Media/iHeart Radio and they are #1 in the business of audio. The Black Effect is an audio company. They said, its OK to post your Podcast to Youtube but it should be audio!

Because I had a bus to catch, I left a little early and once again, I cried on the 20 minute walk to Greyhound. I took a lot of notes and couldn’t wait to get back home to Virginia to blog this and record my podcast episode. I’ve already started flooding my social media pages, TikTok/IG/FB… I came to perfect my craft but I left with even more information, like what I need to do to start/open my own business which is something I’ve been working on already, so STAY TUNED for that.

For more pictures and videos, you can follow @wallo267 @ThePodCon_ #ThePodCon2024 #PodCon2024

You can also listen to my Podcast on this experience. I share audio as well:

WHATS THE WORD PODCAST: S3 E4 PODCON 2024

(DL) WHATS THE WORD PODCAST: S3 E4 PODCON 2024

And as Always, SPREAD LOVE, ITS THE BKLYNTYE WAY!