Meet Anne and Gina | Co-Creators/Hosts of the Dames who Dish Podcast

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anne and Gina and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anne and Gina, every day, we know about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
We are neighbors and friends (Dames actually) who enjoy a good podcast AND reality TV. Just a couple years ago, reality TV had a definite stigma around it – it was known as a “guilty pleasure.” We found it a bit embarrassing that we actually watched it and honestly didn’t admit it to each other until a few years into our friendship. Soon after, we found every time we got together that’s all we talked about! Our other friends had no idea what language we were even speaking! We then realized there were no podcasts in this reality tv/after show arena where the hosts were closer to OUR age. Our perspective (as “ladies of a certain age,” 55 and 57) is much different than a person in their 20, 30’s or even 40’s. So, we decided to start our own podcast!

Neither one of us had any experience in the podcast/media world. Its amazing what you can do when you are excited and passionate about a project. After getting advice from our adult kids and some heavy-duty Googling, we just went for it! We started with a podcast publishing platform, then downloaded a digital audio editor and bought one microphone for both of us to use. Three years later, we have upgraded to our own studio with two professional microphones and audio equipment.

Another aspect of this world was the social media part of it. We really had to get good at Instagram, TikTok (yes, we have a TikTok page), and learn how to navigate all of this while still working our “real jobs.”. Thank goodness our husbands are our biggest fans and supporters. They are even willing to appear in our TikToks and be guests on our podcast from time to time.

When we started the Dames who Dish podcast, we thought we may get 20 listeners, most likely our family and friends, and that was ok with us, I mean, we were just doing it for fun! Soon enough, we were getting 100, 200, 300 and now have thousands of listeners who download our podcast weekly and have over 11K followers on our Instagram page.

We always said the minute this isn’t fun for us anymore, we stop. Well, coming up on our 3rd Anniversary we are still having a blast! We are very proud with what we have achieved thus far. Having sponsors and other opportunities come our way is just icing on the cake. By the way, our friends still don’t understand our language or what we are talking about and think we have a radio show…

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
Since we have full time jobs, and do this podcast on the side, the balance took a bit of time. In the beginning we did two shows a week but realized we could not sustain that. It was just taking up too much of our time. We now tape one day a week and this has made our husbands very happy. We also learned that being open to criticism was a bit hard to take at first, especially criticism by people who do not really know you. But that is just part of it. It’s not always easy but we have grown so much personally through it all and learned to take the good with the bad.

We want people to know that even in your 50’s you can try new things and not to be scared to put yourself out there. Our brand is different and unique because we did that, and stuck with it when it was hard. We took chances, like DMing people for interviews not knowing if they would respond or even be interested and they were and they did and we have met so many people that way. We interviewed reality stars before other people were doing it. And that was just by putting ourselves out there and asking!

Most podcasts start and end in a year. Because it’s harder than people think. So many people started podcasts during the pandemic and could not sustain them. We started before and are still here and we are very proud of that.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We are in Sacramento, California, the Farm to Fork Capitol of the World. We have many great restaurants that serve only the freshest ingredients. Depending on taste, if you want casual or fancy, we would direct you to the best restaurant of your choice.

We also have an amazing art culture. Wide Open Walls promotes diversity through artistic expression. All over the city, there are murals painted by artists from around the world. You can do walking tours or take a scooter or motorized bike! There are over 130 murals in midtown and downtown Sacramento.

If you want to see a sporting even or concert, we have our pride and joy of downtown, in the DOCO area, the Golden 1 Center. It is surrounded by great restaurants, vibrant rooftop bars, and you can easily walk to Old Sacramento where you find shopping, MORE restaurants, the Railroad Museum and always something happening in the streets.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Our supportive family first and foremost deserves credit. Also, Johnny Flores of Flores Podcast Consulting helped us when we were ready to take our show to the next level with finding the right equipment that would work for us, what settings we should be using and numerous other tech questions we had. We also had help in the beginning from Anthony Lario, a media consultant and podcast host who helped us navigate this new world. Most recently, we have consulted with a good friend and freelance social media manager, Justin Cole Adams, who really helped us bring our social media game to the next level.

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