Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Zito.
Hi Danielle, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We met working on cruise ships back in 2017. We started our Instagram in 2019 during a 6-week trip to South America, bought a professional camera and drone, and started creating content. For a year, it was just our side gig while working on ships, but then we started to get serious with everything when the pandemic hit in 2020.
We started our website of travel guides, and after 8 months apart we took a two-month trip to Mexico, where we started to do our first collaborations, grow our social following, and become focused on building our brand.
In 2021 We were separated yet again due to the cruise ship bringing back Danni and not Fede. After struggling to stay together, we finally finished with cruise ships, and our side gig had finally become our full-time job!
Ever since then, we have published over 300 travel guides, traveled to 62 countries together, and started expanding our products and services.
Right now, Scratch Your Mapa sells Lightroom Presets, merchandise, and our very own Travel Pillow Case. We offer travel planning services and are in the works of a ton of other exciting projects for 2023!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has definitely not been smooth but has helped us grow a lot! When it came to working on cruise ships together, we always struggled to align our contracts and to get placed on the same ship. The pandemic kept us separated for 8 months, and then again, we were apart 4 months in 2021.
Working as a creator is exciting but is a lot of work. We are constantly moving around and hustling to get new projects to bring in our income. Some days we are traveling from early morning until late at night, while others, we spend 15 hours straight on our laptops.
However, with all the struggles come great rewards. If you don’t struggle, you don’t grow, and we know that there will always be bumps in the road. The more bumps we come across the more we grow as a couple, business, and individuals.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
It’s hard to put a title on our career. We work as photographers, models, writers, editors, marketers, and entrepreneurs. We are proud of how dedicated we have been. It took us a few years for our website to grow, and despite years of not seeing results, we kept pushing. We are also proud of the feedback we get from others, of how we’ve been to able to help them travel more and spend less. That’s truly the best accomplishment of them all!
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Life is too short to procrastinate or to compare yourself to others. Take yourself out of your comfort zone and chase your dreams! It’s never too late to start a new hobby, career or to completely change your way of living. Anyone can achieve what they put their minds to, and if you need help breaking that barrier, we’re always happy to help.
Pricing:
- $19.95-$34.95 Lightroom Presets
- $29.95 Travel Pillow Case
- $99.95 Personalize Travel Photo Book
- $199-$999 Customized Travel Planning
Contact Info:
- Website: scratchyourmapa.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/scratchyourmapa
- Facebook: facebook.com/scratchyourmapa
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/89490255/admin/
