I have a cold…
As a voice actor, even a minor cold SUCKS. It means I’m basically not really working until my stuffy sounding voice goes away. Unless you’re looking for that sexy stuffy voice vibe. Yeah, there isn’t such at thing. I wish there was because I would have the inside track on catching whatever bug my 4, soon to be 5 year old brings home. It’s something new each month to challenge my immune system, so expect some big competition for that gig when it comes up.
I’m taking this time to reflect a little and share some of my experience with you. I’ve had a lot of amazing success in my first year and a half of being in business for myself; which isn’t like ‘running a business.’ I’m basically trying to run myself and keep from running myself into the ground. I’m an actor, not a CEO or President overseeing people; but even running a solo business means taking on a lot of entrepreneurial skills. (I have mad respect to those of you who have employees.) We see lots of help offerings in this arena. The social media advertising is endless…ie: help videos, secrets to success, best workflow practices, brain hacks, new apps, subscriptions, electronics, and marketing tools/courses/need to knows. It feels like they all want my $3.99 to $9.99 a month or sometimes more.
Truth be told, some of it does help; but you can get lost looking at these things. Tread with caution and use techniques that only really vibe with you. Some, if not many, won’t be for you. But there are three things that I want to share with you for free, that I’ve realized personally over and over again.
ONE, it pays to never ever give up; which I’ve heard other actors say. But this is 100% true! Let go of any disappointments, attachments, auditions that didn’t pan out, unanswered emails, and be happy for your friends and peers who are finding success. Thank you Bryan Cranston for sharing that advice. When you fill yourself with positivity and grind out the necessary work of polishing your website, tweaking acting profiles, improving resumes, doing auditions, emails, connecting with people on social, and even the occasional phone call or zoom meeting—It. Eventually. Works. Out.
What doesn’t work, is getting distracted and procrastinating. This is especially bad when you work from home. I’m the best at making myself out to be a Saint in my own head to rationalize my non-work accomplishments such as, picking my kid up super early to spend quality time with him (trust me, this is still more important than work, but there has to be balance), or knowing my wife will be happy with the dishes being done or the house being clean, or finishing that project she wants done. You know what she also likes…when I bring home a paycheck! Lol…all jokes aside. My wife is an amazing woman who likes seeing me happy experiencing success in my career as an actor/VoiceOver artist/live presenter.
TWO, your relationships and connections with people are more important than you think, even if you KNOW they’re important. More people are watching and many care more than you realize or even care to fully grasp. Again, we don’t always show our bad days on social media; but we have them. People are lonely, still isolated in many ways, and crave connection. We can help each other out by talking to one another and sharing our experiences.
THREE, settle in for the long haul and get used to delayed gratification. It takes SO LONG to showcase your work as an actor. There’s this incredible gratification of being on a set acting alongside talented professionals or in my studio voicing an important project for a client; but then there’s a long wait while these things get into post production, which can take months; sometimes even years. Especially in the feature film world, which I actually look forward to. In the meantime, there’s often confidentiality and/or silence on the release of a creative work you helped with. When I worked in news, I would turn a story or multiple stories in a day and they would air on television within hours or even minutes of completing them. This messed with my psyche going out on my own in a ‘slower paced’ industry, which many would consider to be normal. But, with that said, I absolutely love the thoughtful creativity and the patience to get something absolutely right—and dozens, sometimes hundreds of people collaborating to make that happen.
You don’t have to be an actor to take in some of what I’ve shared and it’s simply there to help. And, if you made it this far down my blog post, thanks for reading. I’m always happy to chat, so feel free to shoot me an email or message. Remember not to give up, keep making connections, and be patient; because the payoff is coming. Whatever that looks like for you. Here’s to your success, health, and happiness and there’s your cheese for the day! Take care!